Famous Moms

Well, there's an old proverb that an ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. There's a lot of truth to that proverb. Certainly, the influence of mothers is legendary. Augustine credits his salvation to the prayers of his mother. Rimbrant said that his mother was the inspiration for his art. Tudson Taylor tells the story that he was converted as he actually listened to his mother praying for his salvation. Jonathan Edwards was led to the Lord by his mother. John and Charles Wesley greatly impacted and shaped by their godly mother Susanna, who had 19 children, all of whom went on to live productive, influential careers. She may have influenced the British Empire more than anyone else in history. Billy Graham said that he got his love for the Bible from his mother. Mothers, no doubt, have an amazing impact in the family. But I know that some of you moms came today and you're thinking, this is tough. It is tough being a mom. It can be very taxing and you wonder if you're accomplishing anything of eternal value. There are days when you think, I'll never be a Susanna Wesley. I'll never be the kind of mother that influences the whole world like that. I can hardly get anything done during the day. One mother by the name of Sherry Webster overheard her 18-month-old daughter rehearsing some of the noises that she was learning. You know, I kids do that. They hear a noise of an animal and they talk about that and rehearse that. So she's saying sheep, baha, cow, moo, doggy, woof, woof, mommy, no, no, no. I know that some of you moms feel like that will be your lasting impact on your family. If the only thing they'll ever remember about you. And some days are like that, right? And some weeks are like, some months are like that. And so you wonder as a mom, am I really making the impact I'd hoped and prayed I would make? Well, no mother is perfect. Just like no father is perfect. No woman is perfect. No man is perfect. No one has ever lived the perfect life on this earth except our Savior, the Lord Jesus. So without creating undue pressure to be the perfect mom, I want us to look at some examples of mothers in the Bible today. In fact, we're just going to take kind of a whirlwind trip through the Bible and we're going to look at some famous moms in the Bible and the example they are for moms today. These moms are moms that are well known. You'll recognize them all. You'll probably remember most of their names, maybe all of them. But they are moms that each in their own way set an example for what a mom ought to be. Let's begin with the very first mom of all in Genesis chapter three. Eve is an example of a hopeful mother, a hopeful mother, one who had hope for her children that God would use them and do great things in and through them. The story really begins in Genesis chapter three and it actually begins with a part of the curse, what we call the curse or God's judgment on mankind and on nature because of man's first sin. Adam and Eve sinned and in the verse we're going to read the actual judgment is intended towards Satan himself for his role in the fall of man. In chapter three and verse 15, God says this to Satan. He says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers. He speaking of the offspring, the seed of the woman will crush your head and you will strike his heel. So Eve, the first mother, is involved in this judgment on Satan because this judgment on Satan has to do with the offspring of the woman and the offspring of Satan or the descendants or followers of Satan, if you will, and Satan himself. And the prophecy that is made, which is often called the first prophecy of the gospel, is at the end of the verse where it says, he, the offspring of the woman, the Messiah will crush your head and you, Satan will strike his heel. The idea is that Satan will inflict a temporary wound on the Messiah but there is one who is coming, who the New Testament identifies as Christ, the Messiah, one who is coming, who will actually deal an eternal blow to Satan. This probably refers to the cross where there is a temporary three day blow to Jesus before he comes out of the tomb, but his very death, that wound which Satan inflicted on him, is the wound which he in turn inflicts eternally on Satan himself and crushes his head. Often this is referred to as the first promise of the gospel. And so following this promise and prophecy of the seed of the woman, the offspring of the woman, notice what Adam does in verse 20. Adam named his wife, Eve, which comes from the Hebrew word for to be or to live because she would become the mother of all the living. So there's hope there. She's going to be the mother of all the living. She is going to be the one through whom the promise comes that her offspring will crush the head of Satan himself. And she has great hope. Adam has great hope in that promise. So what happens when their first child is born? Chapter 4, verse 1. Adam made love to his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to King. King means to be acquired or to be brought forth to obtain from the Lord. And she names her firstborn, King. She said, with the help of the Lord, I have brought forth or I have acquired a man. Now obviously this is a little baby. So what she sees in this little baby is the potential of a man. And not just any man, I think included in that hope for this man is that he will be the seed, the offspring, the one who will crush