Acts 16:9-15

I think sometimes people pre-judge Paul. They think that Paul is opposed to women in leadership in the church. Often it is based on a few quotes of his taken out of context. After all it was Paul who wrote that in Christ there is no male or female. (Galatians 3:28) And a careful look at his ministry shows his willingness to give women positions of importance. The episode we read about this morning is an example of that.

To understand what is going on in this passage you have to understand Paul's method of operation. Paul was a formally trained Pharisee. He was a teacher and because of his credentials he could speak in any synagogue. So, as he traveled around, in each town he would go to the synagogue on the Sabbath and inform the Jews in that town that the Messiah had come and he was Jesus! Some believed him and some didn't. Sometimes they threw him out but they had heard the Good News.

This method worked in most towns because most towns in known world had a synagogue. Philippi was different. You needed 12 Jewish men to establish a synagogue. There apparently were not 12 Jewish men in Philippi. Maybe that was because it was a Roman colony and most of the residents there had come from Rome.

Paul could have given up on the town and moved on, but he didn't. On the Sabbath he went out to the river which was a traditional place of prayer. When he got there he found some women who believed in God who had gathered there for prayer. Some Pharisees taught that a man should not talk to a women who was not a relative in public. But Paul sat down and witnessed to these women; he treated them as equals or at least more equal than most men in his day would have, and one of these women, Lydia, became a patron of the church in Phillip.

Now that I have defended Paul's integrity and shown that he is not the anti-woman monster some make him out to be, let me get to the real point of our lesson today: Lydia. We don't know a lot about her. She was apparently a well to do merchant. She dealt in purple cloth which was a luxury. That kind of business could be lucrative but required a large initial investment.

Living in a Roman Colony, Lydia may have had some freedoms she would not have elsewhere: the right to own property, the right to represent herself in court and enter into contracts. She apparently had extensive property to run a business like hers.

We are told that she was a "worshipper of God." She might have been Jewish. But often times the phrase "worshipper of God" means a Gentile who believes in God. She may have wanted to become a Jew but for one reason or another she did not. She certainly believed enough to go out of her way to keep the Sabbath and worship even in the absence of a synagogue.

In the few verses about her in Acts we are told that she opened her house to Paul. She allowed the fledgling church to meet there. We don't know if she had any children but she did have a household. If she didn't have children, and even if she did, her household might have included servants or extended family. So she may not have been a mother to children, but in a way she was a mother to the church in Philippi.

I believe that Lydia is an example for mothers today. In these two short verses we see an example for Christian mothers. First of all it says that the Lord opened her heart to listen to what Paul said. She had put herself in a place to be influenced by God. She took the time and effort to put time aside for prayer and worship. In the same way mothers today should put themselves in a place to be influenced by God. This means making worship and personal devotion a priority. I know how busy mothers are now a days, grandmothers too, but making our relationship with God a priority will put us under the influence of God. When we pray or read the Bible we are opening ourselves to the presence of God and then God can direct and guide us just as God guided and inspired Lydia.

We are also told that Lydia was baptized with her household too. Her belief had somehow influence those with whom she shared her life. They too chose to give their hearts to God and become believers. We never know what kind of influence we have on those around us. Our children are watching us and listening. The story goes that a preacher visited a mother and her small son one day. The boy said, "Is it true that we all come from dust and that we return to dust?" The preacher said, "That's what the Bible says." Then the boy got an alarmed look on his face and said, "Well someone is either coming or going under my bed!" That boy may not have understood but he was listening. If we will just live the Gospel then others, especially our children, will see and they will choose to put their faith in the same one we trust.

We are also told that Lydia opened her home. This was probably more than just providing a place for Paul and Silas to stay. She probably opened her home to the church to allow them to meet at her house. Just as she had her heart opened to God, she was opening her life to others. She put what she had at the disposal of God. In the same way mothers today should put their lives at God's disposal. God has given you resources and talents. Like Lydia, use those to host and nurture other Christians. Be a mother to the church just as Lydia was.

Lydia is an example for mothers. Like her, Christian mothers should place themselves in a place spiritually where they can be influenced by the Holy Spirit. They should allow God to open their hearts to hear the Gospel. That means prayer and Bible study and worship. And they should live their faith so that others are influenced by it. Your children and grandchildren are watching you. They are learning what you believe in and that affects them and the choices they make and beliefs they develop. Open your life to serve God. Put your resources at God's disposal. Show hospitality and serve in Christ's name.

Lydia is an example for mothers today. But remember that in the church all women are mothers! You don't have to have given birth to or adopted a child to be a mother in the church. Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:50) So if any of the women have tuned me out because they are not a mother, open your hearts and hear; Lydia is an example for you as well.

And you know I have to admit that she is an example to us men as well. She may have been a woman living in a man's age, but her faith can inspire all of us. Like Lydia we should let God influence us. Then we should live in such a way that we influence others. We should put ourselves and all we have at God's disposal. Then like Lydia we can be mothers, and fathers, of the church!

Acts 16:11-15

Parenthood is no bed of roses. As rewarding and fulfilling as it can be, it is also difficult. When my children were babies I thought "When they start sleeping through the night that will be the day." Well they sleep through the night, but I have found they have other way of keeping their old man awake at night. There is so much to worry about: who are their friends, what are they doing, what happens each day at school, what is really going on inside those cute little heads of theirs?

Being a parent is a huge responsibility. When they are little they depend on us for everything. At the beginning all they can do is cry. But it doesn't get any better. Parents are also responsible for making sure they have the education they need; that they have values that will serve them well in their lives.

Parenthood is such a huge responsibility, what can we do?

