OASIS CHURCH of Arlington, Texas

Good afternoon church.  It’s been a while since I’ve published a post about the coming Sunday’s worship service (I blame school for that).  Anyway, Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and we will be recognizing moms in our service.  I’ll be taking a break from our Church-Builders series in 1 Corinthians to talk about the “Faith of our Mothers” (I promise, I thought of that title before I realized there was an actual song by that title).  I began to research that phrase and found a blog post that referenced some interesting statistics from a 2007 Barna Survey about the faith of our mothers.  Here’s what I found:

• “Men may enjoy advantages in physical strength, but they are much less likely than women to exercise their spiritual muscles. This gender gap extends to the typical family unit: mothers outpace fathers in terms of spiritual activity and commitment. In fact, the Barna survey examined 12 different elements of faith behavior and perspective. Mothers were distinct from fathers on 11 of the 12 factors.
• When it comes to spiritual perspectives, a majority of mothers said they have been greatly transformed by their faith, while less than half of fathers had shared this experience. Also, three-quarters of moms said their faith is very important in their life, while this view was true among just two-thirds of fathers. Mothers were also more likely than fathers to be born again Christians, to say they are absolutely committed to Christianity, and to embrace a personal responsibility to share their faith in Jesus Christ with others.
• Moms are also more religiously active. In a typical week, mothers are more likely than are fathers to attend church, pray, read the Bible, participate in a small group, attend Sunday school, and volunteer some of their time to help a non-profit organization. The only faith-related activity in which fathers are just as likely as mothers to engage is volunteering to help at a church.” (http://thinkchristian.net/faith-of-our-mothers1)

It’s important for us to remember the role our mother plays in our development as believers, so that’s what we’ll be talking about this Sunday.  “Faith of our Mothers” is taken from 2 Timothy 1 where Paul says to Timothy- “3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”    Our key verse will be verse 5 and our focus will be on the kind of faith that was passed down from Timothy’s grandmother Lois to his mother Eunice, and then to him.

I hope between now and then you will be thinking of your mom (& don’t forget to get her something for Mother’s Day!).  Now I know for some of you your mother has already passed away, but if you can’t honor her with a gift perhaps you are able to remember her as a model of faith for you.  In that case, the best way for you to honor her is to emulate her faith in the Lord.

I hope to see you Sunday (& I hope you can bring your Mom!).

May God bless you and keep you,

Pastor Jeremy