Broadway Christian Church · Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship · May 11, 2008

Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, on this, the birthday of your Church, fill the hearts of your faithful with your Holy Spirit and kindle in them the fire of your love. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scripture

Ephesians 5:2

Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins, to overcome your separation.

Message

What I’ve Learned About God From Moms

Rick Frost

I extend a special word of welcome to our visitors on Mother’s Day. That is a wonderful thing. I know your family is glad to have you here, and so are we. It is also Pentecost, as we have mentioned before – the birthday of the Church Universal. On Mother’s Day we celebrate our Moms, and we also bless our babies on this day. 

Today I want to lift up the wide variety of mothers who are here this very morning. They are women whom God has called into all different kinds of mothering assignments. It is what I believe is your mothering ministry, if you will. 

As I was preparing for today, I thought about the hundreds of Moms that are going to be with us throughout this morning and the incredible diversity of your mission. We have single Moms. We have empty-nest Moms. We have Moms with teenagers still with us.   We have Moms who want to be Moms and for some reason can’t be right now. We have Moms who work full time in the marketplace. We have Moms who work full time raising kids at home. We have Moms of children who are struggling for health. We have Moms of children who have set out to a distant country on their own, and they are going to have to find their own way. We have Moms who have received the gift of children through adoption. We have Moms who have blended their families and are working to navigate those rather interesting waters. We have Moms here today who are struggling deeply, because they have gone through the unthinkable horror of losing a child. We have some Moms of toddlers who actually want to take a nap during this sermon, so they can be ready for the rest of the day. The point is diversity. Diversity! We also have a wide variety of lots of different places where the mothers in this congregation live. 

On behalf of the leadership of Broadway, I want to start today by saying simply to our Moms among us, “Thank you. Thank you for mothering. Thank you for loving. Thank you for all that you do.” 

I also want to say on behalf of every intelligent male here, “We couldn’t do what you do.” 

I say intelligent because there are a few Cro-Magnons among us who actually wonder what it is that you do. It is for those guys that I want to create a new game show. Let’s call it “Moms.” It needs to be on television. Maybe you have read about this. It is kind of cool. It is a combination of “Survivor” and “Apprentice” all put together. Here is how it works. Six married men are dropped off on an island with one car and four kids each for six weeks. Each kid plays two sports, goes to Sunday School and Youth Group and either takes music or dance lessons. Each man has to take care of his four children, keep his assigned house clean, do the laundry, do the dishes, correct the homework from school, pay the bills, and cook. Sorry guys, there is no fast food here on this island. They also have to shave their legs, drive their kids to school, work in a classroom every week, clean up after the sick kid at 3 a.m., and, oh yes, build a model Indian teepee with six toothpicks, a tortilla, and some candle wax. At the end of the six weeks, the kids vote the men off the island based on their competence. The last man wins only if he has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moments notice. You know what I am talking about. If the last man does win, he can play this game over and over again for the next 18 to 25 years, eventually earning the right to be called a “Mom.” I think that is a pretty good job description. Don’t you? Moms are amazing.

What I want to do for these next few minutes is to talk to you about what I have learned about God from these Moms. It is rather amazing when you think about it. 

The number one thing I have learned about God from Moms is that God is love. Moms just have an intuitive way of loving. It seems to come so natural in so many ways. Love is the only way to describe them. It is like when your child is about to throw up, and you are about to catch it. It is like when you read Horton Hears a Who to your kid every night over and over and over, same book, never miss a page, never skip a phrase, never paraphrase. (That is against the rules.) They just do it.  Right? They are intuitive. It is like when you use your own saliva to clean your child’s face. There is nothing grosser than that, but somehow it works and has been going on a long time. 

Moms just have that incredible ability to show love. It is that display of love that has helped me, and, I believe, helps us better understand God’s love for us. 

There is a piece in the Bible where you can take out the word love and insert Mom, and it goes something like this: “Mom is patience and kind.  She is not jealous or boastful. She is not arrogant or rude. She is not irritable or keeps records of wrongs. She does not rejoice in what is wrong but in what is right, and she never gives up.” 