I imagine that Lydia and Paul in our Lesson today had the same feeling of being overburdened with responsibility. Both Paul and Lydia were called by God to witness to Christ in some very unfavorable and burdensome circumstances. Paul's calling was to be an Apostle and eyewitness of the gospel to the Gentiles. On his journeys he came to the city of Philippi.

Philippi wasn't the kind of place where people would want to hear about Christ. The people of Philippi had made themselves the leading city in the district by hard work. Philippi had started off as a little town. But it had allied itself with kings and emperors and the powers of this world and made itself the leading city in its district. They had no need for a Savior who dies on a cross. Their savior was Rome. They had no need of the Jew's God. They had plenty of gods of their own.

So when Paul came to this city I imagine he threw his arms up and said, "What can I do!" Usually Paul got around these problems by going to the synagogue in town first. There he could speak to people who honored the same Scriptures. And he could announce to them that the Messiah had come. From the converts he found there he would have a base of operations to reach out to the rest of the city. But there wasn't even a Synagogue in Philippi.

Under such circumstances many people would just give up. Why waste time on a lost cause. Sometimes it seems better to engage in a strategic retreat. Many people would have spent one night and been on their way to the next city where the prospects were more rosy. Many people would have given up in desperation, but not Paul. No, Paul, despite the odds, went about his business. Paul couldn't find a Synagogue but it says, "On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together." He couldn't find a synagogue but he could find a few God fearing women who would listen to the good new he had for them. He did what he could: He sat down and taught these women he came across about what Jesus had done.

One of these women, Lydia, is said to be a worshiper of God or in some translations a fearer of God. "Fearer of God" probably means that these women were Jews or they at least sought to worship the one true God which the Jews worshipped. It would have taken twelve Jewish men to found a synagogue. These women were not allowed to found one and call a rabbi on their own. So they faithfully gathered by the river and worshipped as they could.

When Paul came to speak to their gathering Lydia's heart was touched by what he had said: as folk used to say, God "laid a burden on her heart." She heard the Good News that the Messiah had come to save, and she felt the Spirit urging her to tell the world about it. God opened her heart and called her to the ministry of spreading the Gospel. But what could she do? In her day and time women did not have many freedoms or much power. As in many churches today, she probably would not have been allowed to preach. There were few, like Paul, who would sit down and teach her about God. In a town like Philippi she had the right to run her own business, but not much else. She wouldn't have been allowed to be the formal leader of a religious community. That would have been scandalous, even for Romans. But in a colony of Rome she did have the right to own property.

There were a lot of things that Lydia couldn't do because she was a woman and the people of her time didn't allow women do such things. But she and her household were baptized. And she urged Paul to stay with them for a while so that he could teach them. So Paul stayed, and people began meeting in Lydia's house to hear the Good News that Paul had brought them. Lydia's house became the meeting place for the newly founded church in Philippi. In many ways the church in Philippi was born in Lydia's home.

Before two weeks were up the authorities in Philippi required Paul to leave town. It seemed he was causing too much trouble. Despite these humble beginnings, the Church at Philippi became one of the greatest churches of the first century. It is one of the few church to which Paul never had to write an angry word. Despite all its troubles, all the strikes it had against it, it grew to be a great church and an example of what Christ can do in people's lives.

Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. He had been there less than two week. He didn't baptize many people and did not have much of a chance to teach anyone. The only leadership he left that church with was a woman who owned a cloth shop. And the sanctuary was Lydia's house. As far as we know Paul never returned to Philippi. But he had told some women by the river about Jesus.

Lydia didn't make the church at Philippi great either. It is true that God used her as an instrument of spreading the Good News. But she wouldn't have been allowed by law or custom to take the leadership role which would have been needed. All she did was have her household baptized, and open her home to be used as a place where Paul could stay and the new believers could meet.

Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. Lydia, bless her, didn't make the church at Philippi great. God made that church great. God took those actions of faith of Lydia and Paul and used them as a starting point. Both Paul and Lydia did what little they could do in the face of circumstances which were against them. They did what little they could do and trusted that God would do the rest.

I believed the story of the founding of the Church at Philippi has a message of hope for mothers, on this Mother's day, and for the church as a whole. Being a mother, or a father for that matter, is a calling just like the calling God gave to Lydia and Paul. It is true that parents are not called to help lay the foundation of a Christian Church. But Christian parents are called to help lay the foundation of a Christian, and in many ways that can be much harder. Where do we even begin to lay the spiritual foundation for our children?

We need to have that foundation for ourselves. We have to be grounded in Christ. We have to sit at the feet of a teacher like Lydia did and as Paul had done before he began his mission. It is true that each person has to make a decision for Christ for themselves, but our children learn by watching us. If we want them to pray, they need to see us praying. If we want them to attend Sunday School, we need to attend.

But that seems like so little in the face of such a huge task. But glory be to God, we don't have to do it alone. While God calls us to do the little things that we can, he is there to do the rest. Ultimately what it comes down to is trusting God. Do you trust God? With even your most precious possession - your children? If you are not trusting Him in the little things, then how can you?

People are fiercely loyal to their mothers. You have seen the scene a hundred times. It is so commonplace you probably never thought about the meaning behind it. It is an expression of something we assume so deeply that we expect it. It is something so basic to us it is almost instinct.

The scene is the Super Bowl, or the Hula Bowl, or the pro bowl, or the World Series, final four.... It is near the end of the game. One of the two teams is ahead enough that the celebration has begun. The camera starts panning the sidelines of the winning team. And all the players are holding up a #1. Then one after another we hear them, or maybe we just read their lips. They are all saying, "Hi Mom!"

