[0:00] We welcome you to the media ministry of Bethel Community Church. Knowing Jesus, making Jesus known. And what a special day it is.
[0:13] We're going to be taking a short break from our study of Romans. Today, of course, celebrating Mother's Day. Next week, we're going to be having Noah and Lacey Agnew joining us.
[0:25] For those of you who don't know Noah and Lacey, they are commended workers at Turkey Hill Ranch. And so it'll be really wonderful to hear them.
[0:36] As I said, today's Mother's Day. And boy, it's really good for us to recognize the contributions of motherhood. Would you all agree with that? Amen.
[0:47] There's a lot of wisdom that comes from being a mom. Here is. Here's seven things that my mom taught me. Now, this isn't me speaking, but I think I relate to most of these.
[1:01] Seven things that my mom taught me. First of all, she taught me about how to anticipate life. She would say, just wait until your father gets home.
[1:12] She also taught me a lot about receiving. She would say, you're going to get it when he gets home. She also taught me about how to accept or to meet, that is, the challenges of life.
[1:30] She would say, what were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you. She also taught me about medical science. If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to stay that way.
[1:43] Here's one about humor. She'd say, when that lawnmower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me. Did you know that my mom knew something about genetics?
[1:57] She did. She would say, you're just like your father. Here's the last one. She taught me something about justice. She would say, one day, I hope you have kids, and I hope that they'll turn out just like you.
[2:15] Yeah, a lot of wisdom comes from moms. This morning, I'd like for us to consider the great contribution of women in terms of being a model for something that's wonderful that we see.
[2:28] Unconditional love. Amen for that. In fact, that was a theme that was shared this morning at our Lord's Supper meeting, how God's love, he's full of compassion, he's full of unconditional love.
[2:45] Dads, guys out there, let's face it, I think most of us have learned tenderness from who? From either our moms or maybe even our wives.
[2:55] And I know that this is maybe a bit of a generalization, but I'll tell you what, what do we learn from our dads? Well, we might learn how to shoot a gun. We might learn how to use tools or something like that.
[3:08] But from moms, we learn tenderness. We learn compassion. We learn about unconditional love. I'll tell you what, these are some wonderful things, friends.
[3:21] Unconditional love, it's not just for women. It's for everybody. Kindness, unconditional love. These are the, in fact, these are some of the things that we see as the fruit or the evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in a person's life.
[3:37] Paul would say in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 32, he says, Be kind-hearted to each other. Put on, be tender-hearted. Put on compassion for one another.
[3:49] Anyway, this morning, we're going to hear about that because there's actually a guest speaker coming. There are. So, if we could hear our guest speaker, I'll turn it over to him, and we can learn all about what it means about how God is full of tender-hearted compassion and unconditional love.
[4:10] One of the things he said about God being depicted as having what we would call both masculine and feminine characteristics, I think that's true.
[4:20] Primarily, we see the Lord as being masculine, and I believe that that's to exalt his authority in our lives. But certainly, we are both male and females are made in God's image, and what a wonderful truth that is.
[4:39] Motherhood's one of the highest, most noble callings that I think that anyone could be called to. I know that there are some women, perhaps many, who God hasn't allowed to be a parent.
[4:53] And I would say, allow God to fill your life with other things, because he can more than compensate for that. God is full of not only compassion and mercy, he's full of grace.
[5:06] And God can make our lives meaningful and rich just in the fact that he is our God. And he gives us gifts. He gives us each other.
[5:18] He gives us so many things. And to that, we can just say, what a blessing it is to know Jesus Christ. If I could ask the musicians to come up. Maybe if we could sing a couple songs here.
[5:31] And we have some flowers for all of the ladies here at Bethel. If you are a lady, do not leave here without a flower. Now, as far as getting it to you, perhaps some of the men can come up and give a flower to your spouse or to your mom.
[5:47] Maybe when the kids come up, maybe they can grab some flowers, too. They're down here. Let me go ahead and close in prayer and help yourself to these. And again, happy Mother's Day.
[6:00] Have a blessed day. Enjoy womanhood and all that God has for us. Heavenly Father, it is so good to be able to come here today. And in spite of the technical issues we have, we can still be reminded, Lord, of the truths upon which you have founded this whole universe.
[6:19] First of all, Lord, you are a wonderful, great, loving God. Full of compassion and mercy. You're abounding in love. And we thank you for that.
[6:31] Lord, we also know that you have created men and women both in your image. And, Lord, it is our privilege that we can be the bearers of that glorious image.
[6:43] And, Lord, what a truth it is that we can read in your word. And we can walk with you and experience and know you more and more each day of who you are and what you're like.
[6:55] Thank you, Lord, for that. Lord, we especially are grateful for the grace, the great grace that we find in you. Because, Lord, after all, our forefather, Adam, sinned.
[7:12] And not only that, Lord, we were born not only as sinners, but ourselves, we have transgressed your laws. But in spite of our sins, in spite of our shortcomings, you have made a way for us to be your children.
[7:27] And we're so thankful for that, Lord, by the grace that was shown to us, especially in the sending of your son, Jesus, who took upon himself all of our sins.
[7:39] He died for them, thereby paying the debt that we owe to you. We, as sinners, have now been forgiven. And all we need to do, Lord, is to believe.
[7:53] To believe, Lord. And as we do, we receive all of the gifts, the special privileges that we have as being your children.
[8:04] Your sons and daughters. And we thank you for these things, Lord. May you be exalted in our lives. Not only in the lives of moms, but also the women, and also all of us, Lord.
[8:18] Thank you so much, in Jesus' name. God's goodness.