Mountainview International Church

Great, fun song! Thanks you! Welcome again to our Mother’s Day service. Welcome also to Julia Victoria Valenzuela–Gonzalez. The newest addition to the MV Community!

A while back a friend sent me an e-mail entitled, “why boys need parents”. It’s a bunch of pictures that basically show us why we need a Mum. Would you like to see some?

[Show 13 pictures + some commentary]

Today is a special day that we set aside to honour mums in Spain, for who you are and the important part you they play in our lives and in the life of this church.

I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. About half way through Acts we come across a young man called Timothy who joins Paul in his ministry. Have you ever received a letter? A bit later on in the New Testament we find two letters that Paul wrote to Timothy. In the second letter Paul says this to Timothy:

[Child to read]

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also
(2 Timothy 1:5)

Porque tengo presente la fe sincera que hay en ti, la cual habitó primero en tu abuela Loida y en tu madre Eunice, y estoy seguro que en ti también.
(2 Timoteo 1:5)

Paul is reminded of Timothy’s sincere faith that he got from his mother which she had got it from her mother. This verse reminded me of the important place that Mums can play in the faith of their children. I thought of other Mums in the bible who had a huge impact on the children. One that stuck out was Hannah, the mother of Samuel.

Hannah was very sad because she couldn’t have any children. We are told that she prayed earnestly to God, that if He would give her a baby boy she would give him back to God. God heard her prayer – she gives birth to a boy and names him Samuel (which means “God heard”). When he is old enough she gives Samuel back to God. He lives at the temple. We read that every year when Hannah visits the temple she brings clothes for Samuel. Hannah helps Samuel to become one of the greatest spiritual leaders in Israel’s history.

Adults, when we read the story in I Samuel, when Hannah gives birth to Samuel she sings a song that’s not too dissimilar to the song Mary sang when the angel told her she was going to be the mother of the messiah. The Gospel writers are connecting Mary with Hannah and Jesus with Samuel. Samuel was a great prophet. Jesus would be the greatest prophet ever!

Before we look Hannah a bit further. I was looking on YouTube and found a short video clip called The Worst Mother’s Day Ever. Shall we see the clip?

Mums I hope that you are, and will have, a better day than the mum in the video.

So what does Hannah teach us about the place mums play in our faith?

1. Mums pray for us:

Hannah prayed earnestly for a baby and when God blessed her with a Samuel she prayed prayers of thanks and praise to God. I’m sure that even after Samuel started to live at the temple she prayed for Samuel every day. She probably prayed for him when he was a grown man and important leader.

Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley apparently spent one hour each day praying for her 17 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters. Two of her sons, Charles and John, were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America too.

My Mum used to pray for me and Riekje and for her grandchildren every day.

Let’s take a moment to thank our Mums for their prayers, (Kids: THANK YOU) and Mums keep on praying. Only eternity will show you the difference that your prayers are making.

2. Mums provide for us:

We read (Get another child to read):

Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. (I Samuel 2: 19)

Su madre le hacía una túnica pequeña cada año, y se la traía cuando subía con su marido a ofrecer el sacrificio anual. (I Samuel 2: 19)

A teacher once asked a boy this question: "Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you--your parents and five children (like the Piano family). What part of the pie would you get?" "A sixth," replied the boy. "I'm afraid you don't know your fractions," said the teacher. "Remember, there are seven of you." "Yes, teacher," said the boy, "but you don't know my mother. Mother would say she didn't want any pie."

Mums provide for us and look after us. Mums will give sacrificially of themselves so that their children are provided for.

The other day I revisited a video that we made for Mother’s Day in 2007. I was struck with how much the kids at MV had grown up. One conclusion to be drawn is that the Mums at Mountainview have been doing a great job in providing for the practical needs of their children.

Let’s take a moment to thank our Mums for looking after us. (Kids: THANK YOU)

3. Mums point us towards God

One of the most challenging tasks for any mum is to be a daily, living, demonstration of the reality of God before their family. This point is a bit harder to pin-point to a specific verse in Samuel. If we read the first few chapters of I Samuel we see there is a contrast made between Eli, the priest, who did not guide his sons to do the right thing and Hannah, the mum, who guided Samuel towards God and helped him develop into one of the greatest spiritual leaders of Israel.

Mums let’s keep on with this greatest of challenges – to point our kids towards God. Let’s take a moment to thank our Mums for all they do to demonstrate to us the reality of God. (Kids: THANK YOU)

Conclusion:

There is a story told that during a great battle a chaplain came to see a man who had been injured and was dying. He took the young soldier's hand and said, "Brother, what can I do for you?"

The young man replied, "I want you to kneel down and thank God for me."

An unusual request from someone who is dying!

"Thanks for what?" asked the chaplain.

So the soldier replied, "Thank him for my mother. Thank him that because of her I am a Christian. What would I do now if I were not a Christian?

[Let us pray]