This tells us something. Think about it. Of all the people they could say hi to on national T.V., why is it always Mom? Why not a wife, or children, or a father? Why not that high school coach who taught them the basic skills that are earning them millions. It is always Mom. People are fiercely loyal to their mothers. Even the physically strongest men in our society display their loyalty to their mothers for all to see.

People are so loyal to their mothers, because a mother's love is so great. Consider what mothers go through. First there is childbirth. That is no picnic. Now that men are in the delivery room more and more we are beginning to respect what women go through. And once the child is born, most of the work of child rearing falls on the mothers. Often it is out of necessity. The father can earn more so he goes and earns while the mother stays at home. But studies show that even in two career families, force of habit places most of the burden on the mother. All that time and energy, for what, so that the child can leave?

A mother gives and gives and gives asking nothing in return. And no matter what happens, they still love. A person can commit an unspeakable crime and everyone will abandon that person, but their mother won't. Consider Mary, Jesus' mother. When almost everybody else fled in terror, who was one of the few at the foot of the cross: Mary, the mother of Jesus.

A mother's love is so unconditional and exceptional that it is in a category by itself. Some give it it's own name. They call it " Motherlove." It is a degree of love that is only fully expressed by the love of a mother. It is the kind of love that persists no matter what wrong is done to it. Even among wild animals, a mother will give her life to save her offspring. So people respond to that degree of love with an equally fierce loyalty.

Jesus told us to call God "Father," but God's love is much like a mother's love. The Bible is full of examples of God's "motherlove." God is constantly feeding and nurturing his children. God is the one who gave us life, who breathed us into existence, just as our mothers birthed us into this world. And God is constantly giving for our benefit. And God hurts when we walk away and reject love.

The image of God as Shepherd is a good example of this. God cares for us as a good shepherd. God provides for our every need. God takes us to green pastures and leads us beside still waters. And God protects us from wild animals that would devour us.

Like a mother God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. When others would flee, God remains steadfast. Just like a mother who stands by her child even though others ridicule, deride and even crucify him. And what is God doing in the face of our enemies? God is providing for our earthly needs by preparing a table for us.

Of course God's love is greater than any love a human can produce. "Motherlove" is only an analogy that helps us understand God's love. But it's a good analogy. It helps us understand how loving and giving God's love is. The most unconditional example of human love is a Mother's love. To say that God loves us more than that at least gives us a frame of reference.

Jesus is the prime example of God's "Motherlove." In Jesus God died for his children. The ultimate expression of love is to give one's life for another. (John 15:13) We see that expressed when a mother risks her life to save her child. Jesus is the Son of God, but even he tells us that he and the Father are one. When the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross, he was sending himself to suffer and die. Like a mother Jesus was unselfishly giving his life so that his children could live.

The amazing thing is Jesus died for humanity even though we rejected him. God's love in Christ loved even though people spat upon him and cursed him. One might think that the God of the universe would squash people for treating him so. But God's love does not depend on us loving him back. We can reject God, and God hurts, but like a mother's love God's love continues.

Paul preached about this love. He said, "Though they could charge him with nothing deserving death, yet they asked Pilot to have him killed." And yet God sent them the good news of the resurrection that they might repent and live. (Acts 13:26-33) That is love. God could have condemned them once they killed Jesus. But instead God sent them Paul and other preachers to try to save them. God continued to love them even though they rejected and mistreated Jesus, God in the flesh. God loves us even though we do the same.

The problem is that most people don't know this aspect of God's love. They mistakenly think God is vengeful or mean. God is righteous, and God seeks justice. But it is more like the punishment that a loving mother gives a child. Its purpose is to keep the child safe. A mother punishes a child for playing with matches not to be mean but so that the child doesn't burn herself.

The greatest quality of God is God's love and God's forgiving spirit. Ideally a mother will always love her child no matter how evil they get. God will always love his children no matter what they do. God loves us even though we reject him and hurt him. Even though we crucify him daily with our sin, he still loves us. And he sent us the good news of that love.

Love God! Why? For the same reason you love your mother. God gave us life. God loves us, and gave his life for us. Like the Martyrs of old, let us decided to love back by giving our whole lives to God.

You would die for your mother. Why not be willing to die for God? Why not be willing to live for God?

One day the worship committee of First United Methodist Church of Somewhere SC was meeting. They were discussing what to do to recognize mother's day. They decided to give a rose to the oldest mother in the congregation, and one to the mother with the most children grandchildren etc. present in church. They also decided to have all the mothers stand. Then someone on the committee got worried. What should we do about Miss. Smith? She never had any children. But she has been teaching the first grade Sunday School class for 30 years. She is like a mother to all of us. We ought to be able to recognize her on mother's day?

The Worship Committee of First Church Somewhere had run right into one of the truths of the Christian faith. In the church, all women are mothers. It doesn't matter whether you have any children or not. Miss. Smith of First Church Somewhere never bore a child, yet she mothered every child who came into her class. In the world's eyes she wasn't a mother to even one child, but in God's eyes she was a mother to hundreds.

To understand this truth you have to understand the church. The church is a family, the family of God. Through baptism we have been adopted as children of God. God is our father and Christ is our brother. And everyone else in the world who has been baptized is our kin. When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were looking for him, what did he say? He said, "Who are my brothers and my mother? Those who do the will of my father are my brothers and sisters and mother." When we are baptized we are joined by the power of the spirit to a new family. In God's eyes, we cease to be John Smith and Jane Doe. And we become John Christian and Jane Christian, children of our Heavenly Father. In this family the older and experienced members have the responsibility of raising and caring for the younger and inexperienced members. In that sense we are all parents to those who are growing in the faith around us. Not just those who are growing physically, but to those who are growing spiritually. In Christ we are all foster fathers and mothers for God's children. So today we honor all women in the church, because in God's eyes you are mothers all.

