How many of you would agree with me that mothers are the best? Amen? I have the privilege of having a wonderful mother! I have a mother who loved me unconditionally, even when I did not deserve it; a mother who punished me when I was wrong and sometimes didn¡¦t punish me when she probably should have; She sacrificed of her own needs to make sure my brother, Joey, and I had what we needed; We never missed a meal (big surprise there, huh?)-- always had clean, ironed clothes ¡V were taught the value of money and the value of other people ¡V I was taught by my mother to love Jesus, love the church, and love church people (even when they were sometimes hard to love¡XI¡¦m a preacher¡¦s kid you know) ¡V My mother taught me as a teenager that her word was final and not up for debate (at the time I thought that was nuts, but now that I have a teenage daughter I find in that line of thinking great wisdom). I was blessed with a wonderful mother!
For me it doesn¡¦t end there! I have a mother-n-law who truly loves me¡Kwell at least she tells me that she loves me! And I tell you what ¡K I love her too! She is giving, loving, caring, and kind. All of these wonderful qualities are exhibited in Leslie as she too is a marvelous mother of our two girls.I am blessed with a wonderful mother-n-law!
I realize today that not all of you had a wonderful mother. Some of you never knew your mother. But I am sure there is someone who filled that role in your life- a grandmother, an aunt, a good friend, or maybe even another family member. Still today we come together to honor mothers or those ladies in our church who have taken on the role of mother for children.
The fact is that almost everyone¡¦s mom does much for them, regardless of their age! I even believe that this generation of mothers today do even more for their kids that mothers of the past because of the busy lifestyles of both mothers and children.
Today you hear the term ¡§SUPER-MOM¡¨ referenced for this generation of mothers today. Christianity Today.com had a funny description of ¡§Super Mom!¡¨
¡§Faster than a speeding toddler¡Kmore powerful than a cocky teenager¡K able to leap roller blades and hockey sticks in a single bound! LOOK up on that ladder¡Kis it dad changing a light bulb??? Is a workman painting the ceiling??? NO! It is Super Mom sorting through the laundry pile that has accumulated over the weekend!
Strange alien to a lazy teen, she hustles through the house with power and authority far beyond that of mortal man¡Kwell any man for that matter. Yes, it is SUPER MOM!! Who disguised as a totally weird creature who never was a kid herself fights for truth, justice, and time alone in the bathroom!¡¨
This is a pretty good description of mothers today! If you, per chance, think that the job of mom is not important then look only to a recent survey completed by Salary.com who asked 5.4 million stay-at-home moms to list their job titles and daily duties. Here is what the came up with. Based on a 40 hour work week, moms should make on the average of $43,461.00. But it doesn¡¦t end there¡Kfor the on average extra 60 hours of overtime they put in every week, the average mom would receive an additionally $88,009.00 per year for a total of $134,371.00 for the job of mom!
The reality today is the most moms are under a great deal of stress and pressure. Judith Warner, a mom who lives in the DC area, wrote a book titled Perfect Madness. In the book she interviewed 150 moms across that country and realized that she and many other moms were really overdoing with kids activities. She said, ¡§The pleasures and joys of motherhood are being slowly replaced by stress and a slow boiling anger.¡¨ She pointed out that most moms in America are getting to a point of desperation¡Klooking for answers¡K.seeking solid, proven help as to what a mom should do and what a mom should be in a world filled with Perfect Madness.
I don¡¦t pretend to know how to tell moms how to be better moms. However, God¡¦s Word is filled with many truths for moms, dads, and parents. In our passage today we see that Timothy, one of the great leaders of the early church, was influenced by both his mother and grandmother to become a man of Great faith. These ladies, along with many other examples in God¡¦s word, demonstrate what the Lord is looking for in a Godly mother in both the 1st century, as well as in the 21st century! (READ PASSAGE)
What does the Lord want from a Godly mother in the 21st century which will help moms go from desperate house moms to dedicated house moms? Let¡¦s look at several things that can encourage moms today, and challenge all of us who are parents.
I. PASS ON YOUR FAITH (1:15)
For the most part, our moms are the ones who first begin to instill in each of us a sense of values, beliefs, and morality! A mother who intentionally instills her faith, her belief in the Lord, her faith in God¡¦s Word, her love for the church, and her own testimony of faith in her children will have a great influence on the presents and the future of her children.
Some experts say that by the age of 4 to 5, most children have already formed a basic set of beliefs and values which shape their world view. Without a mom passing her faith onto her children, the world for many of these children will become a lonely, dark, scary place. It is the job of all Christian parents to instill into their children Godly character.
In our passage Paul reminds Timothy that is was the teachings of his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois that built in him is strong foundation for living based on faith in the Lord. Timothy¡¦s father was Greek and was not even a believer. That did not distract or discourage his mom and grandmother from teaching him about the love of the Lord. They taught Timothy about how God loves and provides for His people. They taught him how disobedience toward the Lord brings about consequences. They taught him that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin and how Jesus had risen from the grave in victory!
This heritage of faith they instilled in Timothy¡¦s life helped him become a man of God who ministered in the name of Jesus and made an impact for the Lord in the lives of other people!
