SUNDAY SERMONS

 

Wonder Woman

Matthew 7:7-11  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  8  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  9  "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  10  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  11  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

 

What does it mean to be a parent?

Most women barring medical limitations can birth a baby but it takes a special woman to be a MOTHER!

 

God selected Mary out of all the chaste, unmarried young women of Israel to be the mother of Jesus.

Remember when Mary went to visit Elisabeth…

Luke 1:41-45  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  42  In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  43  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  44  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  45  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

 

Oh! to be SO Blessed!

With the blessings also come a warning…

Luke 2:34-35  Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,  35  so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

 

Blessing and grief---happiness and sorrow are the two extremes of motherhood experienced since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. Parents suffer for and with their children throughout their lives. The concern and empathy they feel does not end when their children grow up and leave home. The responsibilities may change and end, but the love never does.

Scripture gives us only a glimpse into the relationship between Jesus and his mother Mary after his infancy. In those glimpses we see the honor and obedience Jesus gave her as a youth and as a mature man. This relationship illustrates obedience to the fifth of the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and your mother.”

I.                 Help! I’ve misplaced my child!

a.  The first glimpse is Jesus at age twelve.

Luke 2:41-52  Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  42  When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.  43  After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  44  Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  45  When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  46  After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  47  Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  48  When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  49  "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  50  But they did not understand what he was saying to them.  51  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  52  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

b.  His family was returning home from Jerusalem after they had observed the Passover season. But Jesus remained behind to spend time with teachers in the temple.

c.   When Mary and Joseph became aware that Jesus was not among the rest of the travelers, they became worried and began searching for him.

d.  Mother’s understand this fact… Sometimes you will mess up! You will make mistakes but somehow (by the grace of God) our children survive!

e.  Three days later, after thinking the worst had happened to him, they were astonished to find Jesus at the temple.

f.     Mary asked Jesus, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously  searching for you.”

g.   Jesus replied with two questions they didn’t understand, “Why were you searching for me?” And “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

h.  Jesus then returned with them and remained obedient to Mary and Joseph. He continued to mature physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially under their care. (Luke 2:41-52)

 

II.              Last Call!

a.  The second glimpse we have is at a wedding feast. Mary pointed out to the thirty-year-old Jesus a problem---the host had run out of wine too early.

John 2:1-11  On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,  2  and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  3  When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."  4  "Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My hour has not yet come."  5  His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."  6  Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.  7  Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.  8  Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,  9  and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside  10  and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."  11  What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

b.  Mary respected her grown son by showing she had faith he could handle the problem.

c.   There comes a point where you must trust your child to make his/her own decisions.

d.  In return, Jesus respected his mother by honoring her request and supplying the wine--his first public miracle.

e.  Children, we are to honor our parents!

f.    Just as your parents make mistakes, Love them anyway!

g.  Honor your father and mother… seems like I’ve heard that somewhere before.

 

III.          Don’t be surprised at your child’s success!

a.  In the third glimpse, Jesus is teaching a crowd so large and packed that neither his disciples nor his family could get to him.

b.  Mary and other members of her family had heard some strange things about Jesus and were afraid that he had lost his mind. They wanted to take him home and take care of him.

Mark 3:20-21  Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.  21  When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

 

c.   When Jesus received the message that his family was looking for him, he used this event to teach his listeners that his spiritual family are those who hear and obey the word of God.

d.  His response would be another reminder to Mary that he had a responsibility that included all people not just his immediate family.

e.  Even for Mary, “highly favored of God,” it was difficult to let go of the responsibility she had carried for thirty years as his human parent.

 

IV.         Victory over grief

a.  The fourth glimpse we have is at the foot of the cross.

b.  Jesus has been cruelly arrested, beaten, tortured and nailed to the cross.

c.   Jesus sees his mother at the foot of the cross.

d.  Jesus responds to Mary’s grief and need.

e.  He provides for Mary by placing her in the care of his cousin John, asking him to treat her as his own mother.

John 19:26-27  When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son,"  27  and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

f.     As Jesus hung dying a painful death, he once more honored his mother.

g.   Honoring is not a matter of the law … it is a matter of the HEART!

h.  Mary stood there watching her son die on the cross and his concern was for Mary!

 

V.             My Son, Your Brother

a.  The last glimpse we have of Mary is on the day of Pentecost as she waits with the other disciples for the promised Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:12-14  Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.  13  When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.  14  They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

b.  She came to realize her son Jesus was more than the child of her body; he was also the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

c.   Every mother has to realize that her children belong to God.

d.  She must relinquish the care of each child into the care of their heavenly Father.

e.  It is God who gives and sustains life.

f.     Parents are only temporary caregivers. 

The relationship between parents and children exemplifies the relationship God desires to enjoy with his children.

1 John 3:1-3  See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  2  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  3  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

 

 The relationship between Jesus and Mary is one of love, mutual respect, and mutual care. Jesus set us this example to follow. “Honor thy father and thy mother.”