"Oh that sounds sweet: the preacher says all the women in the church are mothers." You don't understand! It's not sweet. Being a mother is hard. You don't know what you have gotten yourselves into. I don't know about being a mother, but I have had fifteen + years of on the job training on being a father. It's difficult. It's hard work. It's not all cuteness and smiles. It's an awesome responsibility.

I know; being a parent is not easy. People tell me the early years are the easy part. It will get harder now that both my children are teens. More and more I will have to worry about the dangerous effect of the world. The world wants to lure God's children into ways of life that offer no real fulfillment. Into materialism, into drugs, into hatred, into sin. It's easy to immunize them against the diseases of the body. But what about the diseases of the soul.

This is the task all you women, as mother in God's eyes, have signed yourself up for. When a child is baptized, the church makes a promise before God to: live according to the example of Christ, surround that child with love and forgiveness, help them grow and become disciples of Christ. That means taking the responsibility to protect them from the world and to prepare them for the world. Any parent knows that you can't live your child's life for them. There comes a time when the apron strings need to be cut. And when that happens you can't protect a child from the world, you can only pray for them. In the mean time we need to prepare our children in the faith to face the world. We need to help them appropriate and learn how to use the armor of Christ. To train them in spiritual warfare. So that they would not only be safe but may attack the gates of hell with the power that comes only from God.

In the light of this awesome responsibility that Christian mothers have I feel that our passage from Ephesians is appropriate for today. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers." In this passage Paul gives thanks for the faith and love of the Ephesians. Obviously they were a people who had great faith in Jesus. And obviously they were a people who lived out that faith in love for one another. They were a church of Christian mothers and fathers who cared well for God's children.

But Paul knew that the Ephesians faced trouble. So he begins to pray for them. He prays that they receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation. He also prays that the eyes of their hearts be enlightened so that they may know of the hope they have in Christ.

It is important to note what it is he wants them to see. He wants them to see what is their hope and their power. Paul knew that the forces opposed to the Ephesians were greater than they were. The people of the church of Ephesus would be easily crushed by their foes. But Paul also knew that Jesus had ascended into heaven. And that all things, all powers, were subject under him, even the powers which opposed Ephesus. This was their hope. The power of the glorified Christ. The power of God Almighty.

Like Paul, I give thanks for the faith and love of the mothers of the church. I remember the love and nurture of many of them. There was my own mother of course. Her example of faith and devotion had a great effect on me. She is one of the reasons I am a disciple of Christ today. But there were many others. One I remember particularly was Mrs. Melia. Mrs. Melia never had any children; at least not biological ones. But she led two children's choirs and a youth choir. She was a mother to every child in that church who could carry a tune and a good number who couldn't. She helped raise me in the faith. The songs of the faith that she taught me helped me to grow and to fight the spiritual battle that I needed to fight for myself.

I give thanks for Christian mothers, but I also pray for you. You need the insight to know what is true and good. You need the patience to persevere. You need the grace to be forgiving when little hands and feet do what they shouldn't. You need the faith to know that a point comes when you can't do anything and that it is all in the Lord's hands.

I also pray for you to have insight into the power which is our hope. There is a power that can overcome all that threatens our children. The source of this power is the glorified Christ. Don't try to be a Christian mother without it. It is impossible. You can only succeed at being a Christian mother if your source of power is the one who ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God Almighty.

John 17:6-19

"Jesus loves me this is know for the Bible tells me so." Evidence of the love of God is everywhere in the Bible. It is especially evident in the Gospels. That's because Jesus is the living embodiment of God's love. It is a love that not only sacrifices to save us but also gives us an example to follow as we try to live our lives pleasing to God. That is why we call Jesus our example and redeemer.

This example of love is shown to us in the passage I read from John's Gospel. This is part of a prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Most people think of Jesus praying "Let this cup pass from me. Not my will but yours be done." But that is only part of Jesus' prayer in the Garden. A large portion of that prayer is about Jesus' disciples.

Jesus realized that he would soon be separated from his disciples. So he prayed that the Father would care for the disciples. He admitted that they were ultimately a gift from God and that they belong to God. He also knew that he had taught them as best he could. So he released them to the Father's care.

Of course Jesus is an example for all of us to follow, but I believe that today's lesson has a special application for mothers. Jesus said of his disciples, "They were yours and you gave them to me." Almost any mother would agree with the statement that their baby is a gift from God. But how seriously do we take that statement. Do we truly think of our children as gifts from God? Do we think of them as belonging to God or belonging to us?

Most of the time I am aware that my two girls are gifts from God. But then there are times they don't seem like gifts. You know the times when they refuse to cooperate and try your nerves. I am sure the disciples got of Jesus nerves at times. Especially in the garden when they couldn't stay awake just a little while to pray with Jesus.

But our children are gifts from God. They are living blessing from our Eternal Father. Ultimately they are not our own, but belong to God. We are but caretakers of God's blessings. If we can only remember that they are gifts from God, then we can give thanks to God even when they clog up the toilet and take off their shoes for the fifth time while you are trying to dress them for school.

Jesus realized that the disciples were gifts from God and he speaks about how he has cared for them. Jesus says, "for the words that you gave me I have given to them." Throughout his time with the disciples Jesus taught them at every opportunity. A look at the parables and sayings of Jesus is proof of this. Usually he used common everyday things to teach the disciples. He was probably pointing to these things as he used them as object lessons.

