A Mother's Heart: A Celebration Of Women
Children's program
WHO - ME? DO A PROGRAM? Volume 2
Program Resources For Congregational Events
Leader's Helps
Participants
Leader
Five women:
Jochebed, Moses' Mother Zipporah
Samson's Mom Shunammite Mother
Wife of Jairus
Four readers:
Reader 1: Exodus 4:24--26 (with Zipporah)
Reader 2: Judges 13:2--25 (with Samson's Mom)
Reader 3: 2 Kings 4:1--17 (with the Shunammite Mother)
Reader 4: Luke 8:40--53 (with Jairus' Wife)
Props
Draw a large heart and insert the four chambers of attributes of a mother.
Chamber 1: (Moses' Mom) mother love, protection, bravery, faith, kindness, compassion, understanding, forgiving, generous, saving grace.
Chamber 2: (Zipporah) foundation living, custom builder, covenant restorer.
Chamber 3: (Samson's Mom) dedication, devotion, obedience, example, prayerful, trusting.
Chamber 4: (Shunammite Mother) hospitable, gracious, bold, expectant, going beyond what is asked/ second part (Jairus' wife), hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregivers.
Program
A Mother's Heart: A Celebration Of Women
Leader: February is the month of hearts, the month of love. We see heart--shaped cookies, candies, boxes of chocolates, cards, and lockets. The heart, the symbol of love and emotion, is the center of our body providing blood to sustain our lives. This vital organ has many chambers, arteries, and vessels which enable it to operate efficiently within our framework. As Christians, we dwell within the very heart of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. It is through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we channel God's love to a world needing substance. However, love is not the singular emotion of the heart. We are a community of women, created in the image of God, committed to growing in faith, affirming our gifts, and supporting each other in our callings. One of those callings for women is to be a mother - natural or spiritual. Tonight we celebrate the role of women, created in the image of God, as we look at the heart which God has placed in each of us which is the center of our emotions.
God has given us some biblical role models of women who display a mother's heart. In this time together, we will look at some of these special mothers. Before you, you see a heart. As we proceed through this program, we will add chambers to the heart showing the variety of traits displayed by our different mothers. First we will hear from an Old Testament mother, Jochebed, the mother of Moses.
Jochebed, Moses' Mother: My son, Moses, was blessed to have two mothers who loved him. I was his natural mother. My name is Jochebed. His father was from the house of Levi. Giving birth to a son should have brought me great joy as a woman, but an edict had been issued by the king of Egypt at this time stating that all newborn Hebrew boys must be thrown into the Nile. Pharaoh saw how rapidly our nation was multiplying and used this cruel method to eliminate a future source of rebellion. But that was not going to happen to my baby. I defied the edict by concealing my son's birth. This took great courage as well as resourcefulness. As a lioness will protect her cub, I set about to shelter my son against extinction. However, after three months it became increasingly harder to keep his presence a secret. You know how babies cry. I could have tried to keep the child hidden and risked discovery, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he'd be found. So I made a basket of papyrus and coated it with pitch and tar. I had a definite plan in mind and was counting on the compassion of another woman, Pharaoh's daughter, to assist me in saving my boy. To set the child adrift in the Nile infested with crocodiles would have meant certain death for the baby if I had not thought out this plan carefully. My daughter, Miriam, and I took the basket we had made to the water's edge. Into it we put baby Moses and set him adrift where the king's daughter and her attendants came to bathe. I still remember following it, staying concealed in the reeds so no one would see us. And when the slaves retrieved the basket and brought it to Pharaoh's daughter, I can still see her look of compassion and understanding as she pulled back the blanket which covered the crying child. How cruel her father was to destroy such precious life. This woman had a heart which was tender, kind, and brave. She knew she was defying her father in saving the child. As Moses' natural mother I gave my son a mother's love and protection, but Pharaoh's daughter gave her adopted son royal protection. She would see to his welfare first by letting Miriam fetch a wet nurse for him from among his own. She did not ask, but probably felt in her heart that he would be returned to his natural mother, me. How generous and caring her heart as she not only saved the life of my baby but assured me of a future for my child. How great is our God in dealing with mothers and in extending to all of us such perfect grace and love.
