WHAT IS A NORMAL MOM?
II Timothy 1.5
S: Normal moms
Th: Mother’s Day
Pr: BE WHO GOD HAS MADE YOU TO BE.
KW: Mothers
TS: We will find in our study of Scripture seven unique moms with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Type: Topical
The ____ mother is…
I. REBEKAH
II. JOCHEBED
III. NAOMI
IV. HANNAH
V. BATHSHEBA
VI. SALOME
VII. EUNICE
Version: ESV
RMBC 13 May 07 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Mother (H)
There was a young man, that when he graduated from high school, he had to give a speech. He began by reading from his prepared text. "I want to talk about my mother and the wonderful influence she has had on my life," he told the audience. "She is a shining example of parenthood, and I love her more than words could ever do justice."
At this point he seemed to struggle for words. After a pause, he looked up with a sly grin and said, "It’s really hard to read my mom’s handwriting."
There is no doubt that our mother’s do have a profound influence.
That’s what one daughter concluded about her mother…
ILL Mother (H)
The grown-up children were reminiscing about their childhood at a birthday dinner they had prepared. They wondered how mom always seemed to know what they had done.
Her daughter turned to her and said, "I know – it’s because you’re momnipotent.
Today, we want to take a quick look into Scripture, and we will find seven unique moms with their own strengths and weaknesses.
What I hope you will find is that the perfect moms are really very few and far between.
So, if you are feeling that you are less than perfect and you have no idea what a normal mom is, take heart from these examples.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first mother is REBEKAH (Genesis 25:28).
We are told in Genesis 25 that…
Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Now it appears this family was a bit dysfunctional.
Each parent had a favorite son.
Isaac favored Esau.
Rebekah favored Jacob.
And I am sure there were plenty of fireworks over this.
But I am convinced of this…
Esau would have been wiser to pay more attention to his mom!
Why?
Because moms are powerful, as both sons found out.
Rebekah maneuvered Jacob into getting the blessing that belonged to Esau.
And though, she did play favorites, it does show that you don’t mess with mom.
II. The second mother is JOCHEBED (Exodus 2.1-3, 6.20).
Who is Jochebed?
We find her in this familiar story in Exodus…
Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
This is a woman that was desperate.
Since the pharaoh had sentenced the Hebrew baby boys to death, her baby son was in peril.
She did not want her son to die.
So she sent him out on the river, hoping, somehow, some way, he might be saved.
And Moses was rescued.
And of all people, it was pharaoh’s daughter.
All because a mom was desperate enough to do something, she saw God go to work on her behalf.
III. The third mother is NAOMI (Ruth 1:19-21).
Naomi had had a really hard time.
Her husband and both her sons died, leaving her with no grandchildren and two daughter-in-laws.
One of them, Ruth, accompanies her back to her hometown of Bethlehem…
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?"
She was bitter.
She was in despair.
She did not know why God had allowed it, but even in the bitterness, she would find that her faith would sustain her.
She would find out that God was going to bless her greatly, for she would become the great-great grandmother of King David.
IV. The fourth mother is HANNAH (I Samuel 1.4-8).
Hannah was without children – barren.
And to make it worse, there was a rival wife – Penninah, who took it upon herself to giver Hannah a hard time.
The text tells us…
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?"
Hannah is sad.
She is depressed and miserable.
She is even tortured.
Elkanah wants to be there for her, but what she really wants is a son.
She too, like Naomi, is going to find that God does hear.
He does answer.
And she will bear a son who will become the last of the great judges – Samuel.
V. The fifth mother is BATHSHEBA (II Samuel 12:24-25).
The story of David and Bathsheba is a sad one.
It is a story of lust, adultery and murder.
I have no idea whether Bathsheba had the ability or will to say no to David her king when the affair took place.
It is unmentioned.
But, it is fair to say, when adultery takes place, it usually takes two willing participants.
The judgment against David and Bathsheba was that the baby died.
But it is not the end of their story.
Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Sin does not have to be the last thing that is remembered.
From this union that started out all wrong comes the next king, and certainly the greatest politically – Solomon.
VI. The sixth mother is SALOME (Matthew 20:20-21).
Salome had two very ambitious sons.
Their nicknames were “sons of thunder.”
We know them as James and John.
One day, Salome came to Jesus…
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."
Salome was ambitious.
She was even a little pushy.
She had high expectations for her sons.
Maybe she was where the “thunder” came from.
But I will tell you this – she was a woman of faith.
And she was there when it really counted.
When Jesus was dying on the cross, she stood by her sister, Mary, offering what comfort she could to a mother’s grief.
VII. The seventh mother is a pair…LOIS and EUNICE (II Timothy 1.5)
Paul wrote to his disciple, Timothy…
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
What a wonderful heritage we see here, of both Lois and Eunice
We do not know their background.
Perhaps they were single moms.
Perhaps they were wives with unbelieving husbands.
We can be sure these women had their flaws, but isn’t it wonderful what they are remembered for?
They are remembered for their faith that translated down to their son and grandson.
APPLICATION:
Maybe you are not a perfect mom today.
Maybe you don’t feel so normal, whatever that is.
Maybe you play favorites.
Maybe you are feeling desperate.
Maybe you are feeling bitter and sad.
Maybe you have sin in you life that you wonder you will ever get past.
Maybe you are overly ambitious.
The good news is that there is grace for you.
God will meet you where you are, so that, you can…
BE WHO GOD HAS MADE YOU TO BE.
Be who God has made you to be…a woman of faith.
ILL Mother (H)
Author and preacher Tony Campolo said that when his wife, Peggy, was at home full-time with their children and someone would ask, "And what is it that you do, my dear?" she would respond, "I am socializing two Homo sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia that God willed from the beginning of creation."
Then Peggy would ask the other person, "And what do you do?"
COMMUNION:
As we come to the table today, let us remember that we come because of Jesus.
We have sung “Give Me Jesus.”
It is a simple prayer.
It is an appropriate prayer.
It is a profound prayer.
“You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus.”
I hope you can pray that prayer with an exclamation point!
Think about that a moment…
“You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus.”
As we gather, we practice communion because of what we hold in common – Jesus.
Through His Word, the Spirit has moved in our hearts and convinced us that we needed Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, or you are just unsure, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you are confident that you do have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
Being led in prayer by … let us take a moment and thank Him for taking the place that we deserved.
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
… will now come and lead us in prayer, giving thanks for His sacrifice, dying for sins so that we might live.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