As parents we have a responsibility to teach our children the words that God has given us. We are called to teach our children that God is their maker, that Jesus died for their sins, and that the Holy Spirit wants to live in our lives. One of the ongoing trends in church attendance is that some people tend to drop out of church during their young adult years until they have children. Then they begin attending church again because they realize a need for their children to learn of God and have a relationship with their heavenly Father.

But merely bringing children to church is just the beginning. Parents need to know the Gospel too. We can't teach what we don't know. So parents need to go to Sunday School if they want their children to get something out of it. Children also need to see the Gospel at work in our lives. I remember one day seeing the Gospel at work in my Mother's life. I remember returning to the store because the clerk gave my mother a ten instead of a one. I also remember the volunteer work for the Red Cross and the time she spent just listening to me. Our children need to hear us speaking of Jesus, but they also need to see Jesus at work in our lives. If they see hear the words but don't see the actions they will decide that Jesus really means nothing because we are just paying lip service to him. Jesus said "for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they may also be sanctified in truth." In the same way we need to sanctify ourselves as an example for our children.

Finally Jesus gives us an example by simply praying for his disciples. How often do you pray for your children? Most people only pray for their children in a moment of crisis. But we should pray for them daily. We can't be with our children 24 hours a day. During those times we need to surrender them over to God's care because we are powerless.

It may be difficult to think of Jesus as powerless but he was when he surrendered to God's will to die on the cross. It was by his choice, but he couldn't be on the cross and comforting his disciples at the same time. For three days he would be separated from them by his own death. So for that time he surrendered them to the Father.

There comes a point in every parent's life when it is time for the child to move on. That is the goal of motherhood. To raise the child so that they can take care of themselves. Whether it is sending them to first grade or college or into marriage, we have to let go. At those times we have to follow Jesus' example and surrender them, to the Fathers' care. After all they are God's to begin with.

Jesus our example and redeemer gave us an example in his life that applies to us all. I know that many of you mothers know the things I have said today. You already know that your children are gifts from God and you give thanks for them every day. You know that you need to pass on all that you know about Jesus and that your life should reflect the things you say. You also know that you need to surrender your children to God in prayer daily.

But sometimes we need to be reminded. Often it is hard to try to live these ideas in the real world. Jesus knows this because he too faced the same difficulties that we do. Yet in Jesus we have a living example of the word of God in the flesh. An example of how to live out the love we have for our children.

I guess what it all boils down to is the love of God. Mothers love their children just as God loves his children. As humans we often have trouble expressing that love. But in Jesus God has given us a living example of love. In the end we all, mothers included, need to follow Jesus' example. And perhaps we should remind ourselves that Jesus is interceding with the father for us too.

Acts 16:11-15

As many of you know Melissa and I are pregnant. Now that they let the father-to-be into the delivery room people say we're pregnant. Maybe that is why Rev. Trotter asked me to preach on mother's day. He thought it would give me a chance to think and pray about parenthood. But I promise you that we've been thinking, and praying about it. In the last four months it hasn't left our thoughts.

Like all expectant parents, we have thought about the joys of being a mother and a father. We have thought of the hearing the quiet coos and gurgles of our son or daughter. Or watching him or her sleep peacefully. More than once I have caught Melissa meditating on a little yellow bootie. She was obviously contemplating the tiny feet which would fit in such a sock.

But then we realize that parenthood is not bed of roses. Sometimes those peaceful gurgles become loud cries. And sometimes babies stay awake and no one in the house finds any peaceful rest. Little feet and little hands sometime get into all kinds of trouble. Then they grow to be big feet and hand which get into even bigger trouble Sometimes Melissa and I will be sitting on the couch just relaxing. And Melissa will say to me "Alex I am worried." And I will fall into my pastoral mode and put my hand on her shoulder and say, "Your worried? Would you like to talk about it?" and she begins to tell me how she's worried about the baby and if she will be able to take care of it, and what kind of mother she will be. What she is expressing is the awesome responsibility of being a mother, or a father for that matter. This little human being will be placed in our care. It will be totally helpless and we will be responsible for it.

Responsible for keeping it healthy and warm. Responsible for teaching it right from wrong. Responsible for helping it find meaning and happiness in this life as well as being responsible for helping it find the way to eternal life. Those are big responsibilities!

What can we do?

I imagine that Lydia and Paul in our Lesson today had the same feeling of being overburdened with responsibility. Both Paul and Lydia were called by God to witness to Christ in some very unfavorable and burdensome circumstances. Paul's calling was to be an Apostle and eyewitness of the gospel to the Gentiles. On his journeys he came to the city of Philippi.

Philippi wasn't the kind of place where people would want to hear about Christ. The people of Philippi had made themselves the leading city in the district by hard work. Philippi had started off as a little town like Bahama. But it had allied itself with kings and emperors and the powers of this world and made itself the leading city in its district. They had no need for a Savior who dies on a cross, Their savior was Rome. They had no need of the Jew's God. They had plenty of gods of their own.

So when Paul came to this city I imagine he threw his arms up and said, "What can I do!" Usually Paul got around these problems by going to the synagogue in town first. There he could speak to people who honored the same Scriptures. And he could announce to them that the Messiah had come. From the converts he found there he would have a base of operations to reach out to the rest of the city. But there wasn't even a Synagogue in Philippi.

Under such circumstances many people would just give up. Why waste time on a lost cause. Sometimes it seems better to engage in a strategic retreat. Many people would have spent one night and been on their way to the next city where the prospects were more rosy. Many people would have given up in desperation, but not Paul. No, Paul despite the odds, he went about his business. Paul couldn't find a Synagogue but it says, "on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together." He couldn't find a synagogue but he could find a few God fearing women who would listen to the good new he had for them. He did what he could: He sat down and taught these women he came across about what Jesus had done.