Leader: Moses was part of Israel as well as Egypt. The protection offered him by two mothers enabled him to lead a nation to the sheltering arms of a great God. We are called to be brave and risk for our children. We are called to love with a deep compassion as we watch them struggle to live in a harried world. We are called to extend kindness and forgiveness to them as they stumble and fall. Embracing them with open arms, we help to nurture and give them the protection of a life of faith. Like Jochebed, who placed her child in the water and trusted God to take him safely on his life's journey, when we place our children into the Father's hands at baptism, we help them to embark on that life of faith. We set the course as we send them forward into the waiting arms of a God who hears their cries and cares. As God's children, we are then afforded eternal protection from the crocodiles of life who seek to snatch our lives away. The cruelty of the pharaohs will always be there, but the love and protection of a mother will afford us a haven in the storm. And so I insert a chamber into our heart with these two mothers' qualities.
(Insert Chamber 1: mother love, protection, bravery, faith, kindness, compassion, understanding, forgiving, generous, saving grace)
Let us now hear from a second Old Testament mother.
Zipporah: I am Zipporah the Midianite, who became the bride of Moses as he dwelt in the land of Midian, where he encountered the God he would eventually serve. I was blessed to have children by this man who wandered into our midst fleeing the wrath of Pharaoh. We were very happy raising our children near my father's tents. But then Moses received that strange call from God when he went up onto the mountain. He came back talking about a burning bush and a commission from God. He told me to pack up everything because we were returning to Egypt. That meant we had to leave the protection of my people, our security, our roots. But Moses was insistent that we had to follow God's commands, and so I obeyed. My heart was torn as I had to leave my family, but my mother's heart was open to this call. I have a brief story in which you can catch a glimpse into my heart. It is found in a short passage from Exodus 4. It deals with the practice of circumcision. Adult circumcision during this time was practiced in part for the purpose of appeasing a demonic spirit and saving the life of the bridegroom on his wedding night. This certainly influenced my outlook on the custom. As we journeyed toward our destination, we stopped at a lodging place where Moses again encountered his Lord. This time God got Moses' attention by reminding him that he needed to return to the foundation of the covenant between God and his people. Remember, I was not aware of Moses' religious obligations since I was not from the tribe of Israel. But Israel had lived in that covenant relationship with Yahweh since the time of Abraham. One of the signs of that covenant relationship was this rite of circumcision. On the eve of delivering Israel from bondage, Moses was reminded that without circumcision, an Israelite was cut off from the covenant. Notice, however, it is the mother of his sons who fulfills this custom.
Reader: Exodus 4:24--26
Zipporah: Now my tribe practiced this rite also. I realized the importance of a covenant relationship with this God we were following and so desired to fulfill my role to my son by making sure that the law was fulfilled. How great is our God in helping us to be good mothers, laying good foundations in our children's lives through faith.
Leader: As mothers we do the same as Zipporah did when we take our children to worship and Sunday school and expose them to the Word of God. Zipporah enabled her family to live out their covenant relationship with God through this act. We enable our family to enter into that relationship and grow in their personal knowledge of Christ when we participate in a life of faith. The blood from circumcision was a seal to an Israelite of his covenant with God. But it is Jesus' blood which seals us as children of God. As our hearts are circumcised from sin and cleansed in the washing of Christ's forgiveness, we, too, will be faithful as Zipporah was to that understanding.
(Insert Chamber 2: foundation living, custom builder, covenant restorer)
Let us now hear from one who longed to be a mother and yet was barren.
Samson's Mom: I was a woman who sought the fulfillment of a covenant relationship for her son. I am known as the wife of Manoah, the mother of Samson. Was I ever surprised when the Lord sent an angel to announce that I was going to have a son. I had been barren for so long, but maybe you're not familiar with my story. Let's read it to you. It's found in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Judges.
Reader: Judges 13:2--25
Samson's Mom: Wow! I was to be the mother of a child of promise, and so I was instructed to abstain from wine, strong drink, and unclean food. My story is one of dedication of parents to a child not yet born. Samson's father sought God in prayer so that he, too, could be informed as a parent. We both had a deep desire to have God guide us in bringing up our son. We looked upon parenting as a sacred obligation to perform as we trained our youngster, and so needed God's help. You might even consider us today as examples to others who are expecting a child. I did what God commanded and prepared myself for the baby's birth. How great is our God in preparing us to be good mothers and fathers.
