This document contains a sermon given on Mother's Day about honoring one's mother. The key points are: 1) God honors mothers and puts honoring one's mother on the same level as holiness and keeping the Sabbath. Mothers have great responsibility in raising children for God. 2) Children have a responsibility to honor their mothers both in their youth and old age according to God's commands. There are benefits to doing so such as having one's life go well and living long. 3) Jesus set the example of honoring his mother even while on the cross. The church also has a duty to honor older women as mothers. The sermon exhorts children

1. Mother’s Day Exhortation
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Ptr. J.F. Smith, DMin
Faith Missionary Church & Bible Institute
jfrsmth@gmail.com

2. Leviticus 19:3
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his
father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD
your God.
fear : reverence, respect, rightful regard

3. 1. GOD HONORS MOTHERS
In most places in the Bible, when GOD speaks
of parents, we usually hear about the father
first.

4. Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy
days may be long upon the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee.

5. However, in Leviticus 19:1-3 GOD says:
Leviticus 19: 1-3
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel,
and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God
am holy.
3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep
my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

6. In putting the mother first here, the LORD
indicates that mothers are important too.
Usually, if something/someone is named first, it
is usually of higher priority.

7. GOD is speaking to the Israelites, and in this
passage gives three commands:
1. Be holy
2. Fear your mother (and father)
3. Keep my Sabbaths (holy days)

8. Notice...
Fear your mother...
is sandwiched between...
holiness and keeping Sabbaths.
One sandwich, three elements
Holiness
Keep
Sabbaths
Fear your
mother

9. What does that mean?
• That respect for mothers is part of practical
worship.
• It also suggests that GOD is serious about
respect for mothers…
- not only fathers...

10. Practical Worship : Worship in Action
• Our parents are our first earthly image of
GOD.
• Therefore, to fear our mothers is part of
worshipping GOD.

11. So, GOD commands:
OBEY
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the
Lord: for this is right.
Obey : do what is told; yield to
(Not just dad, but mom too)

12. Ten Commandments
Honor your parents is listed
fifth in order immediately after
the commands relating to GOD
and worship.

13. What does this tell us?
• Honoring our parents is an extension of
worshipping GOD here on earth.
► From heaven (1-4) to earth (5-10)
• GOD has given us parents as our earthly
authorities. . .
His representatives on earth.

14. GOD takes parents seriously, and
since today is Mother’s
(Recognition) Day*, we’re going to
emphasize mothers.
*Sunday is called the Lord’s Day in the NT

15. Sometimes angry children say...
• “My mom is mean”
• “My mom doesn’t know what she is saying”
• “My mom is always nagging me”
• “My mom doesn’t love me”
• “I hate my mother!” They only think of
this woman.

16. But forget...
1. Who carried you in her womb for 9 months?
2. Who endured pregnancy for you?
3. Who labored with you?
4. Who fed you from her breast when you were a baby?
5. Who prepared milk and changed your diapers?

17. 6. Who carried you and sang to you, to put you to
sleep?
7. Who took you to the hospital when you were
sick?
8. Who gave you medicine?
9. Who woke up late at night to take care of you?

18. 10. Who wipes your nose, cooks your food?
11. Who do you call when you are scared?
12. Who protected you from mean teachers,
mean neighbors, mean friends?
They forget this
woman.

19. MOMMA
(Maybe for some, it’s Auntie or Grandma)
If your mom doesn’t care about you, why did
she do those things?

20. Moms are:
Nurses & doctors, drivers, counselors,
teachers, and even pillows

21. In fact, the love and care of a mother is so strong,
that the LORD even compares His love to a
mother’s:
Isaiah 66:13
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I
comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in
Jerusalem.

23. 2. Mothers, you have a BIG
RESPONSIBILITY to be good mothers.
Your children ARE your ministry.

24. Often fathers come after the mothers
• It is often mothers who are there when the child is a
baby and child (c/w Eunice and Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5)...
- Fathers are often out
The mother is often the child’s
first encounter with parents.

25. 2 Timothy 1:5 When I call to remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy
grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am
persuaded that in thee also.
2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures, which are able to make
thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus.

26. Timothy’s mother must have taught him the
Word of GOD:
• Creation
• Adam and Eve
• The Fall (that we are all
natural born sinners)
• The Flood (that God
judges wickedness)
• The Ten Commandments
(that no one is righteous in the
sight of God)
• The Suffering Servant of
Isaiah 53 (for our sins)
• The prophets: The day of the
Lord (that God will one day
judge the world again)

27. MOM, that’s what you need to be doing:
A. Exampling GOD’s love for your children
- Read about Hagar, Hannah, Mary, and Eunice
B. Planting seeds of faith (Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 3:15)
C. Teaching your children (Deuteronomy 6:7)

28. A. Exampling GOD’s love
Hagar : (Ge 21:14-22) cared for her child almost to
death
Hannah : (1 Sa 1:28) sacrificial love
Mary : (Jo 19:25-26) loved her son from afar
Eunice : (2 Ti 1:5) Sought her son’s salvation

29. B. Planting seeds of faith
Romans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.
2 Timothy 3:15
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus.