One of these women, Lydia, is said to be a worshiper of God or in some translations a fearer of God. "fearer of God" probably means that these women were Jews of they at least sought to worship the one true God which the Jews worshipped. It would have taken twelve Jewish men to found a synagogue. These women were not allowed to found one and call a rabbi on their own. So they faithfully gathered by the river and worshipped as they could.

When Paul came to speak to their gathering Lydia's heart was touched by what he had said. As folk used to say, God "laid a burden on her heart." She heard the Good news that the Messiah had come to save, and she felt the spirit urging her to tell the world about it. God opened her heart and called her to the ministry of spreading the Gospel. But what could she do? In her day and time, women did not have many freedoms or much power. As in many churches today, she probably would not have been allowed to preach. There were few, like Paul, who would sit down and teach her about God. In a town like Philippi she had the right to run her own business, but not much else. She wouldn't have been allowed to be the formal leader of a religious community. That would have been scandalous, even for Romans. But in a colony of Rome she did have the right to own property.

There were a lot of things that Lydia couldn't do because she was a woman and the people of her time didn't allow women do such things. But she and her household were baptized. And she urged Paul to stay with them for a while so that he could teach them. So Paul stayed, and people began meeting in Lydia's house to hear the good news that Paul had brought them. Lydia's house became the meeting place for the newly founded church in Philippi. In many ways the church in Philippi was born in Lydia's home.

Before two weeks were up the authorities in Philippi required Paul to leave town. It seemed he was causing too much trouble. Despite these humble beginnings, the Church at Philippi became one of the greatest churches of the first century. It is one of the few church to which Paul never had to write an angry word. Despite all its troubles, all the strikes it had against it, it grew to be a great church and an example of what Christ can do in people's lives.

Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. He had been there less than two week. He did not baptize many people and did not have much of a chance to teach anyone. The only leadership he left that church with was a woman who owned a cloth shop. And the sanctuary was Lydia's house. As far as we know Paul never returned to Philippi. But he had told some women by the river about Jesus.

Lydia didn't make the church at Philippi great either. It is true that God used her as an instrument of spreading the good news. But she wouldn't have been allowed by law or custom to take the leadership role which would have been needed. All she did was have her household baptized, and open her home to be used as a place where Paul could stay and the new converts could meet.

Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. Lydia, bless her, didn't make the church at Philippi great. God made that church great. God took those actions of faith of Lydia and Paul and used them as a starting point. Both Paul and Lydia did what little they could do in the face of circumstances which were against them. They did what little they could do and trusted that God would do the rest.

I believed the story of the founding of the Church at Philippi has a message of hope for mothers, on this Mother's day, and for the church, on this day or worship. Being a mother, or a father for that matter, is a calling just like the calling God gave to Lydia and Paul. It is true that parents are not called to help lay the foundation of a Christian Church. But Christian parents are called to help lay the foundation of a Christian, and in many ways that can be much harder. But glory be to God, we don't have to do it alone. All God asks is that we do what we can and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

This passage also has a word of hope for the Church. During the two years that Melissa and I have been coming to this church, I have heard people asking what Mt. Bethel can do to spread the good news. Like Lydia, you have wondered what little old me can do, or what little old Mt. Bethel can do to spread the good news. Paul started by talking to a few women who were praying by the river. Lydia started by opening her home to begin a church. What can we do? We can only do those little things which present themselves to us. This story shows us that when God's people are faithful in little things, God is faithful in the big things. The Almighty has done it before and the Almighty will do it again.

Later in this service we will be having an altar call. This is not the kind of altar call which we have during the last hymn, but it is a king of altar call which Christians have been having for almost two thousand years. Later Rev. Trotter will be calling all who love Christ and seek to follow him to come forward to receive communion. In the prayers in the communion service there is one where the minister prays over the Bread and the cup, "Make them for us the body and blood of Christ that we may be the Body of Christ redeemed by his blood."

As we come forward to receive the Lord's supper today I want us all to make that our prayer that the Lord will pour out the Holy Spirit on us and make this bread and cup for us the Body and blood of Christ that we may be the Body of Christ redeemed by his Blood. Oh, this may seem like a small thing to do. For most of us it doesn't take much to come to the front of the church and dip a piece of bread in a cup of grape juice. But it is a small act of faith which proclaims loudly, "It is Christ who makes us able to accomplish anything which we do as a church." It is an act which says that through the blood of Christ we are transformed into the body of Christ, and that is our source of life. This small act of taking communion may just be a drop in the bucket, but what it important is that someone much greater than us is holding the bucket.

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I Peter 3:13-22

"A mother's fears." As a pastor I have a lot of mothers ask to pray for their children. The concerns of these mothers ranged from whether her child would survive an illness to whether her child would pass an exam. Once a mother came to me asking for prayer because she was afraid her son would be called away to fight in the Gulf War. More recently a mother asked me to pray for her children because prom night was approaching. Countless times, when people are in pain both emotional or physical, it is their mother who is the first to turn to God in prayers.

The reality of Motherhood is that along with all the joys and blessings of caring for a child there are also fears. Fears of what the future holds. We live in a society that seems to be getting worse by the hour. We fight against crime and injustice and drugs yet those things seem to be on the rise. What will happen to our children in the future?

We all have both hopes and fears for the children we raise. Will the things that we try to teach them here in the church and at home stick. Will they surrender themselves to God and receive strength for abundant living. Or will they give in to the pressures of this world and suffer the pain of a life lost in sin. Sometimes the fears overshadow the hopes.

