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Teaching podcast from the Eagle Community Church of Christ in Mont Belvieu, TX.
Hi, friends. Welcome back to the Eagle Community Church of Christ podcast. This sermon is our Mother's Day sermon from 2024, talking about women, mothers, all those influences in our lives. I hope it's helpful to you. Come see us sometime.
John Gunter:You guys came to sing this morning. It was greatly appreciated. That's, y'all heard of love languages? That's my church love language right there. It's it's good singing.
John Gunter:I love, I love a sermon too, but, man, I can sing all day. I can't sit through sermons all day. I'll just say, amen, amen? Happy Mother's Day again, that's our focus for the day. When I think about I think about mothers, I think about people who have cared for me, I think about a motherly instinct, whether you're actually a mother or not.
John Gunter:But, how many of you have just been impacted by by faithful women in your your life? Amen. How do you describe that? How do you describe it? We will try to do that some this morning, but it is hard to describe for me, it is almost like describing a feeling, right?
John Gunter:How do you describe a feeling that you have when you feel cared for, when you know somebody loves you absolutely, right? One of the scriptures that that often comes up when we talk about women or or mothers is Proverbs 31, not the beginning of Proverbs 31, That talks about who can get drunk or not. So go check that out later. Maybe that applies to you, ladies. I don't know.
John Gunter:But I want to read just a quick excerpt, Proverbs 312829. Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Proverbs 31, this section of it is is kind of lofty praise, for for a lady. Right?
John Gunter:May may be too lofty at times. We think, I don't measure up to that. Right? But it is about a woman who is just who just cares for the people around her, loves her family, does whatever it takes. And so many of us have been impacted by people like that, right, who just put aside all of it seems like all of their cares and feelings and focuses on the family.
John Gunter:Katie and I were talking one day and, talking about some family stuff, and I I think I've shared it before, but Evan just looked at us, kinda wide eyed, and said, raising kids is hard, isn't it? And I said, yes. It is. Yes. It is.
John Gunter:I would have a lot more money if I wasn't raising kids. Amen? Yeah? Yeah. All that stuff is expensive.
John Gunter:I identify with some of the memes, like I saw a meme, I think yesterday, that talked about, you too, for $400 you too can watch your kid miss an open goal, at the soccer field. Mine missed one yesterday, so I can poke him just a little bit. He got a penalty shot, and that would have been his first goal ever, and he almost had it. It was a good kick, just missed it. But you think about those people who just selflessly give of themselves, right?
John Gunter:The way they make you feel, the way they care for you, and man, when those people are gone, you miss them, don't you? I can just think of, of people like that in my life. Man, wish I had known both of my grandmothers longer. Katie's been blessed. Her great grandmother lived until, what, a few years ago now.
John Gunter:I won't say her age, but she's a lot older than I was when I lost mine. But, what a blessing people are to be in our lives. One of the ways that I think scripture captures it, as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. This is God talking. Try to tap into that feeling that we have when you are comforted.
John Gunter:When you get sick, who was it you asked for? Maybe it was different in your family, but man, I wanted my mom. My dad could go work out in the pasture, that's fine. But I wanted mom. Right?
John Gunter:And so God even tries to kind of interact with us in that way, kind of making that connection. Now, we don't none of us had a perfect mother, you know that? I know everybody today on Facebook had the perfect mother, and they could have done no wrong. Yeah, I appreciate that, Tyler. Yeah, But they did.
John Gunter:They they were imperfect. Right? We understand that. They were perfect for you, but they were imperfect people, and we're all imperfect people. Right?
John Gunter:And so I know when we when we go to this and and some people say, well, my mom wasn't like that. It's okay. That's okay. But God taps in as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you, and that's tapping into a feeling, knowing that God loves me and cares for me in that same way. In Luke 13:34, Jesus kind of does the same thing.
John Gunter:We we think of God only as, as male, but God is spirit, and God relates to us in the way God wants to relate to us. But Jesus here says in Luke 13, he says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. So Jesus taps into kind of that motherly care for you, bring you in, clothes, feeling. And so a lot of you just reject that. I actually have a picture for this, and I think it is fantastic.
John Gunter:What do you think? What does that chick feel right now? Safe? Protected? He may be saying nana nana nana to his buddies right there.
John Gunter:Because he knows nothing is getting through. I am comfortable, I am protected, I am cared for. That's not only who the ladies are in our life, but also who God is. Again, Jesus is saying, This is who I want to be to you. But often we are not this, we are out here somewhere, right?
John Gunter:Because we've decided what's better for us is to run off and go somewhere else. That's who Jesus wants to be for us, that's who God wants to be for us. In Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures He leaves me beside quiet waters He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake.
John Gunter:Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
John Gunter:Tell me how the psalmist here feels. Cared for. Protected. There's no worry about what comes next, right? And that's who probably David here sees God as.
John Gunter:A leader, a shepherd, a caring figure, that you will find peace, you will find rest in Him. And how much time do we spend out here with anxiety and worry and all the things that keep us from finding this peace that can be found in God. Yes? That's what we do. But God just wants us to come into the fold, come into the family.
John Gunter:I wanna just finish, today. I'm not prepared to go long because I know how those lines are at the restaurant. When we ran just a couple of minutes late because we were trying to get the streaming thing up, Katie said people are gonna wanna eat. I thought, okay. But I wanted to read just a a few more scriptures that just remind us of how much God loves and cares for us.
