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SERIES: |
Mother's Day Messages |
MESSAGE: |
Marks of a Great Mother |
SPEAKER: |
Skip Heitzig |
SCRIPTURE: |
1 Samuel 1 |
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MESSAGE SUMMARY
Today we pay a special tribute to those unique individuals we call our mothers. They have given us life on this earth, and their influence has transformed our lives. We will consider a woman from the Old Testament who became the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her name is Hannah and her name means favor or grace. Despite difficult circumstances, Hannah was shown favor by God. Let’s glean some insight from this wonderful woman as we honor our own moms today.
STUDY GUIDE
Connect Group Recap: May 8, 2016
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: "Marks of a Great Mother"
Text: 1 Samuel 1
Path
In this teaching, Pastor Skip paid special tribute to those unique individuals we call mothers. They have given us life on this earth, and their influence has transformed our lives. Pastor Skip considered a woman from the Old Testament who became the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her name was Hannah and her name means favor or grace. Despite difficult circumstances, Hannah was shown favor by God. Pastor Skip's path through the text was as follows:
- Great Mothers Have Great Problems
- Infertility (vv. 1-2, 5)
- Rivalry (vv. 4, 6-7)
- Great Mothers Keep Great Priorities
- With Her God (vv. 11-15)
- With Her Husband (vv. 5, 8)
- With Her Family (vv. 20-23)
- Great Mothers Make Great Plans (vv. 24-28)
Points
Great Mothers Have Great Problems
- First Samuel is a book about three men: Samuel, Saul, and David. But behind those men were influential women. Samuel's story begins with a specific woman: his mother, Hannah.
- Even godly women have problems. Hannah's problems were infertility and rivalry.
- She regarded her inability to have a child as an affliction (see v. 11). Because of this affliction, a rivalry arose with Peninnah, who was able to bear children; Peninnah provoked Hannah severely (see v. 7).
- A woman's value, however, is not based on the ability to bear children, but on God's love.
- Probe: Pastor Skip pointed out that 7.3 million women can't have children. How can the church reach out to women who bear this burden, even if it is part of God's sovereign will?
Great Mothers Keep Great Priorities
- Hannah's relationship with God: Hannah made a vow to God, trusting Him in all things; her hot tears melded with her heartfelt prayers. She called God the "Lord of hosts" (v. 11)—the Lord of all the armies of heaven. She recognized God's power and was a woman of prayer.
- Hannah's relationship with her husband: Elkanah loved Hannah; their relationship was strong. He gave her a double portion of food (see v. 5), showing his favor toward her.
- Hannah's relationship with her family: Samuel was weaned, meaning he was trained physically and spiritually (see vv. 22-24). Hannah cared for and comforted her children; she was dedicated to the discipleship of her family.
- Probe: Unless love is part of marriage, a loving relationship will have trouble translating to the family. Discuss what you think a healthy marriage is like and how God factors into it.
Great Mothers Make Great Plans
- Hannah weaned her child and dedicated him to the Lord. She showed great faith in God's future for her child, launching a life of service to the Lord.
- Hannah's vow affected the nation of Israel: her son, Samuel, became a kingmaker, who eventually picked Saul and David to be king.
- Probe: Pastor Skip gave three takeaway points: first, women are of value to God whether they have children or not; second, when you have pain, God has a plan; and finally, make sure you have a set of personal priorities toward God and others. Discuss these points in your group. What are your spiritual priorities?
Practice
Connect Up: Though God is often referred to as Father in Scripture, there are some texts that describe maternal characteristics (see Psalm 17:8, Psalm 57:1; Luke 13:34). How does God's maternal nature help you understand God's caring and nurturing character?
Connect In>: James says that pure religion before God is helping orphans and widows (see James 1:27). How can the body of Christ minister to mothers more effectively, especially widows and single mothers?
Connect Out: What are some ways you can reach out to mothers, showing the love of God in tangible and creative ways?