30. C. Teaching your children
Deuteronomy 6:7
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

31. 3. CHILDREN also have a responsibility
to HONOR their mothers...
In their mother’s YOUTH
And, in her OLD AGE

32. GOD commands:
HONOR
Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that
thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee.
Honor : regard with great respect; prize; value;
respect for merit and also rank

33. Compare honor with other than honor
Romans 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God… proud...
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,...
2 Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own
selves… proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy,
Romans 1:30 is a list of evils
2 Timothy 3:2 is about the last days

34. But, the question has to be asked...
Why are they disobedient their parents?
Could it be the natural downward spiral of parents
who have failed to follow GOD’s plan for raising
children?

36. Despise not thy mother when she is old
Proverbs 23:22
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise
not thy mother when she is old.
despise : to neglect, have a low
opinion of

37. As a matter of fact caring for family members is
connected to the New Testament:
1 Timothy 5:8
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and
is worse than an infidel.
In this case, the concern was for widows (often aged
mothers).

38. Caring for family members is
considered of such importance...
That GOD equates one who fails to do so as
one who is not of the faith (not Christian).
i.e. Not taking care of family (esp. older
widowed mothers), is un-Christian

39. Exodus 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or
fatherless child.
Deuteronomy 27:19 Cursed be he that perverteth the
judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow.
Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of
the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
Zechariah 7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the
fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor;

40. CARE FOR
1 Timothy 5:4 But if any widow have children or
nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home,
and to requite their parents: for that is good and
acceptable before God.
piety : religion, charity
requite : to repay; to give in return
GOD commands:
Implies old age

41. “...requite their parents…”
“...let them learn first to shew piety at home…”

42. Compare with what the Pharisees were doing to
their parents in Mark 7:9-13.
• They would give their money to the temple and call it
corban, or our version of a love gift to the church.
• However, since they were priests, they could still
access this money for their own purposes but would
claim that since it was a gift, they could NOT help their
elderly parents.

43. Corban : Given to the church
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
(Matthew 23:27)

44. And it is similar today:
• Many people give gifts to the church, minister in the
church, giving time, effort, and energy.
• Many people serve in the church. . .
• But when it comes to their families, specifically
their elderly parents (in our case today, mothers),
they NEGLECT them!

45. What kind of religion is that?
• The LORD said it was a vain religion...
• That it was worship only in mouth and not with heart.
• Then and now people neglect their primary duty to their
parents.
How many churches today, instead of building up
families, HARM them with excessive religious duties that
take them away from their families.

46. This ought not be the case.
GOD places second importance on the parents
(e.g. Ten Commandments).
Honoring our mothers IS part of worship.
You cannot worship GOD and neglect your
parents.

48. 4. There are BENEFITS to honoring our
mothers:

49. Go well
Ephesians 6:1-3
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first
commandment with promise;)
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long
on the earth.

50. Doesn’t life go much better for the obedient
kids?
• Who’s the teacher’s favorite?
- The polite/studious/honest/respectful child!
• Who is the boss’s favorite worker?
- The polite/hardworking/honest/respectful employee!
• Who do people generally like?
- The nice, polite, respectful, honest guy/gal!

51. Live long
Ephesians 6:1-3
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first
commandment with promise;)
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long
on the earth.

52. • Honoring our parents gives us an initial start
into learning how to respect authority.
• It provides us with social order
• It keeps us from things of this world that are
hazardous to our health.

53. We are to honor our mothers because it
is RIGHT:
1. A duty appointed by GOD
2. A debt of gratitude
3. For our own good
Failure to understand this will lead you away from
RIGHT, and into SIN, and could end your life early.

54. It starts with disrespecting your mother.
It may end in early death.
This is exactly why
parents MUST train
their children!

56. 5. Jesus Christ left us an EXAMPLE
John 19:25-27
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by,
whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour
that disciple took her unto his own home.

57. Even on the cross, while suffering, the
Lord cared for His mother's well-being
John 19:26-27
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple
standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman,
behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from
that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

58. John 19:28 "all things accomplished" . . .
Christ was hanging on a cross yet He cared enough
to make arrangements for His mother.
Including His mother's care.
So too ought we care for our mothers.

60. 6. HUSBANDS, we too have a
responsibility:
We are to honor your wives, the mother of our
children, in order to demonstrate to our children
how mothers ought to be treated.

61. A husband ought not yell at his wife or mistreat her in
front of his children.
This does not honor her, nor does it teach your
children right.
Of course it does not mean that the husband is to
OBEY his wife, but he is to treat her with respect,
courtesy, and care.

63. 7. The CHURCH also has a responsibility
To treat the older woman as mothers, thereby
HONORING them
1 Timothy 5:1-2
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and
the younger men as brethren; The elder women as
mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

64. The church has a responsibility to follow
Christ's example to look out for the welfare of
elder women, especially those who are
widows.

66. REVIEW and CONCLUSION of the MATTER
1. GOD HONORS mothers
2. MOTHERS have a RESPONSIBILITY to raise
children unto GOD, to seek what is the BEST for them
3. CHILDREN have a RESPONSIBILITY to honor their
mothers

67. 4. There are BENEFITS in honoring our mothers
5. Jesus Christ left us an EXAMPLE
6. HUSBANDS have a RESPONSIBILITY to honor their
wives before their children
7. The CHURCH also has a RESPONSIBILITY to
honor mothers

68. Questions?
Something to share?
Discussion?
THE END

69. What are some practical ways we can honor
our mothers?
QUESTION...