John Gunter:And my prayer is that this helps you in some way today. As a reminder that you're not out here all alone, going it on your own, but God walks beside you as a shepherd does, leading you into peace. Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And what I want to just mention is the opposite thought that you can have, that inner, talk that often tells you that you are not worth it. You have not done enough.
John Gunter:You can't do enough. If only they knew what I had done. It says, but God demonstrates His own love in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for you. So quit holding up that sin as a barrier to God's love when God is saying there's nothing that can come between us. That I loved you when you had nothing to give.
John Gunter:That there was no perfect place in your life. We are always putting stuff off, aren't we? I'll be baptized, I'll become a disciple, win x, y, z. That's just putting things off. God is ready for you right now.
John Gunter:Yeah, you haven't beaten that sin, and guess what? You're probably not without God's help. You know that? He loves you this much. Ephesians 2:4-5, because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.
John Gunter:It is by what? Grace you have been saved. What's the definition of grace, church? Unmerited favor. You say that?
John Gunter:I know that's on your tongue, wasn't it? Unmerited favor. Something I cannot earn. We don't even know how to deal with that. Right?
John Gunter:I've told you the the story of the time I was laid off from a job and all of a sudden in my mailbox was a $500 Visa gift card with a note that wasn't signed. And I was very appreciative of that, but I was also upset because I couldn't return anything. We feel like we need to reciprocate, we need to return value for value, right? How many of you have ever watched Big Bang Theory? Yeah.
John Gunter:You remember the episode when when, Sheldon and Penny had this thing about Christmas? And Sheldon's idea was, well, will I have to know how much our friendship is worth? Because if you get me a gift worth this much, I need to make sure and get a gift that is worth that much, right? And then Penny happened to get a napkin that was signed by Spock. Yeah, Leonard Nimoy.
John Gunter:And that just flipped him out. Like, he had bought so many baskets, like gift baskets, like small ones up to the largest ones, if you haven't seen the show. And when she gave him that gift of Leonard Nimoy, he, he grabbed every basket. And so he just brings in this armor, like, I know it's not enough. That's what he said.
John Gunter:Then he finds out that Leonard Nimoy had wiped his mouth with it and he even had to sit down. Like, I have the DNA of Leonard Nimoy. But that that's how we that's how we live. We we want to reciprocate. That's what we know.
John Gunter:Right? And so when we read scriptures like this, I think often we we don't grasp what grace is. Again, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace. You didn't bring anything to the table.
John Gunter:You didn't have a gift basket to give. You had nothing. You were empty handed and full of sin, dead in your transgressions, and God said, you know what? I love them so much I will save them. And we sit out here with ridiculous excuses, postponements, all the reasons, and we don't come to Him.
John Gunter:Now who is that on? Is that on us or on God? Yeah. John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. I think just as much as we don't understand grace, I don't think we understand eternal.
John Gunter:We know beginning and end. I want to know when it begins and when it ends, right Scott? Yeah? And let's stick to that, not a minute over. But eternal life, a life with Him, that God wants to bring you this love, show you His love.
John Gunter:Jesus says, I have gone to prepare a place for you. This, again, this idea that you are taken care of. There's nothing to worry about. No bills to pay, no yard to mow, unless that's your thing, and then I'm sure God will let you do that. Hopefully, it's Bermuda and not St.
John Gunter:Augustine. That's that's just a better grasp. But but God cares for you this much, that He would send His one and only Son to die on the cross for all of us. And I think some of the ladies in our life help us to understand this caring, how much God can love us. And I hope you have people like that in your life that just love you unconditionally.
John Gunter:People that that that see warts and all, they have been through it with you, they have have knocked heads with you, they have done all the things, and they still love you, right? What a blessing that is to have those people in our lives. If you don't have those people, come talk to us because we need to form those bonds right here in this room. But God so loved us that he sent his one and only son so that you could have eternal life despite, again, being dead in your transgressions. The question is, do you believe?
John Gunter:Again, we didn't all have perfect mothers, even though Facebook will lie to you today and say they did. You may read, you may even be jealous, like, man, that mother does sound pretty awesome. Right? Mine wasn't that great. Let me call her and tell her that.
John Gunter:Yeah. So everyone is imperfect. But God, in His own way, is trying to say, Hey, He is perfect. Right? That God does provide that exact thing that you need, that loving, caring person who can take care of all your needs.
John Gunter:And that's how much He loved you. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. How else can he save? Is there anything else that needs to be said about that?
John Gunter:No. Anything else that comes between you and God is about you, not about how much God loves you. Do you understand that, church? Because he loves beyond and neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation. He said, stop it.
John Gunter:It's done. He loves you more than that. Quit bringing that thing up. He loves. We're gonna offer a song of invitation this morning.
John Gunter:We love to, just see you rejoin God, and he's ready. He's waiting. His arms wide open, ready to bring you back. There's nothing that you can, prepare for. There's there's not a, hey, get your life right first and then come to me.
John Gunter:It is come to me because I've already made it right. Okay? And so if you'd like to put on, Jesus in baptism, we'd like to see that as well this morning. We can make that happen. So if you have any needs, would you come as we stand and