Mother’s Day 2017
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
SERMON INTRODUCTION
Today we are going to talk about Mary, the
mother of Jesus.
Looking at her story, we will see a
picture that has been painted for us in the scripture of a perfect mother.
Thinking about motherhood, I remember
before I had children I had many theories on how to raise children. Now I have
many children and no more theories.
TODAY’S SERMON
“Mary, Mother of Jesus”
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month of
Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name
was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said,
“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and
wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be
afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s
descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel,
“since I am a virgin?”
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. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to
have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be
unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.
“May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Today’s
Message;
“Mary, Mother of Jesus”
I. MOTHERS
ARE AN INTERESTING BREED
a. Mother’s are an interesting breed
i. Not only do they seem to be superhuman at times,
but they all seem to speak the same language.
ii. I remember being at my friend’s house when I was
about 14, and his mother was yelling at him about something, and she was saying
some of the same things my mother would say.
Yet, they had
never met?
Things like;
“Don’t be smart
with me.”
“Keep crying
and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
“Where’s my
change?”
“That’s the
last time I’m going to tell you.”
b. They don’t just speak the same language, but
they share many of the same qualities; tenderness, compassion, mother’s
intuition, sympathy.
i. Sympathy from a mother is different than from a
father.
Few things in
this world are more powerful than the tears and prayers of a mother.
ii. Here’s a fact.
1. Out of the
69 kings of France only 3 were really loved by their subjects and these 3 were
the only ones raised by their mothers, instead of the rest who were raised by
guardians.
iii. Napoleon
once said, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
c. If you were looking for the perfect mother to
leave your one and only child with, who would she be?
i. Would she be wealthy?
Would she live
in a nice place?
Would she be
famous, well educated? Mature? Experienced?
What would be
her characteristics?
II.
THE ONE WHOM GOD CHOSE
a. I learned the
value of a child having a mother 20 years ago
i. As a single parent raising Trenton, I did the best I could as a father
ii. However, there are things a father can never
accomplish, things that God created women specifically for
iii. The role of mother was created by God to be filled
by a woman.
b. I feel I did
OK, but a man can never replace a woman when it comes to being a mother
i. Men lack some of the essentials that
God has created in women to fill that role.
1. Little boy makes a ramp to jump over a thorn bush
with his bike. Immediately crashes in said thorn bush…Mother runs to aid her
child whose only injury is to his pride, dad laughs and says, “Did you learn
anything?”
ii. That does work both ways. A woman could never fill the role of Father.
iii. My father left when I was 11, and my mother was not
equipped to handle me and my brother, although she tried.
c. If anyone tries to tell you that a woman
can take the place of a man, they are wrong.
i. If anyone tries to tell you that
a man can take the place of a woman, they are just as wrong.
ii. God has created us different. The scriptures tell
us so.
iii. This society has done a wonderful job over the past
60+ years or so of telling men they can be women, and women they can be men.
iv. Tearing down the very fabric of what God has
created us to be.
III. Speaking from experience, no father can
take the place of mother.
a. We need to
stop listening to what society says is right or wrong, and start listening to
what God has told us in scripture about what our roles are.
i. He should know, He created us to fill those roles.
ii. God was looking for a woman to raise His Son.
iii. He chose a town with a bad reputation, Nazareth.
iv. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” In this case, yes.
v. He went to a humble cottage and tapped a girl on the shoulder, and
chose her to be the mother of Jesus.
b. Two times in our text Gabriel told Mary that
she was highly favored by God.
i. What was it about Mary that
caught God’s attention?
ii. Were not told the answer to this question directly,
but, through necessary inference, the answer is there in the scriptures, hidden
in the very few and very brief accounts of Mary recorded by the inspired
writers.
iii. I believe that God chose Mary for two reasons.
iv. First, because of what Mary already had, and second,
because of who God knew Mary would become, she had a solid foundation.
v. What did Mary have?
c. Mary had the
right perspective.
i. Can you imagine an angel
appearing and giving you this message?