Leader: Parents have a responsibility toward their offspring. We do not simply pray and place the child in God's protection, instruct, and then fail to live out our part in God's plan. Samson's mother and father were devoted to God and to doing right for their child. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Samson's parents trained their child in the role of a Nazarite. They were not, however, accountable for the way that child rebelled against his call. Samson's reckless deeds when he grew up may have been in rebellion to the piety and strict conduct he observed in his parents. The faithfulness and devotion in his mother's heart must have enabled Samson's mother to trust God for the life of her self--willed son. Samson's upbringing and sun--filled years were blessed by God. Later, when blinded, imprisoned, and mocked, he must have dwelt on those happier times. In this situation, with age and a deeper acknowledgment of his own failings, he returned once more to a God who had brought him many victories in the past. Calling out one final time, he displayed God's power as the walls of the temple fell upon his enemies. His brothers and his father's family buried him in the tomb of his parents. A mother's heart continues to trust God for the life of her children even in the face of the reality of the circumstances. Her responsibility is to love and set boundaries. We must guard against being too strict with our discipline or too lax in our freedom. There must be a middle road. Setting our heart on God, as Samson's mother did, and seeking the Spirit's guidance as we train our children will enlarge that portion of our heart.
(Insert Chamber 3: dedication, devotion, obedience, example, prayerful, trusting)
Let us hear from our fourth mother.
Shunammite Mother: Another heart of a mother, my heart, is found recorded in the book of 2 Kings.
Reader: 2 Kings 4:1--17
Shunammite Mother: I was a woman who sought no reward for my efforts. I displayed an open heart and open home policy. I was often chided for letting my gift of hospitality go beyond mere politeness. But God gave me a ministry to one of his prophets, Elisha, and I enjoyed his friendship. He must have found me to be a good hostess, for he would stop at my home often when he came to Shunem. I even had a room prepared so he could drop in at any time and stay comfortably. Some thought this was really going too far, but I believed in going beyond normal niceties. Anyone can do that. God called me to share what I had with others, and I enjoyed doing it. My unsolicited graciousness did not go unre--warded. My reward was to become a mother of a son. I suppose I can serve today as an example to do without motive, to serve in love, to extend hospitality toward others beyond what is expected from us, and to seek to have fellowship with God's people as I did with the prophet. Life was good. But boys will be boys, and one day while my son was out playing, he hit his head. His father sent the child immediately to the source of healing and comfort, his mother. In horror I watched as my son died in my open arms, but I did not fall apart at his death. Immediately I went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door, and went out. Calling my husband, I asked for a servant and donkey so I could go to Elisha quickly and return. I knew exactly where to go in such a desperate situation. Now my husband must not have realized the boy had died, for he did not question why I was seeking the prophet when it was not a Sabbath or a festival day. But God is so good in giving mothers strength in times of trial and desperation even when others do not understand. How great is our God, a great rewarder of faith!
Leader: How inspired we should be to be like the Shunammite mother. If we only come to God on Sunday or special church holidays, we do not have the comfort or knowledge of how accessible God is at all times. In her distress this mother confronted the prophet: "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" (2 Kings 4:28, NIV). What boldness! She had sought nothing from this man of God, yet she had been blessed with a child. Now that life was gone. She was standing before Elisha reminding him of that fact. God tells us that through Jesus we can come boldly into the throne room of God with our requests. Here stood a mother whose heart had been opened to love and who now was suffering the pain of that lost love. She expected the man of God to do something. When we go to God we should do likewise, expecting God to act. In this case, God did. Sending his servant ahead to confirm the fact, Elisha was informed the child was truly dead. Shutting himself up with the body, Elisha prayed, but nothing happened. Then he got on the bed and laid upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. The body warmed. The prophet rose, walked back and forth, then laid upon the boy again. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Life had entered the boy. The Shunammite mother received her dead son back. She was rewarded by God for her belief in his ability to go beyond what is asked. May we always go further than what is required of us. God went beyond what we might consider normal limits when he chose to dwell among us. As this mother prepared a place for Elisha, prepare a place for Christ to dwell in your hearts. As she went beyond the required hospitality extended to others, go and do likewise. As she had faith in what God could and would do for his children, have faith also to approach the Father boldly in Jesus' name.
(Insert first part of Chamber 4: hospitable, gracious, bold, expectant, going beyond what is asked)
And now we will hear from our last mother, who is connected with our fourth mother.
Wife of Jairus: There are many other mothers in the Bible who display another part of the heart for us to remember also, but I stand here tonight as the final mother we will look at. I am the wife of Jairus, and my story is found in the Gospel of Luke 8:40--53.
