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Order of Service
Call to Worship: Geoff Thompson
Hymn: YOU SERVANTS OF GOD,YOUR
MASTER PROCLAIM ABH144
Prayer of confession praise and thanksgiving
Hymn: IN HEAVENLY LOVE
ABIDING AHB504
Bible reading:
Acts 2:42-47
Offering and Prayer: Geoff
Hymn: BROTHER LET ME BE
YOUR SERVANT 191A BLUE ALTOGETHER
Bible reading: Psalm
23
Hymn: THE KING OF LOVE MY
SHEPHERD IS
Sermon: Geoff Thompson
The
Christian Mother
Hymn: There’s
a Wideness in God’s Mercy AHB72
Benediction: Because He lives I can face tomorrow. 127
Bible readings
Acts 2 Church is a good place to be!
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church[h] daily those who were being saved.
Psalm 23
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord
the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord
is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.
SERMON
: The
Christian Mother there are of course Non Christian mothers but we are
largely going to focus on the Christian variety today.
Regardless of their faith or lack of it I
believe Mothers are a major gift to the Human race.
Before I start this message today I am
aware of course that not all of us have had a positive experience with our
mothers.
If there are painful memories or existing
situations it is my prayer today that some healing can come in those
situations.
So,
The Christian Mother.
She loves her husband and children totally
selflessly and unconditionally.
She corrects but does not scold her
children.
She provides comfort when they are sick and
tough but caring love when children are misbehaving.
She is a great cook. (One of my daughter in
laws is lucky because my son is a qualified chef.)
She always provides nourishing wholesome
food and warm clothes.
Knows when to give her kid’s treats without
overdoing it.
Never gets upset by her children or
husband’s behaviour and never yells at anyone.
She manages the family budget effortlessly.
Gives out pocket money to her kids but just
the right amount.
If she is a Christian she is always in
prayer for her Kids and family and friends.
Reads stories every night when the kids are
young and prays with them before bed.
Attends all school functions and provides
endless birthday parties for her kids.
Celebrates every achievement of her
Children and makes sure they receive lots of praise but not overdoing it.
Always looks good and well dressed.
And the list goes on and on for the
Christian mother.
Now of course this person really does not
exist.
All of us whether mothers or fathers fall
way short of the ideals that we think we should live up to.
What I am talking about today we should note, much
of it applies to us men as well as the ladies.
As children of mother’s, and who isn’t as
my wife reminded me the other day, we all would have liked to be on the receiving end of such love
and devotion when we were young.
And even now.
Probably sometimes a lot of us have been so
blessed for much of this to have happened.
I have a wonderful mother who if you talk
to her I can never do any wrong.
It does get embarrassing sometimes because
I know the real me.
But my Mum has always tried to live up to
some of these but I don’t recall any discipline whatsoever.
(My Dad did though.)
Never a cross word.
Thoroughly spoilt by my mum.
Now if we have had the ideal mother
experience you would think we would all be well adjusted people, successful,
high self esteem, leaders in our community etc.
But this is not so is it?
Some of us a younger people exasperated our
mothers beyond belief.
However I have seen some mothers fall a bit
short sometimes.
Just a note here about that.
I learnt once that just because we have
discerned or become aware of where a Christian brother or sister is failing as
a Christian, it is not ours to criticize or condemn but to intercede in prayer
on their behalf.
I learnt once that just because we have
discerned or become aware of where a Christian brother or sister is failing as
a Christian, it is not ours to criticize or condemn but to intercede in prayer
on their behalf.
If we are not well adjusted wonderful
people does it imply we have been let down
in our childhood?
Most of us would probably know the passage
that says “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will
not depart from it.”
Many,
surprisingly, kids that is, do actually grow up and mature and become
wonderful rounded people.
Some have broken their mother’s hearts.
There are many situations or types of
mothers that cover just about all that’s good about human beings and some
that’s not so good.
Consider the mum, the young mum, who many
years ago was pressured to have her new born baby adopted out barely having
even held the child at childbirth.
Imagine the years of heartache that young
mum may have had to endure.
Sometimes there have been happy endings
where child and real mother have been re united years later.
Consider the would be mum who has never been able to have a child.
This can cause much anguish.
Consider the mums and their children where
the mother has severe health problems and sometimes serious substance abuse
addictions who have not provided or been capable of giving the love and care
their children needed.
Consider the children of such mums who grow
up feeling bitterness because of this and who have been unable or unwilling to
forgive.
Consider the impact of an overprotective
mother or parents.
When Lesley and I first became Christians
we had the privilege as young people having many in the congregation who were
much older and had been Christians a long time.
One dear lady we called Aunty Rube. Ruby
was her name.
I would often see her out the front of the
Church and ask her how she was.
She always gave me one of 2 stock answers.
“a lot better now that I have seen you”
or “I’ve seen a lot of good times but never
had any!”
She was probably in her 80’s about them.
Did not have a husband and did not have any
children.
One night I dropped her at her place after
she attended a Bible study at our house.
She told me something of her life story
that nigt.
She told me that as a young person she had
very strict, controlling parents.
That she was never allowed to go to dances
or on dates or parties or just about anything right into her 20’s.
Was not allowed to wear fashionable clothes
or makeup.
She eventually broke free from that rigid
situation and met a man and fell in love and they married.
She was still quite young and had only been
married a few months when he was struck down by a tram.
He never recovered and for some time she
nursed him and looked after him until he died.
In talking to her though you did not detect
any bitterness in her manner.
Hopefully she had learnt the secret of forgiveness
and trust in our Lord no matter what.
In knowing her I believe that was the case.
Sadly there are many today who have not been
able to see that if they hang on to bitterness coming out of situations in
families similar to that, then they will never know freedom in their lives and
peace in their hearts.
Jesus does not ask us to “forgive others
our trespasses as we would forgive them” just to be a spoil sport.
It is for our own freedom and well being as
well as restoring fellowship where possible with the one who has hurt us.
On another occasion we were celebrating
mother’s day at Church as we are today.
Members of the congregation were encouraged
to speak up during the service about what their mothers had meant to them.
A few did so and then one dear older lady
got up and said quite deliberately and forcefully.
“ I never knew my mother. I never met her.
But over all these years Jesus has been my mother!”
This lady was a very dynamic Christian
lady.
We had some gems.
There was Mrs Angel. Angel by name and by nature.
She was still coming to church at age 100
and used to do voluntary work at a nursing home help “feeding the old
dears” many probably 20 years younger
than her.
I am sure you have had over the years and
still do many fine mothers and those without children who have been faithful
servants of their Lord in this place and this town and further afield.
The theme in the Bible readings and
suggested worship helps today has been about fellowship, nurturing,
shepherding, community, sharing with each other in a faith community.
I did not venture directly into them but
chose to do so by way of considering the impact our mothers have had on us and
the impact those of us as mothers have had on others.
There is no perfect Christian Family this
side of Heaven but the Christian Family has within it one thing the non
Christian Family does not.(Bearing in mind that the family was God’s idea in
the first place.)
The ability through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ to
recover from the darkest places.
To know renewal and restoration.
So lets go on our way today determined to
love our mothers more,
To forgive them possibly where we have hung
onto some bitterness, even though they might have passed on, where they are
alive to make our peace,
and to decide as mothers to never give up on our
families
and
love them unconditionally with the Love of God.
And if we are a mother or anybody who is
really struggling with something today
to take some steps towards Jesus and His
healing touch.
Maybe
share your plight with a trusted Christian friend.
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