The early church faced a similar situation. Their fears for their children in the faith sometimes overshadowed their hopes. The early church faced enemies on all sides. The Jews opposed their proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah and they started riots wherever the Christians went. The Romans didn't like the problems that this new upstart religion was causing so they persecuted the Christians too. What would become of the church and of the spiritual children that were being born again into it every day.

Peter the Apostle was concerned and so, inspired by God, he sent a message of hope to the church. He began, "Who will harm you if you are eager to do good?" It makes sense. Would you beat someone up for trying to lift you out of a hole. But that was exactly what was happening top the Christians. The Jew and the Romans were beating them up for trying to lift them out of the hole of sin. Peter is very much aware of that reality so in his next sentence he says, "But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed." He goes on, "Do not fear what they fear and be intimidated." So even though they suffer for doing good they should have hope and not fear.

Now forgive me for complaining but the last thing a person who is genuinely concerned wants to hear is "Don't worry." You remember the a few years back there was a song that said, "Don't worry, Be happy." It is good to be hopeful, but that attitude belittles peoples concerns. People don't need to be told "Don't worry" they need to be told why they don't need to worry. Is Peter here telling the early church in the midst of persecution "Don't worry, be happy?"

Peter is not saying "Don't worry, be happy" to these suffering Christians. He is not ignoring the enormity of the troubles that faced the early church. Remember who Peter is: He is the chief Apostle. He is was the first for the disciples to confess that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. And do you remember Jesus response to Peter's confession. "You are Peter(the rock), and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."(Matthew 16:18) Now Jesus did not build his church upon Peter. Peter was just a chip off the old block. The rock Jesus built his church upon was the truth that He, Jesus, was the Christ the son of God. So Peter reminds the church of this truth. First Peter says "for it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil"(vs. 17) Then he puts this suffering in context, "For Christ suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous in order to bring you to God."

This statement says several things to the early Christians. 1. Christ suffered for us. He knows the suffering we are going through. He can feel our pain. 2. Like us he suffered for doing good; for following God's will. 3. God willed his suffering for a greater good. It was his suffering that bought our salvation. He suffered and died so that all of us could live eternally. So our suffering must be for a grater good. What was that greater good that the early church was suffering for? If they had not suffered in faith who would have passed on the faith to us. Their suffering is a living proof of what Peter has written here. It was also a fulfillment of what Jesus said to Peter: "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!"

Peter points out that Jesus "has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him." Jesus Christ has ultimate authority over all things. The powers of evil have been let loose on this world for a time and they make the righteous suffer. But Jesus has ultimate authority over them, as well. In Christ we have victory over the forces of this world! In other words the church should not fear for the future because their faith was in Jesus who is King of Kings

Have you ever feared for your children? What woman who has mothered a child hasn't feared for that child's future. The Bible has several very important things to say to you. 1. Jesus knows your suffering. He's been there. Jesus said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often I have desired to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood."(Matt. 23:37) Out of love Jesus wished to "Mother" his father's children but they would not let him.

2. Your worries and fears are sanctified by love. Your suffering is one born of love for your children. I believe God honors that love, just as God honored the love Jesus had for us as he died on the cross. When we suffer for doing good we are following in Jesus' footsteps.

3. Your suffering is not in vain. God knows your concern. And when you lift those concerns to God in prayer God hears and answers.

4. Don't fear as the world fears. Don't fear because Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. If you have confessed that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, then He lives in you. In that case your life and your prayers are built on that rock of faith. And if you teach your children that faith then the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. Simply put your trust and your children in Jesus' hands.

John 13:31-35

Jesus was about to die. He knew that. He knew Judas would betray him and the he would be crucified the next day. He had one last opportunity to teach them. What would he say? Would he tell them once again of his resurrection to come? Would he tell them a parable that reinforced their faith in God�s ultimate sovereignty? Would he reveal some hidden secrets of God�s plan for the end of time?

Of all the things he could have said he said, "Love one another." Of all the hidden knowledge he could have revealed to them, of all the spiritual depths he could have sounded, he chose to remind them to love one another, as he had loved them.

That�s pretty basic! And maybe we need to get back to basics. To strip away all the complexities and additions to life and remind ourselves what is most important. And what is more basic to the Christian�s faith and life than love? That is what it all boiled down to: "Love one another."

Sometimes the church needs to get back to the basics. We have so many ministries and programs. Everywhere you turn there's a committee or commission doing this or that. And as the church grows it becomes more complex. Even our prayer and worship can become complex.

Perhaps we need to stop and remind ourselves what it all boils down to. It is all about loving God and our neighbor. When all the committees and commissions and programs and rituals are stripped away. What underlies them all is love.

Then we can return to our committees and ministries and rituals remembering what is most basic. After all these ministries and committees and rituals all play important roles in helping us live out that love. But they all can become meaningless if we forget the basics: Love one another.

This is the kind of thing that happened to Mother�s Day. The history of Mother's day is a lesson in getting back to the basics. The story of the modern celebration of Mother�s day goes back to Ann Marie Jarvis. Ann Marie Jarvis was a woman who not only gave birth to 12 children, eight of whom died in childhood, but she founded a group called "Mother�s Day Work Clubs" that offered humanitarian aid to soldiers on both sides during the Civil War as well as attempts to improve sanitary conditions. After the Civil War she organized a "Mother's Friendship Day" to bring people from both sides of the war together and heal the wounds of the war. In other words she took the ideal of a mother�s love and applied it to loving her neighbor - even when that neighbor was an enemy.

Ann Marie Jarvis died in 1905. After her death one of her daughters, Anna Jarvis, organized a memorial service for all mothers at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. She also supplied carnations to be given to each participant in the service in honor or memory their mothers. The idea caught on and by 1914 "Mother�s Day" was a national holiday.