Satan. And undo the damage that he has done. There is that expression of hope in her very naming of her firstborn. But if you know the story, you know that Eve would become the first mother whose hopes for a child were dashed. The first mother who would suffer anguish as she watched her son turn away, rebel against God, murder his brother and create a distance between himself and the rest of the family. Part of that was a geographical distance because of God's judgment on him. Part of it was a relational distance that evidently was never healed in that family. And if you think of it, she is the mother who would first feel that anguish, that pain. But it does not don't her hope for her family. Notice if you will at the end of chapter 4, she has a third son. Chapter 4 verse 25, Adam made love to his wife again and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, which means given or granted. Why did she name him that? Saying God has granted me another child in place of able since cane killed him. It's obvious that cane is not going to fulfill the promise of chapter 3 verse 15. Obviously able will not fulfill that promise either, but she still has hope that Seth may be that one who will fulfill the promise. What I see in Eve, the mother of the living, is that she never loses hope that God will somehow fulfill his purpose through her children. Seth brought her joy. She did not lose hope. And so I challenge you as mothers this morning. Be a hopeful mother. Believe in your children. Communicate that hope, that belief, that confidence in them, that they are made in the image of God. They are a special work of God. Give them hope for their person. Build into them the potential of how God could use them. Believe in their future success. Teach them that they are a special gift from God. And God can use them in an amazing way. In however he sees fit, that's what Eve had hope of. And I challenge each of you as mothers to have that hope. Reinforce that in your children. Reinforce their value, their potential. Don't tear them down with your words. Don't call them names. You're just a dummy. You're a blockhead. Don't do that. Don't call them names. Don't apologize for them in public. Well, he just don't do that. You'll tear your children down. Build hope into them. Always express that you love them and you believe in them. And you believe that in God's great providence they have tremendous potential to be something for the Lord. Always build that into them. Back when our youngest daughter, Missy, was in high school. Stephen Curtis Chapman put out an album. I think it was 2005. The album called All Things New. And on that album, he had a song called I Believe in You. And I remember the first time I heard it. I thought, I'm going to play this for Missy. And I played it for her and she wept openly. And our other two girls were already married and gone, but I would play the same song for them. And my wife has lived out this song much better than even I have. I want you to hear it. It communicates a special message of hope and belief in your children. I believe in you. I'll choose a little one and hit in my arms afraid of the thunder. I'll use the little hand that helps or tights your mind. Then we both agree. You never grow up and now you're here. And here you come. Of all the things I want to say. The things you really need to know. It's I believe in you. I believe in you. Everything you are. Everything you are the calling. And I believe in you. I believe in you. So spread your wings and fly. On the web of no-night. I'll always believe in you. So many prayers we pray. So many dreams to get to this moment. Now this is where we stay. Why you go change the world? But I'll be where I have always been. I'll bend the stairs cheering you on. Singing this song. A song that very God who made you has been singing all along. I believe in you. Yeah, believe in you. So spread your wings and fly. On the web of no-night. I'll always believe in you. And when you rise and when you fall. I'll believe in you. Just cause you're rising you'll be calling. I believe in you. Oh, I believe in you. I believe in you. Yeah, I believe in you. Everything you are. Everything you are becoming. And I believe in you. Yeah, I believe in you. So spread your wings and fly. On the web of no-night. I'll always believe in you. I'll always believe in you. I'll always believe in you. That song is for Amy and for Ruth and for Missy. But that song has been lived out by my wife and their mother. She's the most encouraging person I know. And she has always lived out that hope for our children. Be a hopeful mother. Whether they rise or they fall. Always believe in your kids. Hope in them. Build that hope. That encouragement into them. Eve was a hopeful mother. Second mother. I want us to see in the scriptures is Sarah. Turn over to Genesis 21. Genesis chapter 21. Sarah is a submissive mother. You'll see what I mean by that in just a moment. But let's first of all recount the miraculous birth of her son Isaac. Isaac was born when Sarah was 90 years old. Think about that, ladies. Wouldn't that be great to be 90 years old? I see a lot of head shaking. No, 90 years old. Abraham's 100. Okay. So this is a miraculous birth. The Bible makes it clear they were both beyond the years of childbearing. And it was impossible humanly speaking for this to happen. But it does happen in answer to God's perfect will and plan. Genesis 21 verse one. