Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

Today is a special day for some of you.

You are mothers, and you rejoice at that fact.

For some of you, this is the first time you have been a mother and so this day is particularly sweet.

One thing I have learned about mothers is that they work hard and are willing to put out a lot of effort, often sacrificial effort for their children.

You certainly deserve to be honored.

For others of you this is a difficult day.

There are three things needed to have children – the desire to do so, a husband and the biological ability.

If you have the desire, but don’t have a husband this can be a very difficult day.

Or if you have the desire and a husband but have been unable to conceive this can be a very difficult day.

Others have experienced miscarriages or the loss of children and today is a reminder of these painful events.

This puts us as a church in an interesting position.

On the one hand, we have a great opportunity to bless and honor mothers and on the other hand we have the opportunity to care for people who are in pain.

This reminds me of what is always true in church and that is on any given Sunday we may need to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice as it says in Romans 12:15.

But as I have pondered these things over the years I have often wondered if there is a way in which we can remove at least some of the weeping.

It is right for us to have a call to honor our father and mother, but must we have a day in which we cause some in the congregation pain?

How can we bring all of this together?

When I was working on the message on singleness, which I preached in March, I came across an article which helped me look at these things in a new way.

I would like to share some of these thoughts with you today.

I trust that as we think about these things we will with all our hearts honor our biological mothers, but that we will also open our eyes to see another level at which we can honor those who are our spiritual parents.

Perhaps some of the verses about Timothy, in the Bible, will help us to bring all this together in a way that will make this day more of a blessing.

Timothy is a unique character.

He was the child of a mixed marriage.

We do not know the circumstances under which his Jewish mother married a Gentile man.

We know that his father must have had significant influence because Timothy had not been circumcised, as was necessary for a Jew.

On the other hand, we also know that his mother influenced him by teaching him the Scriptures.

In II Timothy 3:15 Paul says to Timothy “from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures.”

It must have been his mother who taught him God’s word.

Somewhere along the way, his mother and grandmother became Christians and through their influence Timothy also came to faith.

Paul says in II 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.”

Timothy was raised and came to faith through the influence of his mother and grandmother, but there is also another reality.

In the book of Timothy, Paul begins by saying, “To Timothy my true son in the faith…” Paul was not Timothy’s biological father, but he was his spiritual father.

This teaches us a valuable perspective.

You don’t have to be a biological parent in order to be a spiritual parent.

As we appropriately honor our biological mothers, we can also honor our spiritual parents.

Let us think a little more about this.

!

I.                   The Honor of Being a Biological Parent

!! A.                 The Blessing of Having Children

First of all I would like to reaffirm that it is a tremendous blessing to have children.

God has given us the blessing of having children.

God has called us to procreate.

In Genesis 1:28, we read, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

After God destroyed the earth in the flood we read in Genesis 9:1, “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”

God has set us in families and has given us the blessing of being in families.

It is wonderful to have children and it is also wonderful to have grand children.

This is a blessing that comes from God.

!! B.                 Honor Your Father and Mother

In numerous places in the Bible we see that God recognizes this blessing and honors and affirms the family.

There is a touching story in Luke 7:11-15 in which Jesus comes upon a funeral procession.

We are told that the person who had died was “the only son of his mother and she was a widow.”

We read in verse 13 that Jesus’ “heart went out to her” and so Jesus raised the man from the dead.

Then we read in verse 15 that “Jesus gave him back to his mother.”

He honored the relationship of mother and son and so affirmed that these biological relationships are a blessing from God.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross we have another story in which we see such compassion.

Jesus’ mother was also there and Jesus knew that his death was causing her great pain.

In John 19:25-27 we read that he said to his disciple, likely John, “Here is your mother” and that “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

Once again we see how Jesus valued the human relationship of parents and children and honored his own mother by caring for her even after he died.

Since God has given us this blessing and honors these relationships, we also ought to honor the relationship of parents and children.

The Bible repeatedly invites us to such attitudes and actions.

Jesus accused the Pharisees in Mark 7:9-13 because they used the law to dishonor their parents.

They had a law that if they dedicated something to God, it could not be used for any other purpose.

They appeared very spiritual and dedicated all kinds of things to God, which they should have been using to care for their own parents.

Jesus accuses them of hypocrisy and disobedience because they failed to honor their parents.

In Ephesians 6:2, we have a direct command that we should “honor your father and mother.”

We quote this to children, but it is not only for young children, but also for all of us who have parents.

We are also familiar with Proverbs 31 where we have a wonderful passage in which a godly woman is honored and praised by her husband and her children.

It is an example of what it means to honor our mothers.

Thus we see that we must always honor those who have born us physically.

It is recognition of their value in our life and it is obedience to Scripture to do so.

What are you doing to honor the one who bore you?

!

II.

The Honor of Being a Spiritual Parent

!! A.                 Desiring That Our Children Have Faith

I don’t want to take away from that, but affirm it strongly.

However, I would also like to invite us to think more broadly and in order to do so, I would like to invite us to think about what is at the core of our faith in Christ.

As Christian parents, what is it we desire for our children?

We love it if we have a good relationship with them.

We are thankful if, as we get older, they begin to help us in areas where we can no longer help ourselves.

It is wonderful to have fun with our children.

We often sacrifice in order that our children will be happy.

But most deeply, our desire is that they will come to know Jesus Christ and live for Him and be with Him in eternity.

This desire fits with the great commission which Jesus has given to all of us as believers when he said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

!! B.                 Spiritual Parents

It is our privilege as Christian parents to teach our children the way of the gospel.

It is a blessing, when perhaps after telling them a bed time story, they ask us to help them receive Jesus.

Many of you, when you have shared your testimony for baptism, have told how your mother or your father was the one who helped you pray to receive Christ.

As parents we continue to have a great influence in showing our children the way and helping them form their faith.

What a blessing that is!

Earlier I mentioned Timothy who was hugely influenced towards faith by his mother and grandmother, and yet we also read that it was Paul who was his spiritual father.

This raises a new thought, which actually is described in many places in Scripture and that is that you don’t have to have biological children to be a spiritual parent.

Jesus pointed to this larger spiritual family in Matthew 12:48-50.

He was being told that his mother and brothers wanted to see him, but He responded to his disciples, “Here are my mother and my brothers.

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

By doing this he affirmed the larger family of brothers and sisters in Christ.

He acknowledged the value of this relationship as well.

Paul identified Timothy as his son in the faith, but he also had other spiritual children.

In Philemon 10 he speaks about “…Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.”

In III John 4, John writes about a similar passion when he says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

In some cultures and in the Old Testament we hear stories which seem to suggest that people who are not able to have children are of less value than those who have children.