OK, there are a few little exaggerations:

·        “Never irritable.” I can’t go there. 

·        “Does not keep a record of wrongs.” My Mom remembered everything. 

I have to tell you… When I think of the wonderful Moms I have known, I think they are the closest thing we have on this earth to God’s love. They just have an ability to show it. And, because as we all know, a Mom’s love isn’t perfect, the Bible proclaims very clearly that there is only one love in this universe that is perfect. There is only one love that has what it takes to transform a life. There is only one love that can move a life from where it is to where God wants it to be. That is the love of the Creator of all of us. 

There is a huge difference between hearing about the fact that God is love, as we are doing now, and experiencing God’s love. We can hear what Romans 5:5 says, “We know how dearly God loves us, because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God’s love.”

That is true. What I want for you is found in Second Thessalonians 3:5 that says, “May the Lord bring you into an even deeper understanding of the love of God.” 

Circle the words “deeper understanding,” because without a deep understanding of God’s love, without some personal experience of that love, you are going to go through life in one of two categories. You are going to be out there searching for that love in lots of places that aren’t always so good, or you are going to go skimming over the surface of life with the love of God up here in your head but not down here in your heart.

Let me illustrate with just a couple of pieces of my own story. Some of you know, and if you do I apologize, I was brought up in an Episcopalian family with a Mom who, at one time in her life, wanted to be a nun like Mother Teresa. I am pleased to report that this was before I was born, not after I was born. She wanted to be a nun, and she wasn’t even Roman Catholic. I had a Dad who wanted to be a nun, too, which means he wanted “nothing to do” with it. It leads me to my recommendation I mention to couples every time they get together and want to be married and have a family. 

Number One: be sure you are on the same page spiritually. Do whatever you have to do to get on the same page spiritually.   That is going to be foundational to your future. If you have ever been in a situation where that is not the case, you know exactly what I am talking about. 

I got lucky, because when I was a teen I got invited to a church by my girlfriend that led me to a church camp, which I have to tell you is an incredible experience. By the way, you need to make sure your kid goes to church camp. We need to see that we have the best leaders, and the best facilities, and the best results – everything we need for great church camps – because that led me to Reverend Wiggins, who happened to be my mentor, which led me to college, which led me to seminary – nearly eight years of higher education – where I learned a lot. 

I learned a lot about the Bible. I learned a lot about theology. I learned a lot about ethics.  I learned a lot about the love of God. 

After I finished all that school, I went to a church, and my job was to teach what I had learned. Here is the thing: it was mostly theory. Are you with me? Until I actually experienced the reality, until I actually experienced the depth of God’s love, and it came to me in a somewhat unusual package called “the baby.” 

I was 40. I know that is a little late for some. See… I didn’t think I wanted to have children at first. Not that I hated them, I just found that working with teenagers as a youth minister was a very effective method of birth control. 

But fast forward that about 15 years – Boulder Community Hospital, labor and delivery room. There are four of us there: Jan, me, the doctor, and the nurse. I am right there. I have been to all the classes. I am ready to coach – “Take a deep- cleansing breath. Breathe.” All of a sudden, there are five of us! It was amazing. The delivery didn’t hurt me at all! All of a sudden, there is this baby, and she looked so slippery. Ever seen a newborn? It looks like a Vaseline- covered weasel. 

The doctor said, “Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?” I said, “Yes.” And I did. All of a sudden I am holding her. She grabs my little pinky, and at that moment, the feeling, the actual experience… It is not theory anymore. I didn’t have the words at that time, but it was like God saying, “Rick, you know that love you feel for her right now? You multiply that by infinity, and that is how much I love you.” 

I got it! That is the experience, you see. My life has been very different from that moment on. It wasn’t this, “God is love. It is universal. God loves everything.” It was more personal. It was, “Hey, you know... there are six-billion people in this world, and God loves you. God loves me personally.” 

First John 4:9-10 says, “God showed God’s love for us when God sent God’s one and only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn’t our love for God, but God’s love for us. God sent God’s Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven, our separation is overcome.” 