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said and the Lord did the Sarah what he had promised Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the very time. God had promised him Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. Isaac means laughter. And there was a lot of laughter in their household at that age to have a little one verse six. Sarah said God has brought me laughter and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. And she added who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children yet I have born him a son in his old age a miraculous birth. How important this son would be to Abraham because in this son God had fulfilled and was fulfilling all of the promises he had made to Abraham about having descendants making him a great nation. Blessing the whole earth through his descendants. And at 100 years old he has his first descendant of the Lord. He had had a son earlier but he had this first son this son of promise that God would use to fulfill his promise. But the thing that Sarah is best known for in the New Testament besides her faith is her submission to her husband Abraham look at these verses from first Peter chapter three while Peter is talking about the role of a wife and being a submissive helper to her husband. He uses Sarah as the example from the Old Testament he says for this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves they submitted themselves to their own husbands like Sarah who obeyed Abraham and called him her Lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. That kind of submission and respect calling him her Lord. Hear that ladies you know I've always thought Lord John has a nice ring to it. That right honey. The idea is respect here the term Lord literally means sir it's a term of respect she's not referring to him is deity but in respect for fashion. Now I know what some of you are thinking what is her submission to her husband have to do with mother and mother's day John you just wanted to work that in right you're talking to mom talking to women you just want to work that submission deal in right that's not really the point. The fact that she was submissive to her husband was communicated to her son Isaac. She taught him both by her model and by her example and by her teaching or training she taught him to have respect. For his father so much so. He saw it modeled in her he also heard it no doubt from her so much so that the next chapter chapter 22 when Isaac is probably 16 or 17 years old and Abraham by now would be 116 or 117 years old God remember commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering. Never intended that he would actually take the life of his son but as a test of his faith as we know at the end of the story. But they make the journey to the mountain where he will be sacrificed Isaac doesn't know yet what's going on they walk up with the mountain with all the elements they will need for the sacrifice and they get to the top and Isaac looks around and says where's the lamb for the offering and Abraham responds God himself will provide a lamb. Many proceeds to build the author. Binds Isaac and puts him on that author. Now remember Abraham's 116 17 years old Isaac is probably 16 or 17. He's grown up on a farm. He knows what it means to work hard. He's a strong young man. He could have easily overpowered his father and yet through this whole ordeal what you see is a submission to his father. No doubt not understanding what was happening but with an absolute confidence in his father and respect for his father. I think he learned that at the feet of his mother Sarah. Now please please understand what I mean and don't mean by submission. I'm talking about wives. Mothers be submissive to your husbands in a biblical sense. This is not being a doormat being stepped on and abused and ridiculed by an abusive husband. That's not the idea here at all. In fact the way this is supposed to work in God's Providence and God's plan for the home is that the husband is to represent Christ and be a loving leader and always make decisions and act in a way that will bless and benefit his wife. And the wife is to be a loving helper to the leadership of her husband. That's the way it's supposed to work. Headship and submission. The responsibility of the wife is to recognize that God has given your husband the father of your children a place of spiritual leadership in the home. If you recognize that and you build that respect into your children they will more likely develop a proper view of masculine and feminine roles in the home and in life. It is well documented that domineering mothers and weak passive fathers are a recipe for gender identity confusion on the part of children. They do not learn how to respond to a man in the home, a father in the home and they do not really understand what the role of a woman or a wife is. Although there are lots of other reasons and I don't mean to slight those but one of the greatest reasons for gender confusion is the model that has been presented in the home or the lack of a proper model that's been presented in a home. Again, this is not an issue of keeping a woman in her place or of denying equal opportunities for women. It's not that. This is recognizing a God given function of both man and wife in the home of two equal persons both created in the image of God but recognizing that in order for the home to function is God