Why do we celebrate a secular holiday in Church?

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

-Exodus 20:12

  

Mothers are:

  

A Gift from God.

Everything I am I owe to my mother.

-Abraham Lincoln

  

Great Teachers.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try doing it the way your mom told you to do it from the start.”

  

Great cooks.

My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.

-Buddy Hackett

  

Sacrificial.

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

“The quickest way for a parent to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.”

  

Influencers.

“Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out!”

  

Relentless!

If you are not yelling at your kids, you’re not spending enough time with them.

-Reese Witherspoon

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

-Isaiah 49:15

God could not be everywhere so He made mothers.

-Jewish Proverb

  

Group One: Great mother. Flawed but good.

• Introduced you to Jesus.
• Tried her best to provide, nurture and love.
• Was a good wife to your father.
• Tried her very best to be what you wanted and needed.

  

Group Two: Good mother. Flawed but still good.

• Introduced you to Jesus.
• Provided for your needs.
• But had significant issues.
• Yelled far too much.
• Was not a great wife to her husband.
• Angry, bitter, yelling, belittling.
• Great tension in the home.

What was her home life like? Not making excuses—but what examples did she have in her life that taught her how to be a godly mother?

  

Group Three: Mother with few redeeming qualities.

• Religious but not Christian.
• Totally flawed and unrepentant.
• “This is just the way I am.”
• “This is the way God made me and you have to accept it.”
• Was a burden to your father.
• Was verbally abusive to everyone in the home.
• There is little to no humility or admission of guilt.
• Everything is everyone else’s fault.
• There is no talking to her.

What was her home life like? Not making excuses—but what examples did she have in her life that taught her how to be a godly mother?

  

  

What kind of example did your mother have?

What baggage does she carry that makes it difficult for her to relate to others in a healthy way?

Can you forgive your mother because of the way Jesus forgives you?

  

Three Challenges:

  

1. Your mom has been involved in the ministry of reconciliation for most of her life.

Challenge One: Forgive her. Perhaps she would have been the perfect mother had you been the perfect child.

  

2. Your mom is going to die someday.

Challenge Two: Do not wait until your mother dies to shower her with love and appreciation.

  

3. When your mom dies, you will feel that you can never go home again.

Challenge Three: Run to God. You will find your home in Him.

I wasn't there that morning

When my Mother passed away

I didn't get to tell her

All the things I had to say

  

I think I caught her spirit

Later that same year

I'm sure I heard her echo

In my baby's newborn tears

I just wish I could have told her in the living years

  

Say it loud, say it clear

You can listen as well as you hear

It's too late when we die

To admit we don't see eye to eye.

  

  

  

  

  

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