Now insert the word “me” for ‘us.” Then it reads, “God showed God’s love for me when God sent God’s one and only Son into the world to give me life. Real life isn’t my love for God, but God’s love for me. God sent God’s son to be the sacrifice by which my sins are forgiven, my separation is overcome.”

Folks, I believe that is what God wants for you today.  He wants us to move from our head knowledge, our theory, down to the feeling, down to our hearts. That is what I think God wants. 

So Number One: Moms taught me that God is love.

Moms have taught me that God protects and comforts. That is how Jan, my wife, is. She is a very protective Mom. She is cute, and she is sweet, and she is demure until you mess with one of her children. And then, heaven help you. She is sort of like Chuck Norris on estrogen. That is pretty mean. 

I may have told you this story. If so, I apologize. One spring night years ago, Ted, our boy, who was about10-years-old, and his little buddy named Stormy (that gives you some idea of where he is coming from) made a stick figure. They put some shoulder pads on this stick figure and a football jersey and a helmet on it. They came to Jan, and they wanted to climb this tree out next to the street and hang it by a rope and swing it around. They thought that would be really cool. Jan said, “OK, but keep it in the yard.” 

It was just getting dark. The windows were open, and the air conditioning was off. All of a sudden we hear this “screeeeech,” which in Boulder happens pretty regularly. I didn’t think too much about it until Marci, our 12-year-old, came downstairs where I was reading and said, “Rick, you might want to come upstairs. There is a man at the door with a baseball bat, and Mom is yelling at him.” 

You know what happened. Don’t you? Ted and his friend thought it would be pretty funny and scary if they climbed out over the street on a big limb and dropped the ghost down in front of the next car that came along. It worked. The man was scared. He had every right to be enraged. But he made a mistake when he went after our kid with a baseball bat that he got from underneath his seat. 

Now Mama Bear, 8.99 months pregnant with Molly, meets him at the door, and with fangs and claws exposed, backs him from our front door to the edge of our property with a brow-beating and a finger – just one – that would have made any fire-and-brimstone preacher proud. 

Moms are protective. Aren’t they? They shield. They defend. They watch over their young, and within that protection, whether she knows it or not, she breeds an environment of comfort and compassion. Indeed, many of us grew up understanding the compassion side of God because we learned it from whom? Our Moms. 

I can remember, as a kid in the middle of the night, I would get sick from something I ate, something my brothers dared me to eat like worms or goldfish, or something slimy. Before I could get my head down to the toilet, my Mom would be there, wet washcloth in hand, and she would rub my back and speak words of comfort. You know what I’m talking about.  I never understood where my Dad was until I became a Dad. He was pretending to be asleep. You know what I am talking about. 

This idea of comfort and protection is very consistent with how the Bible describes God. First Peter 5:7 says, “Let God have all your worries and cares, for God is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.”  

Circle the word “all.” 

David, the great king of Israel, in the Hebrew Scriptures, knew God’s love first hand. He knew it personally.  Because he knew it personally, he could trust the Lord. He felt safe with the Lord. He could cry out to the Lord, “Lord, do not withhold your compassion from me. May your mercy and your truth always protect me.”  

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” 

Plans like a Mom. They love us. They protect us. They comfort us. They want the best for us. 

That is good. That is nice. That is important. But the important question for today is, “So what? What does that mean for my life? What difference does it make? How do I respond to what you are talking about? How do you respond to God’s love?”

You have to receive it, not just know it in your head. You have to receive it. Some here today hear that word “receive it,” and you say, “Check, click, done that.”

I was like those kids who were here a little bit earlier for our children’s dedication. I was blessed. I was dedicated. I was christened, somewhere back when. I have been in church since before I could remember, and that is great. But, if you are a Christian, you need to know you have to receive God’s love daily. It has to be intentional; it has to be everyday. 

It is sort of like the analogy of taking a shower. Taking one shower when you are nine-years-old is not enough, although my son tried that for years. Everyday, folks, I don’t know about you, but I look forward to a nice, hot shower. I just let the water rain down over me. Everyday, folks, you receive the love of God in the same way. You have to be intentional about it. Just connect with God everyday. Let that love rain down. 

That leads to a wonderful commercial break. This is something called Unlock Your Keys Forty-Day-Guide to Prayer. Our prayer team at this church just published this. Our people wrote this. Pick one up on the way out the door. It is a wonderful way to start your day. It is a wonderful way to do exactly what I am talking about. You can do it. Just try it. See how it works. It is wonderful. 

Now, if you are here today and, in fact, you know in your heart of hearts you have never stepped across the line of faith, and if truth be known, you would be the person who would say, “You know… I have been the god of my own life since I can remember, but today I am done with that. I am thirsty; I am hungry; I want what others have that I don’t have. I am willing to step down from the throne of my own life and invite the Lord into my life. I want that personal, intimate love that you have been talking about. How do I get it? How do I receive it?” 

Scriptures are very clear. Romans 5:8 says, “God has shown how much God loves us. It was while we were still sinners, still separated from God, that Christ died for us.” 

That is God’s way of saying it doesn’t matter what the road has been up to this point. What matters is that you come back. What matters is that you overcome that separation, move closer, move in God’s direction. If that is how you feel today, quietly in your own heart you might say something like, “Lord, I want to receive that love. I want a relationship with you. I don’t know exactly how to do that. Take the keys of my heart, the keys of my life, and unlock me.” 

Then, just like that wonderful father in the story in the Bible, imagine, just picture the Lord running out to you and embracing you. Then when you are finished with all that hugging, God says, “You ready for a party?” 

And you say, “What’s the occasion?” 

God says, “You. You are the reason. Let’s party. Let it begin.” 

Luke 15:32 said it this way: “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours…he was lost and is found.”

When you come home… When you overcome that separation… When you get back together with God, or maybe get with God in ways you have never known before, God rejoices. That is what I want you to hear, “God rejoices, because one of God’s creation moves from being a creature to being a child. Everything that is created is a creation of God – every person, every animal, every thing in the universe is a creation – but not everything is a child. Not every person is a child.” 

Galatians 3:26 says, “All of you are God’s children, because of your faith in Christ Jesus.”

You respond to God’s love by reflecting it. Take that love God pours down like rain on you today and is going to pour down like rain on you tomorrow and everyday that you open yourself up to it.  Then you give it away. You do that for one reason. You do that because there are people in this world who are dying for love. They are hungry for love. They are jockeying for love. They are desperate for love. They are starving for it. 

I meet a lot of people who think that being a Christian is a lot more complex than it really is.  They think it is this whole long list of dos and don’ts, and this and that, and all kind of stuff. Let me tell you something. When Jesus had only a little bit of time left on this earth, he grabbed his closest friends and said something really simple to them. Do you know what it was? He said this, as recorded in John 13:34-35: “So now I am giving you a new commandment. Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 

Nothing, absolutely nothing, speaks the truth of Christianity more clearly, more loudly, and more convincingly, than your love for each other, your love for others. So, I want to challenge you today. When you leave here today, I want you to pass the baton of love to someone else. I don’t know how that is going to happen this week for you, but I believe it will. The opportunity will be there. Give them a chance to taste God’s love, because it is a taste.  It is not just an idea, not just something in your head. Until you have tasted God’s love, you are going to go hungry. So everyday, everyday, intentionally, conscientiously say, “Thank you, thank you, Lord, for loving me. Thank you for protecting me and comforting me. Lord, I could use some courage to respond to the opportunity to reflect your love to somebody in the week to come. Help me do that.” 

As Ephesians 5:2 says, “Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins, to overcome your separation.” 

Lord, let it be. Let it be. 

And all the people say… “Amen.”

Benediction

Mother God, we have so much to learn about your love. We learn flexibility when watching a tree bend with the wind. We learn forgiveness when the waves wash the weeds from the sand. We learn kindness when we watch someone lift up another. And we learn love when beholding the embrace of a mother. Help us to see the teachings of your great love in the beauty that surrounds us. Amen.