This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on May 12th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here. 

Honouring Your Mother on Mother’s Day

 There are so many special days that we celebrate. In fact, the greeting card company is making a lot of business out of these special days. The original Mother’s Day holiday was celebrated hundreds of years ago. It originated in America when a woman by the name Anna Jarvis held a small memorial service for her own mother to express her gratitude for all the sacrifices she made for her daughter.

Mothers sacrifice a lot from the time they deliver a baby. Even though the delivery process is painful, it brings great joy when you hold the baby.

What does the Bible say about parents, especially mothers?

Exodus 20:12 - “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

We all want to live longer. People are trying out different things to live longer. It is very simple – honour you father and mother. The Bible is clear about this.

If you look into the Bible, you will see that women played a very important role in the life of the Israelites. The deliverance started with one woman, Jochebed, the mother of Moses. Hannah didn’t have children for a long time and she cried out to God. He blessed her with Samuel. Samuel was used by God to anoint Saul and David. We see more women – Ruth, great great great grandmother of David. Eunice and Lois, grandmother, and mother of Timothy. They passed on their faith Timothy. Mary was a young girl and God used her for a great purpose. She conceived as a virgin to bring Christ into the world.

You mothers, have a very important role to play in your children’s lives.

How do we, as children, treat our mothers?

When we’re 4, we think mom can do anything, when 12, we think mom doesn’t know everything, when 14, we think mom doesn’t know anything, when 25+, we think mom knows something, when 35+, we go to her for advice and later as we grow older we wish we could talk to mom.

What is the biblical response to mothers?

1.      Obey her.

Ephesians 6:1 - Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

As a child, your responsibility is to obey your parents. Obey and follow cheerfully. Do the chores happily, willingly, cheerfully and immediately. As you grow little older, the understanding is different, you can think and reason with others. As you are older, you are called to honour and respect your mother – greet her, serve her, talk to her, listen to her. Don’t bad mouth her in front of others. Uphold her in honour, appreciate her, thank her, love her.

2.      Love her.

Love your mother unconditionally. Sometimes our love can be conditional. Mothers may not be able to do everything. As, children we are called to love our mothers unconditionally.

At every age, your mother needs affection. So, hug her with no limit.

Women go through different phases – sickness, tiresome, anxiety, stress etc. So, listen to them attentively by looking at them.

3.      Remember her.

Remember her gratefully. Call her up and express your thankfulness. Do it while she’s still alive.

4.      Give her.

Give her gifts, cards, or anything small. The greatest gift you could give is the gift of your presence.

They may need financial help. If they can’t manage it all by themselves, we need to stand by them, help them and support them financially.

Mothers towards children:

1.      Provide godly example.

Give yourselves a time of prayer and the Word. Lead a life that imparts good and godly values to your children.

2.      Pray for your children.

In the 1820s, a guy named Peter Richley, who was fed up with life decided to travel from UK to Australia and so boarded a ship. On the way, the ship he boarded sank and he was rescued and put on a second ship. This way, he went through 5 shipwrecks and finally was put on a 6^th ship. While he was on the 6^th ship, the doctor who examined him and declared he was fit, asked him for a favour. There was an old lady on the ship who couldn't see well and had not been keeping well. She’s been praying to see her son who disappeared many years ago. The doctor asked Peter if he could pretend to like her son. He agreed and went to see the old lady. To his surprise, it was his own mother sitting there. His mother had been praying to see her son for many years. Finally, it took 5 shipwrecks to bring Peter to her.

Prayers of a mother are powerful. They can change the destiny of her children.

3.      Be a wonderful wife.

Children see love and unity in marriage as they grow up. It helps them to see what a marriage is. So be a wonderful wife.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.