designed. There are unique roles for each one, a role of leadership for the husband, a role of submissive helping him fulfill that leadership on the part of the wife. If you are a submissive mother you're presenting a good model for your children so I challenge you be a submissive mother like Sarah. Okay, let's move on a few more pages and find the third mother her name is Jacobeyd and her story is in Exodus chapter two. So flip over a few pages to Exodus chapter two. Jacobeyd is the example for us of a trusting mother, a trusting mother one who has great faith in the plan of God for her child. To set the scene for the story we're in Egypt the children of Israel are captive slaves in the country of Egypt and have been for almost 400 years. And the Pharaoh, a Pharaoh that does not recognize Israel and their place in God's plan and purpose has passed a decree in order to stop the development of this nation of Israel within their borders. And this leader of Egypt has passed a decree that every male child will be killed. And so if you're a mother and you have a male child you have a little boy then you are filled with fear. You know that if it is discovered that you have a little boy he will be snatched up by the Egyptian army and be slaughtered. So that introduces chapter two. Now a woman or man of the tribe of Levi married a Levi woman their names are not listed here but in chapter six we know her as Jacobeyd. First two and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son when she saw that he was a fine child and that expression in the original language is a favored child one that somehow she sensed God would use in a special way when she saw that he was a child. She was such a child she hid him for three months. The reason she hid him is she didn't want him to be discovered. If it was discovered she had a baby a boy in the house he would be snatched away from her so she does her best to hide him but look at verse three when she could hide him no longer. You know up to about three months or in that age kids sleep a lot. And so he's a little easier to hide but now he's getting more active he's making more noise he's crying a little more maybe he's got colleague I don't know but anyways three months old she can't hide him anymore so she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reads along the bank of the Nile. Don't misunderstand this little basket is watertight she's covered it with a tar like substance that makes it watertight he's not going to be in danger that way and don't think of her as kind of pushing him out in the river to watch him float away toward the crocodile. She's not really that careless a mom she has strategically built something that will be safe for him and strategically placed it in the the reads and more rushes along the banks of it won't be swept out into the current and she is also strategically placed him where she knows Pharaoh's daughter comes to bathe in the river trusting trusting that God will somehow use this to deliver her son. And God does in an amazing way look at verse four his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him this again as a part of God's providence but a part of also a wise mother saying okay Miriam you you need to go watch and see what happens is older sister verse five then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe and her attendance were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reads and sent her female slave to get it she opened it and saw the baby he was crying and she felt sorry for him the most providential cry of a baby in all of history. God caused him to cry just that moment to soften and touch the heart of Pharaoh's daughter she knew he was a Hebrew baby she says this is one of the Hebrew babies she's the daughter of Pharaoh she knows what's supposed to happen to him but God calls this this little baby to cry think of that in the middle of the night two o'clock in the morning moms. Thank God for crying baby God caused him to cry just at this moment because Pharaoh's daughter's heart was moved and now enters the sister into the picture she sees what's happening she runs up verse seven then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you yes go she answered so the girl went and got the baby's mother. That's amazing. His own mother is now able to take him home with her and nurse him and care for him and train him and teaching until such time as she then must give him up to Pharaoh's daughter. First in when the child grew older she took him to Pharaoh's daughter she became her son. He became her son she named him Moses saying I drew him out of the water what an amazing story. What I find here is a story of faith a story of hiding this little baby in faith trusting that God would providentially deliver him she knew that God had a special plan and purpose for him she doesn't understand how that will work out but she's trusting God. That God will care for him and God will work and in him and through him how I'm sure she has no clue but she believes and trusts God and it's amazing how because she trusts God and leaves him in God's hands God gives him back to her and she's able to actually take him home and care for him now she eventually gives him up but after she's had years of training and opportunity to build in the baby. I'm sure she was terrified what would happen to her little boy but she is trusting God for his protection. I want to challenge every mother here