This concept of passing on your faith is vital in today¡¦s world. Recent studies have indicated that in America there is a decline over the generations of people who have a Biblical, saving faith in Jesus.
* 45% of the Builder generation claims to have a saving faith
* 35% of the Baby Boomer generation
* 15% of the Buster generation
* Only 4%-6% of the Millennial Generation or Gen X group claims a saving faith! (These are our college students and middle school to Sr. high students).
It is imperative that moms, dad, and grandparents pass on your faith to your children and grandchildren. Godly mothers in the 21st century you must pass on your faith.
II. PROVIDE FOR YOUR FAMILY
Mothers, scripture praises you for your wisdom, kindness, work, and care shown toward providing for the needs of your family! Listen to the words of Proverbs 31:26-29, ¡§She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.¡¨
These are wonderful verses of praise for a mother who intentionally and with love meets the needs of her children and family. Such service performed out of love is blessed and honored by God.
III. PRIORITIZE BEING YOUR KIDS BIGGEST FAN
Our great 40th President, Ronald Reagan once said this of his mother: ¡§From my mother I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams, and believe I could make the all come true (Celebrating Mothers, Edited by Glorya Hale & Carol Kelly-Gangi, MetroBooks, 2002).¡¨
Over in the book of John we read an interesting passage about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary was her son¡¦s biggest fan! In John 2:1-5, Mary and Jesus are at the Wedding feast at Cana. There was a problem with the wine that was being served. Everyone was in a panic and Mary boldly told the servants and the crowd, ¡§Don¡¦t worry! My son can fix this problem! Do whatever He tells you to do!¡¨ Mary almost welled up with pride as she proclaimed, ¡§My Son can do anything! I believe in Him!¡¨ Just keep on reading the following verses¡KAfter this show of confidence in Jesus, immediately he begins to teach with authority and amazed the rulers of the law. He began to show and teach who He was and what He was all about! He began to call together a group of men whom He would lead, teach, disciple, and commission to go into all the world with the gospel. Jesus would put the confidence in them that His mother, and God the Father, had placed in Him! ¡§My Son can do anything! I believe in Him! You listen to Him!¡¨
Moms are just this way aren¡¦t they? Moms always encourage us and push us to do a little more than we ever though we could do on our own. They come to our musical programs, dance recitals, ballgames, and school events beaming with pride and anticipation. No matter how we perform, how we looked, how we sounded, how we played¡K it doesn¡¦t matter to mom because in her heart she knows that we were the best, looked the nicest, sounded beautifully, and was the most talented!
What confidence this gives children! I know as a child and as a teenager and even today, my mother thinks I am wonderful and if you don¡¦t believe me just ask her! This confidence inside a child builds character, self-esteem, and motivation to succeed, and to even take risks. We know in the end, mom will still be our biggest fan!
Moms, do you know what you are doing when you are your child¡¦s biggest fan? You are being like God! God looked at us, His creation, and said that we were very good! God puts the very best inside of us so that we are made in His own image! God loves us when we aren¡¦t the best! He cares for us, forgives us, nurtures us, loves us, and carries us through difficult times! Like comedian Mark Lowery says, ¡§You may not realize it, but God is crazy about you!¡¨
IV. PERSISTENTLY SERVE GOD THE FATHER
This is for Moms today, but also for all of our parents here today. . . Children will forget many of the things we say, but they will not forget how we lived! We must live before our children a life that persistently pursues to serve and please God!
If we are to pass on our faith to our children, we must first possess faith and exercise that faith. We cannot pass on something that we do not possess ourselves!
„³ Have you placed your faith in Jesus to forgive your sins, save you, and make for you a reservation in heaven? This is where it all begins. We will never be the kind of parents we are to be to our children until we first get our own lives right with the Lord.
Do your children see and know that being in God¡¦s house is a priority? Monthly, I am confronted by the parent of a student who is having trouble with their son or daughter. Their child is hanging around with a bad crowd¡K.their child is getting into trouble¡K.their child is lying¡K.their child is drinking or experimenting with drugs, etc. . . In 9 out 10 cases, here is what I find¡K.
I am talking to a parent who has never made regular church attendance a priority for themselves or their family. Now don¡¦t get me wrong, that same parent who didn¡¦t make it a priority to bring their child to Sunday school, never let their kid miss a day of school. For that matter, they never missed 1 baseball practice, dance practice, cheerleading practice, soccer practice, piano lessons, DCA meeting, or band practice. Now that their child is in trouble, they want to know what they can do to get them into church.
„³ Here is the fact: If it isn¡¦t a priority for you to serve the Lord, it will not be for your children. If being in SS is not important to you, if worshipping the Lord is not important, if giving is not a priority, then it will not be for your child!
„³ If church is the place you go when there is nothing better to do on Sunday¡Xlike go to the lake, go hunting or fishing, go to the mall, catch the Redbirds game, watch NASCAR, then this is the heart and attitude your children will have toward God¡¦s house!
Let we who are parents determine in our hearts and minds today- on Mother¡¦s Day¡Xthat we will persistently serve God the Father as a matter of intentionality and priority!
