WHAT MOTHERS MEAN TO THE CHURCH

1. Special observance of Mother’s Day is of recent origin. Anna Jarvis asked for a special observance for mothers in a Philadelphia church in 1908. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the 2nd Sunday in May as observance of Mother’s Day in 1914. In ancient Greece Worship of mothers was carried on.
            A. Jesus’ true church meets on every Sunday to remember the death of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:7).

2. All members of the church are important. (I Corinthians 12:12-27). Mothers make up a great portion of the church and their role is really important to the well being of the church.

3. Mothers are found 245 times in 226 verses of the Bible beginning at Genesis 2:24 and concluding at Revelation 17:5. If there had not been mothers there would have been no world.
4. Let’s look at the vital role of Mothers in the church.

I. Without mothers there would have been no fulfillment of the scheme of redemption.
            1. Eve was named because she was the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20). She was the mother of Seth. “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 4:25, 26). In Luke 3:38 Seth is in lineage of Christ.

            2. There are 75 generations of Mary’s family back to Adam and outside of Adam who was created all of these people had mothers. There would have been no lineage to Christ without mothers.
(Luke 3:23-38).

            3. Four of these women are named in Matthew 1:3-6 in the lineage of Christ. A) Tamar who gave birth to Phares; B) Rahab who gave birth to Boaz; C) Ruth who gave birth of Obed; and, D) wife of Uriah (Bathsheba) who gave birth to Solomon and also Nathan.

II. There would have been no salvation from sin without mothers.
            1. God gave to Christ a body for the sacrifice for the sins of the world. “Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me” (Hebrews 10:5), then “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9, 10).
                A. This body was formed in the womb of Mary His Mother. She was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Mathew. 1:18).
             B. Notice also – “but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26).

III. Mothers are featured as a great part of the time of Jesus on Earth in which he showed God, and became our Savior.
            1. Jesus was with his mother when viewed by men for the first time – the Shepherds (Luke 2:16); the wise men (Matthew 2:11).
            2. Jesus and His mother were taken into Egypt, and out of Egypt then back to Nazareth.
            3. Jesus was with his mother and Joseph at the Passover when he was 12. It was Mary who said, “Why hast thou thus dealt with us” Luke 2:48 and it was Mary who kept all these sayings in her heart(Luke 2:51). Jesus was subject to his parents (Luke 2:52).
                4. Jesus went to the wedding feast where his mother was and turned the water into wine. John 2: 1-12. His first miracle.
            5. Mary visited with Jesus during his ministry (Matthew 12:46-49).
            6. Jesus’ family is revealed in (Matthew 13:55)
            7. Mary was at the crucifixion and Jesus honored her by taking care of her needs. (John 19:26, 27).
            8. Also the mother of James and John asked special places for her sons (Matthew 20:20-28). This gave Jesus the opportunity of teaching that there are no positions in the church but all are just servants.
            9. The apostles had mothers many of which are mentioned and associated with Jesus in his ministry.
            10. Jesus condemned the traditions of men which took away honoring Fathers and Mothers (Matthew 15:1-14).
            11. Jesus showed special favor to a Mother whose son had died by stopping the funeral procession and raising him from the dead. (Luke 7:12-15).

IV. Mothers work in the early church was a great work.
            1. Mary and the women were in the 120 in the upper room after the ascension of Christ (Acts 1:14). They were engaged in prayer and anticipation.
            2. Peter healed the man who was crippled from his mother’s womb (Acts 3:2-8).
                3. Mary the mother of Mark opened her home for the church to come have a prayer service for Peter (Acts 12:1-12).
                4. Lydia’s household first converts in Europe (Acts 16:13).
                5. Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos (Acts 18:24-28).
                6. Paul saluted Rufus and his mother (Romans 16:13).
                7. Phebe was a servant in the church at Cenchrea. We do not know of her family but she no doubt had one (Romans 16:1). Many other women are mentioned in (Romans 16:3, 6, 12)

            8. Older women were to teach the younger women (Titus 2:4, 5).
            9. Timothy taught by grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).
            10. Women labored with Paul in the gospel.  (Philippians 4:3).

CONCLUSION
            1. Mothers are to be honored in the church. (Romans 12:10) “Be kindly affectioned one to another in with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.”
 2. The greatest honor is to be honored by God. He honors all men, women, boys and girls who obey him. (Romans 2:7-10). “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:”

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