be a trusting mother. I don't know what being a mother is like I know a little bit about being a dad and I watch the mother of my children through the years I know that. But especially a mom being a mom can be terrifying at times all the sudden illnesses that may happen to your children especially when they're young and they can't really explain where it's hurting or what's going on and you're just worried about them constantly all the potential for exuberant playful accident prone children to get hurt. I heard someone just saying this past week about when they were growing up how carefree they were just through caution to the winds and just did everything and looked back now and realized could have been killed a number of times and now they find themselves saying to their children don't do that stop stop you're going to get hurt and that's the way we are when we become parents right because we're terrified of what's going to happen to our kids we're concerned about them our whole lives are wrapped up our hearts are wrapped up in what might happen to them. If you're a mom you must trust God for your children not only their protection from day to day but also trust God for their salvation trust God pray pray and trust him to bring them to the Savior trust God today we put them in his hands when they go off to school when they get that driver's license when they start going on dates trust God as you put them into his hands trust God with his future for their lives and whatever God moves in their heart to do release them to him let them go just like jockabed put her son out not knowing if she would ever see him again she trusted God to fulfill his purpose in his life be willing to give your children up to the Lord for whatever he wants to do with them as a mother don't hold on to them so tightly that you don't let God fulfill his plan and his work in their lives should God move in your child's heart and give them a passion and a desire to serve him in some way as a missionary in some other full-time ministry for him don't stand in the way don't hold them back be willing to make that little arc for them that little basket for them and set them out in the water and trust God to take care of them don't ever be the one who says I'm going to keep them from doing what God wants them to do you don't want to be that mom jockabed gave up her son gave him to Lord trusted him with the Lord and it is amazing how the Lord gave him back you remember what Jesus said maybe the one one of the most crucial principles of the whole Christian life is that he that seeks to save his life will lose it but if you lose your life for my sake in the gospels then you really find it that's a moral principle of God's work and God's universe of God's working in our lives is that if we try to hang on to ourselves or what we what he's given us to tightly we may end up losing it if we're willing to keep it with open hands and let God do whatever he wants to with our children then we really get them back we really see them fulfill God's purpose you don't want to be that mom that stands between your child and God's will for their lives let them go hold them with open hands put them out into the river let God take care of them he will he knows how to do that let him fulfill his purpose be a trusting mother like jockabed so be a hopeful mother a submissive mother a trusting mother but our next mother in the Bible her stories found in first Samuel chapter one Hannah is her name she's well known in the Bible she's often preached on on Mother's Day Hannah is a beautiful example of a praying mother a praying mother just to recount the story quickly in first Samuel chapter one there's a man who's mentioned who has to be a great mother there's two wives penina and Hannah okay you already got problems two wives okay and not for the reason you think I'm going to say it's simply because that was not God's design never God's design always God's design was one man one woman united together for life that's always been God's design there lots of things that match that up but often in the Old Testament because of what was happening in the other cultures around them Jews would take more than one wife that all of them in the other ways created family this harmony so you got a dysfunctional home right off the bat here but it's complicated by the fact that penina was able to bear children Hannah was not she was barren and in that day in that time with every Jewish woman hoping maybe to be the fulfillment of Genesis 3 15 and be the mother of the Messiah this was a this was a horrible burden not to be able to bear children added to that was the fact that every time they went up to the feast in in Shiloh at the tabernacle penina would taunt ridicule Hannah the Bible says so much so that she was her rival and she would provoke her verse seven until Hannah wept and could not eat just made her sick this is an awful situation and then verse eight her husband Elkana would say to her Hannah why are you weeping why don't you eat why are you downhearted don't I mean more to you than 10 sons that probably just added to the problem guys be careful before you ever ask that kind of question don't I mean more to you than just fill in the blank be careful guys about asking that kind of question that's probably not the most appropriate question for Elkana to ask don't I mean more to you than 10 sons you know you might just hear no you don't