1. It had to be troubling. After all, she was engaged
at the time to Joseph, and engagements in that day were more serious than many
believe they are today.
2. An engaged woman was considered married already. A
child born during an engagement would have been considered illegitimate.
3. Mary faced rejection by Joseph, the possibility of
raising her child alone in a culture hostile to women, in addition jeopardizing
her reputation and her life if she was accused of unfaithfulness to Joseph.
4. Not to mention Mary probably felt insecure,
unworthy and insufficient for the great task of being the mother of God the
Son, the savior of the world.
ii. I’m sure we have felt the same way when God has
asked any of us to do something for Him. Others in the scriptures did.
iii. Remember Moses when he was given a message and task
by God Himself at the burning bush?
1. “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the
Israelites out of Egypt?”
iv. That would be like God asking one of us to go to
Kim Jong-un while he is still in power in North Korea and telling him to stop
all his nonsense and leave everyone alone.
v. Moses said, “What if they don’t believe or listen to me?”
1. “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
vi. How many times have we felt unsure of God’s
calling?
vii. How many times have we asked Him to pick someone
else?
viii. Mary could have said, “Lord, I’m just a girl. I’m not ready to be a mother. I’m not wealthy, I’m not educated, I’m not
worthy of this. Maybe it would be better
if you got someone else?”
ix. But that’s not what she said. She had the right perspective!
1. Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be
as you have said…”
x. In Luke 2, Mary’s
song is recorded, and in it she tells how she rejoices and is blessed by what
God was going to do in her life.
1. Mary saw motherhood as an honor and a gift.
2. Mother’s today like Mary, need to have the proper
perspective.
xi. They too are servants of God, in all things and
especially in raising God’s children.
xii. Each life is knit in the womb by the hand of the
Almighty.
xiii. Mother’s all share in this responsibility to raise
the children given to them by God.
xiv. Psalm 127:3 (Amplified)
“Behold, children are a heritage from the
Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
xv. God looked upon Mary with favor because she had the
right perspective.
d. He also looked upon her with favor because she
had a solid foundation.
i. And in God’s eyes there is only
one solid foundation…Him, His Word. Jesus spoke on this in;
ii. Luke 6:46-49
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,'
and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who
comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is
like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.
When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it,
because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does
not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground
without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed
and its destruction was complete."
iii. There is no other foundation but the rock, the Word
of God.
iv. So how do we know that Mary had this foundation?
1. In Luke 2,
in Mary’s song it is quite evident that Mary knew the scriptures as there are
at least 30 phrases or words that echo truths from the Old Testament.
v. Mary knew “the Word” and she went beyond that and was one who
enthusiastically and unashamedly praised her God.
vi. Mary’s solid foundation is an example to mother’s
today.
1. A mother who praises her God and knows His Word is
going to make a difference in her child’s life.
2. A mother like that will be planting seeds that will
one day bear fruit.
vii. Psalm 78:3-7
“What we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them
from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes
for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation
would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7
Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands. “
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands. “
viii. 2 Timothy 1:5
“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.”
CONCLUSION – Do you see how
important a mother’s foundation in God’s word is?
Mother’s, how is your foundation? Do you understand who God is?
Do you have His word hidden in your heart and mind so that it supports and
guides you in your life and your motherhood?
Do you know His word well enough to pass it on to your children?
Do you set a good example of one who loves to worship and praise God?
Is your home life built on a solid foundation?
Remember Psalm 127:1 “unless
the Lord builds the house, its builder’s labor in vain…”
We could continue with a mother’s unrelenting protection, unwavering
love and devotion, and more. Mother’s may you have Mary’s kind of love and
devotion for your child.
ALTAR CALL
Today during the altar call, if you have a need or
prayer request and want prayer, come forward and I will pray with you.
If you would like to accept the Lord Jesus as your
savior or rededicate your life to Him, come forward.
If you are a mother who wants prayer for Strength,
guidance, endurance, understanding, compassion, all the attributes that were
becoming of Mary and should fill every mother, come forward.
Want to hear the audio to this sermon? CLICK HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment