Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Happy Mother's Day Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA May 13, 2007 "Happy" isn't a word everyone associates with Mother's Day. For some -- because of death or estrangement -- it's a day of pain. For those who want to be mothers but are not, today may be a day of sadness. If this is not a happy day for you, hear these words from Scripture: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. We share your pain -- and pray God's healing love and power for you. Let me also remind you of these biblical words: Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Even those who are pained by this day, can -- by the power of the Holy Spirit -- rejoice and give thanks for motherhood. And motherhood needs to be celebrated. For decades now, it has been under attack. In 1963, Betty Friedan wrote a book called The Feminine Mystique in which she argued that women were trapped in an unwanted life of domesticity. This led to a movement of what is sometimes called "radical feminism" -- a movement that has assaulted the self-esteem of women who make motherhood a priority. To the radical feminist, women find their place in the world by competing with men for prominent roles in business and commerce, while the work of child-rearing is better left to day care centers. While many people have not "bought into" this idea totally, it certainly has changed the assumptions in our culture. If you're not in the paid work force, you must not be capable of doing "anything of value." What a mistaken concept of "value!" Lord Shaftesbury, a prominent 17th century English statesman, once said: "Give me a generation of Christian mothers and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months." The value of a godly mother's influence in the lives of children -- and in society -- is beyond measure. Also consider these words from some of the most famous people in history: George Washington: "I attribute all my success in life to the moral and intellectual education which I received from my mother." Dwight Eisenhower (asked to name "the greatest man he had ever met"): "The greatest person I ever met was not a man. It was a woman. It was my mother." Oliver Wendell Holmes: "The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men -- from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms." No mother is perfect. All of us have holes in our lives left by the failures of our mothers. But remember, they didn't have perfect mothers either. So let us celebrate with joy the mothers who gave us life -- and recognize that God has given us his Spirit to heal us and to empower us to live successfully in spite of any parental failures. We, not our parents, are responsible for the life we live, the life which God -- and our mothers -- have graciously given to us. Supporting texts: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 | Romans 12:15 | Revelation 21:1-5 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (20 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio CD of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 070513a: Happy Mother's Day. © 2007 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us