okay but this is a grief stricken woman what does she do with her grief what does she do with her pain she prays verse 10 in her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord weeping bitterly in verse 11 she makes a vow Lord if you will remember my pain my mystery and look upon me and give me a son then I'll give him back to you as a Nazarete as one who is fulfilling a special vow to God she's praying in the high priest observes her and thinks she's drunk because her lips are moving but she's not saying anything he challenges her about that in verse 15 not so my Lord Hannah replied I am a woman who is deeply troubled I've not been drinking wine or beer I was pouring out my soul to the Lord do not take your servant for a wicked woman I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief and God answered her prayer verse 20 gave her a son Samuel which means asked of the Lord and she fulfills her vow to give him back to the Lord after he's old enough to leave her he has taken to the tabernacle and raised to be a servant of God there Hannah was a praying mother can you imagine after she takes him to the tabernacle she and her husband see him once a year I can only imagine how much she must have prayed for him every day I mean she has that characteristic right so I don't think I'm reading too much into the text that she would pray for him constantly I want to challenge every mother here this morning be a praying mother pray for your children pray like mad for your children pray for their salvation pray for their daily needs to be met pray for their care in the sovereign hand of God pray for their growth pray for them to make right choices as they begin to flex their wings and spread their wings and fly out on their own pray for them for God's leading pray that God will use them pray pray pray pray for your children be a praying mother like Hannah but there's another mother in the Bible that I think serves as a great example for moms she may be the most well known mother in Luke chapter 1 Mary Mary who is an example of an obedient mother you know the story in Luke chapter 1 verses 26 to 38's familiar Christmas story sometimes it seems a little odd to look at these texts other than Christmas but they're part of God's word we should look at them at any time the angel appears to Mary in verse 26 says to her in verse 28 greetings you who are highly favored the Lord is with you Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be but the angel said to her do not be afraid Mary you have found favor with God you will conceive and give birth to a son and you're to call him Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the most high the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over Jacobs descendants forever and his kingdom will never end it's like all the old testament prophecies are coming together in this one announcement of the angel and no doubt Mary's head is swimming but there's only one thing she can think of right now verse 34 how will this be Mary asked the angel since I am a virgin basically she's saying wait a second you're talking about me having a child I'm a virgin I can't have a child verse 35 the angel answered the Holy Spirit will come on you and the power of the most high will overshadow you so the Holy one to be born will be called the son of God son of God no doubt or head is still kind of swimming with all of this information but notice her response in verse 38 I am the Lord servant Mary answered may your word to me be fulfilled in the angel left her no more explanation I am sure she had lots of questions I am sure she began to wonder what all this would mean for her but she was obedient looking back on it today we know some of what that obedience cost her how much of this she could see we don't know obviously she would know some of it it would cost her her reputation in a small Jewish town where everyone would think she had been unfaithful to the man she was engaged to and the marriage would have to be annulled or broken actually a divorce would have to take place and she would forever be looked down on in that community ridiculed shunned so beans would cost her obedience to God's plan nobody else would understand it would cost her greatly but her response is still I am your servant may your word to me be fulfilled I am going to be obedient to you Lord and I want to challenge every mother here this morning be an obedient mother model obedience to God to your children you see you are the first authority figure they ever encounter in their lives obviously dads too but this is mother's day okay so you are the first authority figure they see they are going to learn what it means to be respectful and obedient to authority from you so it's got to start early it's got to start with picking up their toys and cleaning up the room and making their bed and those kind of simple chores that you are building into them what obedience means that when something is said by an authority figure your first response should be I am your servant may your word be fulfilled in me all right I am going to obey without questioning I am going to obey I think the most consistent form of discipline for young children should be when they disobey a directive of their parents don't let that slide parents you are teaching early on how they will respect or not respect authority you have got to win those early battles I know things have changed since my kids were