[printable PDF of Mothers][audio MP3 of Mothers]

     Good morningand welcome to the Berean Break.  My name is George A. Sinkie and I want to especially welcome the mothers with us today.  Today is the day that we honor the mothers with Mother’s Day.  Paul wrote about giving honor to whom honor is due.  In Romans 13:7, he wrote, “Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”
     Certainly mothers are due honor.  As we look at this lesson, let’s begin with a word of prayer:

Great God in heaven, We thank You for this day in our lives.  We thank You for our mothers and ask Your blessing on them today.  As we study Your word today may we learn Your truth and make the adjustments to our lives that we need to make.  We thank You for the gift of Jesus and the sacrifice that He made that we can be saved.  And it is in His name we pray, AMEN!!

     Again, a welcome to the mothers with us this morning.  I think that it says something about the type of woman that you are when you take time to study God’s word.  But we all need to remember that studying and knowing God’s word does us no good if we do not obey God’s will.

     I remember back when I was in grade school (one room, one teacher, and eight grades) we would do a program for the mothers.  Usually it would include saying, “A poem for MOTHER” by Howard Johnson, that went like this:
     M...is for the many things she gave me
     O...means only that she’s growing old
     T...is for the tears she shed to save me
     H...is for her heart of purest gold
     E...is for her eyes, with love-light shining
     R...means right, and right she'll always be
     Put them all together, they spell “mother”...a word that means the world to me.

     On today’s program we are going to do another acrostic for the word “mother.”  An Acrostic is where you take the letters of a word and make a point with each one of them.
     Starting out with the letter M,  M is for the Magnificent Hearts the mothers have for their families.  In 1 Kings 3 verses 16-27 we have the story of two mothers.  These women were harlots and they lived together.  This should not be used as support for prostitution which violates God’s will concerning sexual relationships.  The point that is being made here is a demonstration of King Solomon’s wisdom.
     Let’s read 1 Kings 3:16-27, ‘Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.  And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.  And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together.  There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house.  And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on it.  So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom.  And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.” Then the other woman said, “No!  For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No!  For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.  Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No!  For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.  And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!”  Then the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him.  She is his mother.”’
     If one wants to see a truly magnificent heart, he will find it in the tender lines that sacrificial love has drawn upon a mother's face.

     O is for the Oasis that a mother is in our lives.  In the midst of terrible things around us, our mother’s love brings great relief.  Of all the people that surrounded Jesus throughout His life it is Mary, His mother, who was there all the time.  She was there when He was conceived and she was there when He died on the cross.  When Isaac lost his mother Sarah, he was grieving.  His father, Abraham sent a servant to get Isaac a wife from among their own people.
     Take note of what it says in Genesis 24:67, “Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
     Even in her death Sarah was an oasis of comfort to her son
Isaac.

     That brings us to the T in mother, which we are going to use to stand for Thankfulness.  In the book of 1 Samuel chapter one we read of a mother named Hannah.  Well, actually she was not a mother to start with, because she was unable to have a child.  Her name is Hannah and I would encourage you to read her story from 1 Samuel chapter 1.  When God grants her prayer of having a son, she prays a prayer of thanksgiving to God that is found in chapter two of 1 Samuel.  
     Let’s look at a few of those verses.  1 Samuel 2:5-8, ‘“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger.  Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes.  The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.  The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.  He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.”’
     Hannah was thankful that God was in control of all things.  Each of us should be thankful for our mothers.  Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother.”

     The next letter in mother is H and we want to consider the mother’s Helping Hands.  Often throughout the Old and New Testament we see women, often mothers, who are helping others.
     Consider the Shunammite Woman in 2 Kings 4:8-10, ‘Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food.  And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food.  And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually.  Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”’
     Modern writers speak of women as being nurturers, but basically that is the same thing that the Bible shows us in the helping hands of the women.

     For the E in mother I want you to think of Extraordinary.  Extraordinary is defined as beyond what is normal or ordinary.  We have seen a number of examples of the extraordinary things that mothers will do for their children.  The harlot mom who was willing for another to have her son rather than him being killed.  Hannah who dedicated her son to the Lord and at age three left him before the Lord in Shiloh – seeing him only once a year.
     Another extraordinary mom was Jochebed - turn over and read her story in Exodus 2:1-3, “Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.  And the woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.  But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch.  Then she put the child into it, and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.”
     Do you recognize her?  She is the mother of Moses.  Because she was extraordinary and saved her son from death, he went on to do great things for God.

     Our final letter is R and with it let’s think of how moms should be a Reflection of God’s Love.  When Christianity came to the island of Crete, the influence of Satan had taught women not to Love the way God wanted them to love.  As Paul gave Titus instructions for various groups of people, he encouraged the older women to teach the younger women.  Read with me Titus 2:4, “that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children.” Unfortunately our culture is influenced by Satan as well and therefore the love of mothers is often lacking.

     As we put this all together we have “mother,” a word that means the world to me.  King Lemuel spoke some fitting words that I would like to close out with now.  Turn with me to Proverbs 31:10-31, ‘An excellent wife, who can find?  For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.  She looks for wool and flax, And works with her hands in delight.  She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.  She rises also while it is still night, And gives food to her household, And portions to her maidens.  She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.  She girds herself with strength, And makes her arms strong.  She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.  She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.  She extends her hand to the poor; And she stretches out her hands to the needy.  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.  She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.  Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.  She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.  Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.  She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.  Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.’
     We here at the Lord’s church - the church OF Christ, would like to wish all the mothers a Happy Mother’s Day.  Just as that honor is due to mothers, God is due honor as well.  We at the Lord’s church want to invite you to come and meet with us as we gather at 1600 East First Avenue here in Mitchell, SD.  You would be our welcome guests.

     This Berean Break is brought to you, in love, by the pre-denominational and non-denominational church of Christ that meets at 1600 East First Ave. in Mitchell SD.  You are welcome to meet with us at 10:00 Sunday mornings for our assembly followed by a time of Bible Study, also on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for an additional time to study God's Word.  If you have a comment or a sincere Bible question, please phone us at 605-770-5555.  We want to remind you of the non-denominational TV program, “KNOW YOUR BIBLE” on KDLT-TV at 9:00 on Sunday mornings.  This is George A. Sinkie for the Lord's church, here in Mitchell, good-bye for now.  Remember that we care about you and may God bless you as you do His will.

[printable PDF of Mothers][audio MP3 of Mothers]