Mother's day was truly popular. It was so popular that some decided to cash in on its popularity. By 1923 Anna Jarvis found herself suing to stop a Mother�s Day festival. Later she was arrested for disturbing the peace at a Mother�s Day convention. She was angry that the white carnations, which she had designated as the official Mother�s Day flower, were being sold. She said, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit."

Mother�s Day began to honor women who lived the ideal of a mother�s love. But it became a means of commercial profit. Somewhere along the line the real meaning of the holiday was lost in the trappings. And so its founder Anna Jarvis had to fight to get people back to the basics of Mother�s Day.

Getting back to basics is important for mothers. Caring for children is getting more and more complicated. There are so many things that can injure our children. So many dangers to protect them from: buckle them up, beware the airbags, screen the daycare workers, and monitor their TV watching and Internet use. Being a parent is complex and difficult.

With all the details a parent has to look after, it's easy to lose sight of the real meaning. Mothers, and fathers as well, need to get back to the basics. And the basics of parenthood is love. If we can remember that then all the other things will fall into place and in their proper perspective.

In churches all over, preachers are giving advice to Mother�s this morning. I will not apologize for not getting into more detail than this: "Love your children." I know that�s what comes naturally but too often that basic is lost in the complexity of being a parent. If you can keep in mind that love is the most basic thing our children need from us, then all the other things will fall into place.

We all need to learn this lesson. We all need to get back to the basics. When I was a youth we used to sing a song that went like this: "We are one in the Spirit we are one in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be restored and they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."

Of all the details of the Christians faith, love is the most important and basic. Love should be our defining quality. People should know we are Christians by our love. So let�s get back to the basics and love one another!

I can still remember Melissa's reaction when she found out she would become a mother for the first time. I was still in seminary but was getting ready to graduate. She had been to the hospital to have a blood test done that morning and they told us to call back in the afternoon. We called back and the lady on the other end of the line looked up Melissa's lab report. Then she said that the test was positive. Melissa was very excited and the nurse on the other end of the line could tell. She just laughed and said we made her day.

Have I ever told you how Mary Joy, our oldest, got her name? "Mary" had been both of Melissa's grandmothers' first names. So if it was a girl Melissa wanted to make Mary her middle name. But Melissa never could settle on a first name. When Mary was born I told Melissa, "It's a girl. We need to pick a name." As Melissa held Mary for the first time she was talking to her and she kept saying, "Are you Mother's Joy." That was that! Joy would be her middle name and Mary would be her first name.

If a young woman got so excited at the birth of her first child, I can only imagine Sarah's joy in our Old Testament lesson. We know she laughed the first time God told Abraham that Sarah would bear a child.(Genesis 18) She thought it was a joke that a woman in her 90's who had never had a child would bear a son. But God had said it so it happened. And Sarah laughed again. She laughed so hard that she named her son "Laughter" and to this day people still laugh with her.

Motherhood is a joyful thing. The stories of Melissa and Sarah are only the tip of the iceberg. I am sure that if we took the time all the mothers in this room could tell their own stories of their joy at the birth or adoption of their children. And many women, some of whom have never had any children of their own, have experienced the joy of mothering children placed in their care.

Children can give a mother such joy. They can also give them such pain. When a child is sick or hurt, it is worse on the mother than if she herself were sick or hurt. I remember when Mary got seriously ill for the first time. She was 13 months old. They rushed her from Abbeville Hospital to Greenwood Hospital and then put her on a helicopter to send her to Columbia. Melissa cried all the way to Columbia.

That is what I imagine it was like for the woman in our lesson from Matthew. She was a Canaanite woman and all it says is that her daughter was tormented by a demon. We have no indication of the details of her torment. But we know that her mother came to Jesus. She had seen her daughter suffer and she suffered with her. So she chose to seek out this Jewish healer she had heard about from Galilee.

Now Jesus' response to her is a little disturbing. At first he ignored her and his disciples asked him to send her away because she was so persistent. Then he told her to leave him alone and in essence called her a dog because of her race. These events make Jesus seem indifferent to her pain and even racist. I believe Jesus knew she would be persistent and he had every intention of healing her daughter, but he wanted to help his followers, then and now, see the depth of her faith. In other words he ignored and rebuked her because he knew she would persist and he wanted everyone to see that.

Finally after Jesus said he had come to feed the children and not the dogs she responded to him, "But even the dogs eat what is fallen from the table." At this Jesus replied as we expect him to. With her faith made plain for all to see he says, "Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish." And her daughter was healed!

Mother's today, both biological and spiritual, face a similar situation. Our children are tormented by demons on all sides. There is violence and drugs. There are all kinds of dangers. Even good children are not immune to the possibilities of being killed or injured. Violence in our schools is just the tip of a huge ugly iceberg.

And many people pray for the children. I wish all mothers did. I wish all mothers followed the example of the Canaanite woman. All mothers should go to Jesus and ask him to save their children from the demons that torment them. To save them from demons or violence and greed and drugs and war and materialism.

But sometimes it seems, from a human perspective, that Jesus is not listening. So many quit. But the Canaanite woman didn't quit. She kept on asking Jesus for help. She begged and pleaded, and Jesus responded.

Don't quit praying for your children, both those in your immediate family and those in the family of God. Jesus is listening. Follow the example of the Canaanite woman. Even if you feel Jesus is ignoring you, don't stop!

I promise you that Jesus hears you. And not only does he hear you but he feels your pain and loss as much as you do. After all he died on the cross to win deliverance from all evil.

I can't guarantee you that your children will not suffer. I can guarantee you that Jesus will be with you. And he will hear your prayers and answer them when the time is right.