1. COVID-19 Has made this an unusual Mother’s Day – Virus Issues; everything feels “off”
2. Still, we want to honor our Mothers
3. An Unusual Modern Mother: In September, 2019, Erramatti Mangayamma gave birth to twin girls.It doesn’t sound unusual until we find out she was 74 y/o at the time. Having struggled with fertility issues for most of her life she submitted to fertility treatments and became the current world’s oldest mother.
Imagine the issues she will face as an aged mother! Someone said that the reason God gives young women children is because an older mom might take a nap and forget where she put her infant!
4. A Most Unusual Mother – EVER – Sarah
a. Gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 21:1-7)
b. Gave birth to people of Faith – (Abraham = Father of Nations (Genesis 17:4-5); Sarah = the Mother – Genesis 17:16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
Isaiah 51:1-2a “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; . . .
c. The Nation of Israel and the Disciples of Jesus exist by a particular miracle – Isaac’s birth.
I. God’s Involvement with Sarah
A. The Name Game – Genesis 17:15-16 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give[b] you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
1. Sarai = My Lady
2. Sarah = Princess (contains the “H” of YHVH as Abraham)
B. The Beauty Contest – Genesis 12:11-13 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
C. A Sense of Humor but Bad Timing
1. Abraham’s Laughter – Genesis 17:17 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
2. Sarah’s Laughter Genesis 18:12 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
D. A Supernatural Experience (Genesis 17:17; 21:1-7)
1. Approximately 90 when Isaac (Laughter) was born
2. Not like Ishmael (man’s ingenuity), Isaac came by the power of God
3. The nation of Israel exists because of a miraculous birth – Christians too – Romans 4:4 – “Our father, Abraham.”
E. A Legacy
1. Hebron and Cave of Machphelah
2. Cenotaphs of: Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob and Leah
II. God’s Involvement with Us – Moms and the rest of Us
A. A Name That is Greater Than Wealth – Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
1. Name = character; reputation; authority – Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
2. Live up to your name (“Christian”)
B. True Beauty – Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
1 Peter 3:3-4 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
[Before/After Celebrity Pics
C. Lead with Laughter – Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
1. “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” ~ Victor Borge
2. Time to Laugh – Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven…A time to cry and a time to LAUGH. A time to grieve and a time to dance.”
3. Even God Laughs – Psalm 37:13 (for different reasons than we) the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
D. Be a Person of Faith
1. Like Abraham and Sarah this is a struggle for us
2. Genesis 15:6 (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
3. Timothy’s Faith came from Grandmother and Mother (2 Timothy 1:3-5)
E. Leave a Legacy – Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
1. What do you want on your Tombstone?
2. What legacy will you leave?
3. G. Washington: “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all of my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.”
1. Maybe you heard the story about a little girl named Sandra who was raised in an adobe house in a rural area of New Mexico. Her family was without electricity and running water.
In fact, her mother and father had to drive to El Paso, 200 miles away, so that her mother could be in the hospital when Sandra was born.
Because they were so far away from any school, Sandra’s parents home-schooled her. They ordered a variety of magazines to expose her to the outside world. She grew up in a very wholesome environment.
Her fondest memories of her family are of the times when mom and dad took the whole family on vacation to visit state capitols. They went into every capitol building west of the Mississippi and climbed their domes.
When Sandra graduated from high school, she went to Stanford University & graduated with honors. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to be seated in the Supreme Court of the United States of America. All because mom & dad cared enough to help her see herself in the image in which God created her. And then to encourage her to be all that she could be.
2. Moms have a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to shape the lives of their children.
3. It doesn’t end with Mom – it just begins with her.
