Mothers: Shepherd of the sheep

May 11, 2014 Psalm 23 John 10:1-10 Mother’s Day Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A Mothers: Shepherd of the Sheep Have you seen that video going around last week, where young people are interviewing for a job, and told that they have to stand 24 hours a day, that they cannot have breaks, that they have to attend to the needs of the associates at all time. And that there is no pay for doing the job. Each of the applicants complains and says they don’t want this job. And the interviewer tells them that someone already has this job – it is your mother. Job Description: Mother I found this job description circulating on the Internet this past week. Anyone interested? [You may want/need to shorten this.] WANTED: Mom JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required. RESPONSIBILITIES: Must provide on-the-site training in basic life skills, such as nose blowing. Must have strong skills in negotiating, conflict resolution and crisis management. Ability to suture flesh wounds a plus. Must be able to think out of the box but not lose track of the box, because you most likely will need it for a school project. Must reconcile petty cash disbursements and be proficient in managing budgets and resources fairly, unless you want to hear, "He got more than me!" for the rest of your life. Also, must be able to drive motor vehicles safely under loud and adverse conditions while simultaneously practicing above-mentioned skills in conflict resolution. Must be able to choose your battles and stick to your guns. Must be able to withstand criticism, such as "You don't know anything." Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name. Must have a diverse knowledge base, so as to answer questions such as "What makes the wind move?" on the fly. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility. ADVANCEMENT/PROMOTION POSSIBILITIES: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis. WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more. BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right. Every mother here this morning knows that mothering brings more joy and love and fulfillment than seem possible. Adapted by Leonard Sweet The Value of the Job Being a mother is a demanding job. As a matter of fact, according to a recent report from Salary.com, a website dedicated to researching average salaries for various jobs and industries, reports stay-at-home moms would earn an average of $138,095 annually, including overtime, if they received a paycheck. Women who works a full-time 40 hour a week job could expect an additional $85,939 for the work done at home. Among the jobs the stay-at-home moms reported to Salary.com were day-care center teacher, van driver, housekeeper, cook, chief executive officer, computer operator, nurse and general maintenance worker. These are all jobs that are fairly easy to appoint a dollar value but like those MasterCard advertisements there are many “priceless” aspects to the job: the hug that comes at just the right time, the crust cut off the sandwich in just the right way, the reassuring laugh that reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously, and the countless other little things that we celebrate on Mother’s Day. Staff,www.eSermons.com. Statistics from Reuters.com ‘Stay-at-home Mothers Work Worth $138,095 a Year’ May 3, 2007. Our experience of mother are all very different, but we have all had someone who mothered us in some way. Someone who cared for us. Our mothers have loved each of us in a different way, but our mother has indeed loved us. In spite of all of the difficult times in our lives, they have loved us. A mother) can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. ― N.K. Jemisin God is love, and God has created our mothers to be that agent of love. I think I told this story before, but Erma Bombeck tells the story of when God created mothers. One of my favorite columns by Erma Bombeck tells of God in the act of creating mothers. She says that on the day God created mothers He had already worked long overtime. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one." The Lord turned & said, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She is to have a lap that will disappear whenever she stands up. She is to be able to function on black coffee & leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands." "Six pairs of hands," said the angel, "that’s impossible." "It’s not the six pairs of hands that bother me." said the Lord, "It’s the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?’ she already knows what they’re doing in there." "She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed & communicate love & understanding without saying a word." "That’s too much." said the angel, "You can’t put that much in one model. Why don’t you rest for a while & resume your creating tomorrow?" "No, I can’t," said the Lord. "I’m close to creating someone very much like myself. I’ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she is sick - who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger - & who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower." Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely & said, "She’s too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You’d be surprised at how much this mother can do." "Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason & compromise & persuade." Then the angel reached over & touched her cheek. "This one has a leak," he said. "I told you that you couldn’t put that much in one model." "That’s not a leak," said the Lord. "That’s a tear." "What’s a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it’s for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride." "You’re a genius," said the angel. And the Lord said, "Oh, but I didn’t put it there." Our scripture for today, the 4th Sunday of Easter are always about what it means to be a shepherd’s love for its sheep. Jesus is the shepherd. Jesus showed love by the sacrifice he made for us. But Jesus showed devotion by what he taught us. In Jerusalem, Jesus knew sheep in the same way a cowboy in the west would know cattle, or a mother would know her children. Jesus knew what made a sheep tick, he understand their fears, he knew what it took to get them to follow him, he had patience and understanding for them. In many ways mothers are shepherds, they are our caretakers. Timmy was a little five year old boy that his Mom loved very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school all by himself when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first few days, but one day he came home and asked if he could walk by himself. He wanted to be like the "big boys." Not wanting to disappoint him, she decided to allow him to walk without her, via plan B (which consisted of recruiting a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, to repetitiously follow him to school, at a distance far enough behind him that he would not likely notice he was being followed, but close enough to keep a watch on him). Mrs. Goodnest was agreeable, since she was up early with her own toddler anyway, and it would be a good way for them to get some exercise. So, the very next school day Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out to follow behind Timmy as he walked to school. Timmy was accompanied by another neighbor boy he knew. As the boys walked to school each day, chatting, and kicking stones and twigs, the little friend of Timmy began to notice that a lady seemed to be following them every day. "Have you noticed that lady following us all week? Do you know her?" he asked Timmy. "Yea, I know who she is," Timmy replied "Well who is she?" "That's just Shirley Goodnest," Timmy said. "Shirley Goodnest? Who the is she? Why is she following us?" "Well," Timmy explained, "Every night Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm in my prayers 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in it the Psalm says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life,' so I guess I'll just have to get used to it." Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us. when you think about the psalm – Psalm 22 Re-Interpeted The Lord is my Shepherd... That's Relationship! I shall not want... That's Supply! He maketh me to lie down in green pastures... That's Rest! He leadeth me beside the still waters... That's Refreshment! He restoreth my soul... That's Healing! He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness... That's Guidance! For His name sake... That's Purpose! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... That's Testing! I will fear no evil... That's Protection! For Thou art with me... That's Faithfulness! Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me... That's Discipline! Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies... That's Hope! Thou annointest my head with oil... That's Consecration! My cup runneth over... That's Abundance! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life... That's Blessing! And I will dwell in the house of the Lord... That's Security! Forever and ever... That's Eternity! What is most valuable, is not what we have in our lives, but WHO we have in our lives! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all of the days of our life no matter how old we get. How can we reply to the love that our mothers gave us. what is it that we can give them to say thank you. Studies say that no matter what we may give them that all they really want is for us to know that they love them. For us to be able to acknowledge all that they have done for us, and to realize that it is all about love. No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star. — Edwin Hubbell Chapin One pastor suggest that there are 7 ways to show our mothers that we love them. Love her verbally, physically, patiently, attentively, gratefully, generously, honorably I want to add one more to that list – to learn to love others. Am I Loved? I had a professor in Childhood Development who said, "All it would take to have a perfect world is just one generation of perfect parents." I believed that until mid-life, when I saw several nearly perfect parents who had terrible children. But the concept is generally true--we learn to love because we were loved first. We love, according to the Bible, because God loved us first. We all need to be loved. And we grow up testing whether we are indeed loved. One of the basic questions of our youth is, "Am I loved?" It is asked in the back seat of a car. It is asked at a party. It is asked with defiance at home. It is asked with incomplete homework at school. It is asked when drugs are offered around in friendship groups. It is asked when a gang leader suggests an initiation rite. "By this you know you are loved…." Everyone here today, mothers or not, needs to ask, "How am I demonstrating love?" Is it in a way that others can experience? Paul Sweet, This I Know Amen. Children’s Sermon….. Theme: Show your love by your actions (Mother's Day) Object: A Mother's Day card Scripture: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:9-11, 21 (NIV) I am sure that all of you know that it is Mother's Day. Did you give your mother a card or a present for Mother's Day? This Mother's Day card says, "Mom, I love you!" Do you think your mother likes to hear you tell her that you love her? Of course she does! But do you know what your mother would like even more? She would like for you to show her that you love her. What are some ways you can show your mother that you love her? Well, you might help out around the house. You could clean your room or empty the trash. You could show her that you love her by obeying her when she tells you to do something. You can show her you love her by getting along with your brothers and sisters. It is easy to tell your mom that you love her, but if you really love her, your actions will show it! Do you think that God likes to hear us tell Him that we love Him? I know He does. But He likes it even better when our actions show Him that we love Him. How do we do that? The Bible tells us that, "God showed his love for us by sending His one and only Son so that we might live through him." It goes on to say that, "since God loved us so much, we ought to love one another." One of the best ways to show our love for God is to love one another. Yes, God likes to hear us say, "I love you," but He would rather see us say, "I love you." As we celebrate Mother's Day, let's tell Mom that we love her, but more important, let's remember to show her that we love her. And as we worship today, let's tell God we love him, but more important, let's remember to show him we love him by loving one another. Dear Lord, we have come to your house today to say, "I love you." Help us to go out of here today and show you that we love you by our actions. Amen. Other illustrations…… A LITTLE GIRL’S PRAYER One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm." The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby’ll be dead, so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?" As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys; eyes sparkled as I pulled them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas --- that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ..... could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out --- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?" That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child --- five months before --- in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year old to bring it "that afternoon." ~By Helen Roseveare~ Helen Roseveare is a medical missionary and author from England who served for years in the former Belgian Congo. THE BEST PREACHER IN THE FAMILY G. Campbell Morgan, a profound British preacher whose four sons all became pastors, influenced millions with his preaching, teaching and writing. One day, when his young son Howard finished preached, a reporter asked him, "Since you have five Pastors in your family who is the greatest preacher? Expecting the son to give the honor to his father, Howard surprised the reporter by saying, "My Mother!" Often people do not realize that a mother’s love, concern and teaching are often far more influential on people than anything else. Never underestimate the power of love. God treats you the way one mother treated her young son, Timmy. She didn’t like the idea of his walking to school alone. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother. She did her best to stay calm, quoting the 23rd Psalm to him every morning: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” One day she asked a neighbor who walked with her daughter to follow Timmy to school, but to stay at a distance. After several days Timmy’s little friend said, “Do you know that woman who follows us to school?” “Sure,” Timmy answered. “That’s Shirley Goodnest and her daughter, Marcy.” My mom reads about them every day in the 23rd Psalm She says they will follow me all the days of my life. So, I guess I better get used to them! You will too. God never sends you out alone! Taken from Fearless The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. -Psalm 23 A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…” “What’s wrong with that, Johnny? ” the pastor asked. “Well, ” answered Johnny, “I understand about having goodness and mercy, for God is good. But I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time. ” A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…” “What’s wrong with that, Johnny? ” the pastor asked. “Well, ” answered Johnny, “I understand about having goodness and mercy, for God is good. But I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time. ” source: http://www.jokebuddha.com/joke/Goodness_and_mercy#ixzz31My0VSbt Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away! A mother) can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. ― N.K. Jemisin