Reader: Luke 8:40--53
Jairus' Wife: I had stayed at home with a dying child. I was not angry when my husband sought help from Christ. I did not demand that he stay and care for me as I took care of our ailing girl. When the child died, I did not demand he speed home to arrange the funeral. I allowed my spouse to do all he could to possibly change the circumstance. I clung to a hope that this man of God would come as Elisha did and restore life to our dead daughter. I've come to believe that with God all things are possible. And Jesus did come and bring life back to the dead. Embracing a live child, I did as Christ commanded: I fed her, a simple thing, but in the hour before that I felt I could never prepare another meal for anyone. God is so good. He takes our pains and brings us joy as mothers. He takes circumstances that look so bleak and brings hope and confidence into our lives. Have faith and believe in that. Just open your hearts and your lives to God's Spirit. Yes, our God is so good, so very good!
Leader: When we give our children to God and open our hearts up to the Lord's guidance and instruction, God delivers even the wayward and spiritually dead back. And so we insert the other part of our attributes of a mother into Chamber 4 of our heart: hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregiver.
(Insert second part of Chamber 4 of our heart: hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregiver)
In conclusion, we see that Moses' natural mother lost her child to another but was given the peace that he was placed in a position of advantage and protection because she had protected him also. She had done all she could for him, and now she freed God to do the rest. Moses' adoptive mother raised her son in that protection yet lived with the knowledge that someday he would probably desire to know of his people and their heritage, and she would then lose him also. Zipporah reminds us of our need to live in a covenant relationship with the God who offers us his love and protection. God calls us to bring our children up to understand that covenant personally. Samson's mother was obedient and devoted to her God and child. She trusted that even the straying, wayward child can be won back to God. She died before she saw that happen, but how blessed she was to have faith it would. The Shunam--mite woman sought no reward for herself. She opened her heart and home to a child she did not ask for. She opened her life to service by caring for God's prophet. She went beyond what one would ask. Jairus' wife sought the welfare of her child and husband, not her own solace.
May a portion of each of these mothers' hearts become a part of our own today. And so we celebrate this day, and Valentine's Day, and every day with a grateful and loving heart, filled with chambers of all the traits which make up a mother's heart. And in that love and the love of God we pray. Amen.
Participants
Leader
Five women:
Jochebed, Moses' Mother Zipporah
Samson's Mom Shunammite Mother
Wife of Jairus
Four readers:
Reader 1: Exodus 4:24--26 (with Zipporah)
Reader 2: Judges 13:2--25 (with Samson's Mom)
Reader 3: 2 Kings 4:1--17 (with the Shunammite Mother)
Reader 4: Luke 8:40--53 (with Jairus' Wife)
Props
Draw a large heart and insert the four chambers of attributes of a mother.
Chamber 1: (Moses' Mom) mother love, protection, bravery, faith, kindness, compassion, understanding, forgiving, generous, saving grace.
Chamber 2: (Zipporah) foundation living, custom builder, covenant restorer.
Chamber 3: (Samson's Mom) dedication, devotion, obedience, example, prayerful, trusting.
Chamber 4: (Shunammite Mother) hospitable, gracious, bold, expectant, going beyond what is asked/ second part (Jairus' wife), hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregivers.
Program
A Mother's Heart: A Celebration Of Women
Leader: February is the month of hearts, the month of love. We see heart--shaped cookies, candies, boxes of chocolates, cards, and lockets. The heart, the symbol of love and emotion, is the center of our body providing blood to sustain our lives. This vital organ has many chambers, arteries, and vessels which enable it to operate efficiently within our framework. As Christians, we dwell within the very heart of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. It is through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we channel God's love to a world needing substance. However, love is not the singular emotion of the heart. We are a community of women, created in the image of God, committed to growing in faith, affirming our gifts, and supporting each other in our callings. One of those callings for women is to be a mother - natural or spiritual. Tonight we celebrate the role of women, created in the image of God, as we look at the heart which God has placed in each of us which is the center of our emotions.
God has given us some biblical role models of women who display a mother's heart. In this time together, we will look at some of these special mothers. Before you, you see a heart. As we proceed through this program, we will add chambers to the heart showing the variety of traits displayed by our different mothers. First we will hear from an Old Testament mother, Jochebed, the mother of Moses.