DETAILED NOTES
- Introduction
- A mother's love is great
- We relate to our mothers differently at different times of our lives
- The book of 1 Samuel is about great men
- Samuel the prophet
- Saul, the first king of Israel
- David, the man after God's own heart and greatest king of Israel
- God has done and continues to do great things through women
- Jochebed gave birth to Moses and had faith to put him in a basket to save him (see Exodus 2:1-10; 6:20-27; Numbers 26:59)
- The line of King David began with a woman named Ruth (see Ruth 1-4; Matthew 1:5)
- Because of Esther, the Jews in Persia were saved from annihilation (see Esther 1-10)
- Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus (see Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-55)
- Great Mothers Have Great Problems
- Infertility (vv. 1-2, 5)
- Hannah had no children
- In that time, children were seen as a blessing from the Lord
- They thought the more children you had, the better (see Psalm 127:3-5)
- Childlessness was seen as an affliction, a curse from God (see Genesis 29:32; 31:1)
- If a woman was barren for ten years, her husband could either divorce her or marry another wife
- Rivalry (vv. 4. 6-7)
- Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah, had many sons and daughters
- Peninnah provoked Hannah
- Infertility is a common problem today
- It affects more women than we are aware of
- Mother's Day is not a happy day for women who are infertile
- Your value to God is not based on your ability to reproduce
- God loves you because you are made in His image
- You are of great value to Him
- You're not alone; many women of faith were infertile
- Sarah, the wife of Abraham (see Genesis 16:1)
- Rebecca, the wife of Isaac (see Genesis 25:21)
- Rachel, the wife of Jacob (see Genesis 39:21)
- Ruth, the wife of Boaz, was barren during her first marriage (see Ruth 1:4-5)
- Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist (see Luke 1:7)
- In Scripture, the infertile women were often the righteous women
- If you are infertile, it does not mean you are cursed; it means you are kept
- Reserved for other blessings
- God may still be preparing you to be a parent in the future
- He may be preparing you to be a foster or adoptive parent
- He may want you to be available for a specific work that would be difficult were you to have children
- Great Mothers Keep Great Priorities
- With Her God (vv. 11-15)
- When there are tears in our eyes, there's travail in our hearts
- There is no record that Hannah complained to her husband about her condition
- Nothing in the text indicates she fought back with Peninnah
- She took her sorrow to the Lord
- Lord of hosts = Master-Commander of heaven's armies
- Appealed to God based on His authority
- She prayed continually
- She left her time of prayer with a peace that passes all understanding (see Philippians 4:7)
- She had a real relationship with God
- "No one is poor who has a godly mother" —Abraham Lincoln
- With Her Husband (vv. 5, 8)
- They loved each other
- He gave her a double portion of food
- In the Middle East, if you want to honor someone, you give them more food (see Genesis 43:34)
- A sign of love and favor
- You must pour love, understanding, and stability into a marriage if you want it to last
- You must also have a love of God
- Kids love to see their parents love each other
- With Her Family (vv. 20-23)
- She waited for her son to be weaned
- In those days, weaning took anywhere from five to seven years
- Wean (gamal in Hebrew) = to deal fully with
- Spiritual training as well as physical training (see 2 Timothy 3:15)
- She was dedicated to raising Samuel
- The first few years of life are the most important
- They are when a child is the most impressionable and will be most affected by the absence of the mother
- Great Mothers Make Great Plans (vv. 24-28)
- She fulfilled her promise and plan to return her child to the Lord
- In the Hebrew Bible, the book of 1 Samuel comes after the book of Judges
- In Judges, Israel was at its lowest point spiritually (see Judges 21:25)
- God's plan was to have a child (Samuel) who would come on the scene as a prophet
- Hannah made a vow to dedicate her son to God
- She realized nothing we have is really ours anyway
- God gives us children that we might pour into them and then launch them
- Closing
- You are of value to God whether you have children or not
- When you have pain, God has a plan
- You need a set of priorities that you are going to live your life with
- Personally toward God
- Relationally toward others
Figures referenced: John Bowlby, Anna Jarvis, Abraham Lincoln, G. Campbell Morgan, Woodrow Wilson
Hebrew words: gamal
Cross references: Genesis 16:1; 25:21; 29:32; 31:1; 39:21; 43:34; Exodus 2:1-10; 6:20-27; Numbers 26:59; Judges 21:25; Ruth 1-4; Esther 1-10; Psalm 127:3-5; Matthew 1:5, 18-25; Luke 1:7, 26-55; Philippians 4:7; 2 Timothy 3:15
Topic: Mother's Day
Keywords: mothers, moms, women, infertility, children, prayer, marriage, children, family, weaning, parenting, promise, prophet, priorities
Keywords: mothers, moms, women, infertility, children, prayer, marriage, children, family, weaning, parenting, promise, prophet, priorities