Happy Mother’s Day! Aren’t we used to hearing a warm, fuzzy, uplifting sermon about motherhood on Mother’s Day? Hmmm. I wonder when that tradition went out the window. Tim was working with the sound system and he and the other guy were joking that they should name the sermon the “Worst Sunday Sermon Ever” before they uploaded it to the church website.
I’m sure you know I’m saying this tongue-in-cheek. In fact, though it was difficult to hear, I think we heard something far more needful today than the standard love-and-appreciate-your-mother fare.
It was a fairly volatile morning in our household, as mornings go. Backtalk was a practiced art form, disobedience was epidemic, and there was even a nine-year-old masquerading as a rebellious teenager. Add to that mix two parents just trying to get out the door on time and you have a recipe for…well, I can tell you what you don’t have a recipe for: gospel-centered parenting.
Hence, my discomfort, conviction, and discouragement with the topic of “Gospel-Centered Parenting” in the morning worship service. Pastor challenged us from II Timothy 3:14-17 about whether our lives were authenticating the gospel for our children, and reminded us of our mandate to practice gospel-driven discipline and our responsibility to inculcate our children with gospel-centered instruction. (Listen to the sermon in its entirety here).
So, while I came away feeling like a big “loser” on the parenting front, at least I know that I have the Gospel that will empower me to do it right. I guess that’s pretty warm, fuzzy, and uplifting.
1 Comment
May 11, 2008 at 8:32 pm
sounds like I need to hear it…not a good day