Jochebed, Moses' Mother: My son, Moses, was blessed to have two mothers who loved him. I was his natural mother. My name is Jochebed. His father was from the house of Levi. Giving birth to a son should have brought me great joy as a woman, but an edict had been issued by the king of Egypt at this time stating that all newborn Hebrew boys must be thrown into the Nile. Pharaoh saw how rapidly our nation was multiplying and used this cruel method to eliminate a future source of rebellion. But that was not going to happen to my baby. I defied the edict by concealing my son's birth. This took great courage as well as resourcefulness. As a lioness will protect her cub, I set about to shelter my son against extinction. However, after three months it became increasingly harder to keep his presence a secret. You know how babies cry. I could have tried to keep the child hidden and risked discovery, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he'd be found. So I made a basket of papyrus and coated it with pitch and tar. I had a definite plan in mind and was counting on the compassion of another woman, Pharaoh's daughter, to assist me in saving my boy. To set the child adrift in the Nile infested with crocodiles would have meant certain death for the baby if I had not thought out this plan carefully. My daughter, Miriam, and I took the basket we had made to the water's edge. Into it we put baby Moses and set him adrift where the king's daughter and her attendants came to bathe. I still remember following it, staying concealed in the reeds so no one would see us. And when the slaves retrieved the basket and brought it to Pharaoh's daughter, I can still see her look of compassion and understanding as she pulled back the blanket which covered the crying child. How cruel her father was to destroy such precious life. This woman had a heart which was tender, kind, and brave. She knew she was defying her father in saving the child. As Moses' natural mother I gave my son a mother's love and protection, but Pharaoh's daughter gave her adopted son royal protection. She would see to his welfare first by letting Miriam fetch a wet nurse for him from among his own. She did not ask, but probably felt in her heart that he would be returned to his natural mother, me. How generous and caring her heart as she not only saved the life of my baby but assured me of a future for my child. How great is our God in dealing with mothers and in extending to all of us such perfect grace and love.
Leader: Moses was part of Israel as well as Egypt. The protection offered him by two mothers enabled him to lead a nation to the sheltering arms of a great God. We are called to be brave and risk for our children. We are called to love with a deep compassion as we watch them struggle to live in a harried world. We are called to extend kindness and forgiveness to them as they stumble and fall. Embracing them with open arms, we help to nurture and give them the protection of a life of faith. Like Jochebed, who placed her child in the water and trusted God to take him safely on his life's journey, when we place our children into the Father's hands at baptism, we help them to embark on that life of faith. We set the course as we send them forward into the waiting arms of a God who hears their cries and cares. As God's children, we are then afforded eternal protection from the crocodiles of life who seek to snatch our lives away. The cruelty of the pharaohs will always be there, but the love and protection of a mother will afford us a haven in the storm. And so I insert a chamber into our heart with these two mothers' qualities.
(Insert Chamber 1: mother love, protection, bravery, faith, kindness, compassion, understanding, forgiving, generous, saving grace)
Let us now hear from a second Old Testament mother.
Zipporah: I am Zipporah the Midianite, who became the bride of Moses as he dwelt in the land of Midian, where he encountered the God he would eventually serve. I was blessed to have children by this man who wandered into our midst fleeing the wrath of Pharaoh. We were very happy raising our children near my father's tents. But then Moses received that strange call from God when he went up onto the mountain. He came back talking about a burning bush and a commission from God. He told me to pack up everything because we were returning to Egypt. That meant we had to leave the protection of my people, our security, our roots. But Moses was insistent that we had to follow God's commands, and so I obeyed. My heart was torn as I had to leave my family, but my mother's heart was open to this call. I have a brief story in which you can catch a glimpse into my heart. It is found in a short passage from Exodus 4. It deals with the practice of circumcision. Adult circumcision during this time was practiced in part for the purpose of appeasing a demonic spirit and saving the life of the bridegroom on his wedding night. This certainly influenced my outlook on the custom. As we journeyed toward our destination, we stopped at a lodging place where Moses again encountered his Lord. This time God got Moses' attention by reminding him that he needed to return to the foundation of the covenant between God and his people. Remember, I was not aware of Moses' religious obligations since I was not from the tribe of Israel. But Israel had lived in that covenant relationship with Yahweh since the time of Abraham. One of the signs of that covenant relationship was this rite of circumcision. On the eve of delivering Israel from bondage, Moses was reminded that without circumcision, an Israelite was cut off from the covenant. Notice, however, it is the mother of his sons who fulfills this custom.