little I understand that culture is very different and I don't agree with all that's changed because a lot of what's changed is that now we're supposed to do everything the way the kids want it done and to please them and to make sure they're not damaged in any way the greatest damage you will ever do to your child is if you do not teach them to respect authority if you do not build obedience into them if you do not win those early battles then you will seriously permanently damage your children I'm not talking about being an overbearing parent I think you could ask Amy that might be a little dangerous like you could ask her this morning and she would say we weren't too rough on them although there was a good bit of discipline training model obedience for your children as they watch you be obedient to God but also trained them to be obedient to you and be responsible in their lives so that they learn how to function properly in life no matter where you go you're going to have an authority figure over you if you work a job you're going to have someone who's responsible to give you direction and tell you what to do you've got to learn to understand authority structures in life and the place you learn it is at the knees of your parents your mother and father parents you have the responsibility moms you have the responsibility to teach your children what it means to be obedient one final parent you may not know her as well but she is a highly impactful parent second Timothy chapter one her name is Eunice you may not know her as well as you know her son her son is Timothy what a godly mother this was a teaching mother an example of a teaching mother to help kind of understand their family dynamic and why she is such an important teacher in Timothy's life you have to go back to a verse in Acts chapter 16 and verse 1 where the Bible says that Paul came to Derby Paul's on his second missionary journey comes to Derby and then to Listera where a disciple noticed that a disciple named Timothy lived whose mother was a Jewess and a believer notice that's especially notice she was a believer but in distinction in contrast whose father was a Greek so he has a non religious background to start with but the sharp contrast that's drawn here leads us to believe that he was also not a believer he probably did not know the Lord and so Timothy grows up with a godly mother who is a believer who loves the Lord a father who probably did not know the Lord so with that background we come to to second Timothy chapter 1 and verse 5 Paul says to Timothy I am reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother lowest and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded now lives in you also don't misunderstand this Paul is not saying that faith is passed down from grandmother to mother to child he is not saying that he fleshes that a little bit more for us in chapter 3 so look at chapter 3 of 2 Timothy verse 14 he says to Timothy but ask for you continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know that you know those from whom you've learned it and how from infancy you've known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus so it's not that faith is passed down from generation to generation automatically I grew up in a Christian hall I'm a Christian that's a terrible mistake nobody gets into heaven on their parents' coattails God has no grandchildren he only has children you have to personally yourself trust Christ as your Savior but notice what Paul says the way the faith was communicated from lowest to Eunice to Timothy was through the teaching of the word of God so he says to Timothy that from infancy you've been exposed to the Holy Scriptures you've been taught the word of God and you know those whom you learned it from from infancy you've known the Scriptures so from a very early age lowest and Eunice were teaching young Timothy the Bible I want to challenge every mother here this morning be a teaching mother don't leave the spiritual education of your children to the church alone we are only partners to help you give your resources but you are the primary teachers for your children of spiritual things so moms teach your children don't leave it to Sunday school to Bible fellowships to church children's ministries and youth ministries you train them in the word you say where do I start do I just start reading the Genesis oh there's so many resources today partner with the Awana program or let us partner with you as a parent the Awana handbooks are a great place to start to disciple your own children make sure they come to Awana on Wednesday night with verses learned and truths understood in your time when you put your kids to bed or have family of oceans or however you do it use the Awana material there's some ready made material for you there build into your kids help them understand the truths of Scripture there's so many other resources online and by way of music and even in our library lots of children's resources how to help train your children take advantage of every opportunity but even more than all of that official training take advantage of daily moments Deuteronomy 6 talks about the most effective training of children is when you're on the way somewhere when you get up in the morning lie down at night just in the daily routine when things come up you see something they ask a question there's an issue that you need to deal with the right or wrong