Reader: Exodus 4:24--26
Zipporah: Now my tribe practiced this rite also. I realized the importance of a covenant relationship with this God we were following and so desired to fulfill my role to my son by making sure that the law was fulfilled. How great is our God in helping us to be good mothers, laying good foundations in our children's lives through faith.
Leader: As mothers we do the same as Zipporah did when we take our children to worship and Sunday school and expose them to the Word of God. Zipporah enabled her family to live out their covenant relationship with God through this act. We enable our family to enter into that relationship and grow in their personal knowledge of Christ when we participate in a life of faith. The blood from circumcision was a seal to an Israelite of his covenant with God. But it is Jesus' blood which seals us as children of God. As our hearts are circumcised from sin and cleansed in the washing of Christ's forgiveness, we, too, will be faithful as Zipporah was to that understanding.
(Insert Chamber 2: foundation living, custom builder, covenant restorer)
Let us now hear from one who longed to be a mother and yet was barren.
Samson's Mom: I was a woman who sought the fulfillment of a covenant relationship for her son. I am known as the wife of Manoah, the mother of Samson. Was I ever surprised when the Lord sent an angel to announce that I was going to have a son. I had been barren for so long, but maybe you're not familiar with my story. Let's read it to you. It's found in the thirteenth chapter of the book of Judges.
Reader: Judges 13:2--25
Samson's Mom: Wow! I was to be the mother of a child of promise, and so I was instructed to abstain from wine, strong drink, and unclean food. My story is one of dedication of parents to a child not yet born. Samson's father sought God in prayer so that he, too, could be informed as a parent. We both had a deep desire to have God guide us in bringing up our son. We looked upon parenting as a sacred obligation to perform as we trained our youngster, and so needed God's help. You might even consider us today as examples to others who are expecting a child. I did what God commanded and prepared myself for the baby's birth. How great is our God in preparing us to be good mothers and fathers.
Leader: Parents have a responsibility toward their offspring. We do not simply pray and place the child in God's protection, instruct, and then fail to live out our part in God's plan. Samson's mother and father were devoted to God and to doing right for their child. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Samson's parents trained their child in the role of a Nazarite. They were not, however, accountable for the way that child rebelled against his call. Samson's reckless deeds when he grew up may have been in rebellion to the piety and strict conduct he observed in his parents. The faithfulness and devotion in his mother's heart must have enabled Samson's mother to trust God for the life of her self--willed son. Samson's upbringing and sun--filled years were blessed by God. Later, when blinded, imprisoned, and mocked, he must have dwelt on those happier times. In this situation, with age and a deeper acknowledgment of his own failings, he returned once more to a God who had brought him many victories in the past. Calling out one final time, he displayed God's power as the walls of the temple fell upon his enemies. His brothers and his father's family buried him in the tomb of his parents. A mother's heart continues to trust God for the life of her children even in the face of the reality of the circumstances. Her responsibility is to love and set boundaries. We must guard against being too strict with our discipline or too lax in our freedom. There must be a middle road. Setting our heart on God, as Samson's mother did, and seeking the Spirit's guidance as we train our children will enlarge that portion of our heart.
(Insert Chamber 3: dedication, devotion, obedience, example, prayerful, trusting)
Let us hear from our fourth mother.
Shunammite Mother: Another heart of a mother, my heart, is found recorded in the book of 2 Kings.
Reader: 2 Kings 4:1--17
Shunammite Mother: I was a woman who sought no reward for my efforts. I displayed an open heart and open home policy. I was often chided for letting my gift of hospitality go beyond mere politeness. But God gave me a ministry to one of his prophets, Elisha, and I enjoyed his friendship. He must have found me to be a good hostess, for he would stop at my home often when he came to Shunem. I even had a room prepared so he could drop in at any time and stay comfortably. Some thought this was really going too far, but I believed in going beyond normal niceties. Anyone can do that. God called me to share what I had with others, and I enjoyed doing it. My unsolicited graciousness did not go unre--warded. My reward was to become a mother of a son. I suppose I can serve today as an example to do without motive, to serve in love, to extend hospitality toward others beyond what is expected from us, and to seek to have fellowship with God's people as I did with the prophet. Life was good. But boys will be boys, and one day while my son was out playing, he hit his head. His father sent the child immediately to the source of healing and comfort, his mother. In horror I watched as my son died in my open arms, but I did not fall apart at his death. Immediately I went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door, and went out. Calling my husband, I asked for a servant and donkey so I could go to Elisha quickly and return. I knew exactly where to go in such a desperate situation. Now my husband must not have realized the boy had died, for he did not question why I was seeking the prophet when it was not a Sabbath or a festival day. But God is so good in giving mothers strength in times of trial and desperation even when others do not understand. How great is our God, a great rewarder of faith!