train them teach them the word of God you are the primary teachers of your children so moms be a teaching mother train your children the word of God be a good mom I challenge you be a hopeful mother a submissive mother a trusting mother a praying mother an obedient mother a teaching mother what great models we have for us here in the Scriptures Barbara Bush died on April 17th she was admired certainly by her family the what she had done as a mother was certainly seen in her family she was admired by so many others as well but not by everybody during the 1988 presidential campaign when her husband was running for president she was interviewed by NBC's Jane Paulie and a push against Mrs Bush's role as a homemaker Paulie said Mrs Bush people say your husband is a man of the eighties and you're a woman of the forties what do you say to that well obviously that kind of thing was purposefully condescending purposefully diminishing her role as a homemaker but she embraced it gave a great answer about how that was the most blessed role most important role any woman could ever have two years later she was announced as the commencement speaker the upcoming graduation for the all female Wellesley College which has been known through the years for its very liberal stances on issues 150 students signed a petition protesting that she was not a suitable role model for modern women but she went anyway and did the graduation speech and at that graduation she made a statement that has become probably her best one liner her best statement most quotable statement it was this at the end of your life remember she's addressing lots of young ladies most of whom disagree with her about who she is as a homemaker she says at the end of your life you will never regret not having passed one more test winning one more verdict or closing one more deal you will regret at the end of your life time not spent with a husband a child a friend or a parent I read about a young mother this week who learned that the hard way as many of us parents do ladies name is Cindy Ladege she wrote this in chicken soup for the mother's soul and I just want you to know especially you guys I don't read chicken soup for the mother's soul it's not my kind of reading I just want you know that I found this in another resource okay but this mother Cindy Cindy Ladege told the story about a day of reckoning for her when she realized she was missing her kids growing up because she was too busy she says this it was a day like so many others when I didn't have time to see the hawk that my daughter pointed out with the other things she hoped mommy would notice phone calls and tasks she writes consume the evening so that they rush through the bedtime routine just like most other nights her daughter said she had something to give her but there wasn't time Cindy was needed to get to some other things and so she promised she would look at it tomorrow and her little seven year old daughter dropped her head on her pillow and said you won't have time tomorrow either so Cindy walked out of the room closed the door and her husband could see in her face that she was frustrated discouraged tired and a few minutes later suggested to her why don't you go back in and just talk to her for a few moments and so Cindy went back in the room her little daughter was already asleep she found something on the floor it was a torn crumpled up sheet of paper that she was going to give her mom that night when she kind of pieced it back together and spread it out here's what she found a little poem written by her daughter why I love my mother this is what she'd written although you're busy and you work so hard you always take time to play I love you mommy because I'm the biggest part of your busy day when she read those words and realized they had been torn and crumpled up and thrown on the floor her heart broke and tears started streaming down her face she quickly got up went in made a cup hot chocolate went back in the room woke her daughter up said honey I've got something for you her little groggy seven year old daughter woke up and gleefully took the hot chocolate and they drank some hot chocolate together and they talked and Cindy said honey this is for you because you really are the most important part of my busy day and that night her seven year old daughter fell asleep with Cindy stroking her hair and telling her how much she loved her I don't read that story to give guilt trips to moms who are very busy but just to remind you the most important thing you will ever do in life is impact your family so be a hopeful mother ever lose hope in your kids be a submissive mother model for your children proper male female identity be a trusting mother willing to give them into the hands of God be a praying mother be an obedient mother and be a teaching mother none of us do those things perfectly no mother in this room will do them perfectly but make that your ideal these examples of great moms are your example today let's pray together father thank you for our mothers our wives who have been the mothers of our children thank you father for every woman in this room that models these characteristics maybe imperfectly but it's their goal their desire and I pray father for every woman in this room that each one would seek and strive by your grace to be all that you've intended them to be these examples to be the moms that their families need we ask in Jesus name amen