Leader: How inspired we should be to be like the Shunammite mother. If we only come to God on Sunday or special church holidays, we do not have the comfort or knowledge of how accessible God is at all times. In her distress this mother confronted the prophet: "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" (2 Kings 4:28, NIV). What boldness! She had sought nothing from this man of God, yet she had been blessed with a child. Now that life was gone. She was standing before Elisha reminding him of that fact. God tells us that through Jesus we can come boldly into the throne room of God with our requests. Here stood a mother whose heart had been opened to love and who now was suffering the pain of that lost love. She expected the man of God to do something. When we go to God we should do likewise, expecting God to act. In this case, God did. Sending his servant ahead to confirm the fact, Elisha was informed the child was truly dead. Shutting himself up with the body, Elisha prayed, but nothing happened. Then he got on the bed and laid upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. The body warmed. The prophet rose, walked back and forth, then laid upon the boy again. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Life had entered the boy. The Shunammite mother received her dead son back. She was rewarded by God for her belief in his ability to go beyond what is asked. May we always go further than what is required of us. God went beyond what we might consider normal limits when he chose to dwell among us. As this mother prepared a place for Elisha, prepare a place for Christ to dwell in your hearts. As she went beyond the required hospitality extended to others, go and do likewise. As she had faith in what God could and would do for his children, have faith also to approach the Father boldly in Jesus' name.
(Insert first part of Chamber 4: hospitable, gracious, bold, expectant, going beyond what is asked)
And now we will hear from our last mother, who is connected with our fourth mother.
Wife of Jairus: There are many other mothers in the Bible who display another part of the heart for us to remember also, but I stand here tonight as the final mother we will look at. I am the wife of Jairus, and my story is found in the Gospel of Luke 8:40--53.
Reader: Luke 8:40--53
Jairus' Wife: I had stayed at home with a dying child. I was not angry when my husband sought help from Christ. I did not demand that he stay and care for me as I took care of our ailing girl. When the child died, I did not demand he speed home to arrange the funeral. I allowed my spouse to do all he could to possibly change the circumstance. I clung to a hope that this man of God would come as Elisha did and restore life to our dead daughter. I've come to believe that with God all things are possible. And Jesus did come and bring life back to the dead. Embracing a live child, I did as Christ commanded: I fed her, a simple thing, but in the hour before that I felt I could never prepare another meal for anyone. God is so good. He takes our pains and brings us joy as mothers. He takes circumstances that look so bleak and brings hope and confidence into our lives. Have faith and believe in that. Just open your hearts and your lives to God's Spirit. Yes, our God is so good, so very good!
Leader: When we give our children to God and open our hearts up to the Lord's guidance and instruction, God delivers even the wayward and spiritually dead back. And so we insert the other part of our attributes of a mother into Chamber 4 of our heart: hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregiver.
(Insert second part of Chamber 4 of our heart: hopeful, seeking others' welfare, caregiver)
In conclusion, we see that Moses' natural mother lost her child to another but was given the peace that he was placed in a position of advantage and protection because she had protected him also. She had done all she could for him, and now she freed God to do the rest. Moses' adoptive mother raised her son in that protection yet lived with the knowledge that someday he would probably desire to know of his people and their heritage, and she would then lose him also. Zipporah reminds us of our need to live in a covenant relationship with the God who offers us his love and protection. God calls us to bring our children up to understand that covenant personally. Samson's mother was obedient and devoted to her God and child. She trusted that even the straying, wayward child can be won back to God. She died before she saw that happen, but how blessed she was to have faith it would. The Shunam--mite woman sought no reward for herself. She opened her heart and home to a child she did not ask for. She opened her life to service by caring for God's prophet. She went beyond what one would ask. Jairus' wife sought the welfare of her child and husband, not her own solace.
May a portion of each of these mothers' hearts become a part of our own today. And so we celebrate this day, and Valentine's Day, and every day with a grateful and loving heart, filled with chambers of all the traits which make up a mother's heart. And in that love and the love of God we pray. Amen.
