A Mother's Faith That Shapes Generations

Brother Jim: I apologize about that.

Brother Jim: I put up a copy there.

Brother Jim: It was a little different.

Brother Jim: Today's thought.

Brother Jim: Perhaps the greatest earthly

Brother Jim: blessing known to a man is a

Brother Jim: godly mother.

Brother Jim: No other gift has so direct a

Brother Jim: bearing on his presence and

Brother Jim: everlasting well-being.

Brother Jim: William Booth put the Scripture up there for you today.

Brother Jim: But first off, a little poem for mothers.

Brother Jim: A mother's prayer.

Brother Jim: She bows her head when no one sees.

Brother Jim: And whispers prayers on bended knees.

Brother Jim: For children.

Brother Jim: Walking near and far.

Brother Jim: And trusting them to where you are.

Brother Jim: Her hands may tire through the day.

Brother Jim: Yet still she finds the time to pray for strength she does not

Brother Jim: always show and grace.

Brother Jim: Her family comes to know.

Brother Jim: Her voice is gentle, firm and true.

Brother Jim: Pointing hearts, O Lord, to you and every word in all she does.

Brother Jim: She reflects your endless love through sleepless nights and

Brother Jim: quiet tears, through countless joys and hidden fears.

Brother Jim: She leans on you, her faithful guide.

Brother Jim: With heaven's peace deep down inside.

Brother Jim: Not clothed in riches, wealth or fame, but wrapped in honor

Brother Jim: through your name.

Brother Jim: A crown no earthly eye can see.

Brother Jim: A life poured out so selfishly and through the.

Brother Jim: And though the word may pass her by, this world may pass her by.

Brother Jim: You have each seen tears you've heard each cry.

Brother Jim: For every seed of faith she sown.

Brother Jim: Will bloom in ways she'd never known.

Brother Jim: So bless her Lord this Mother's Day.

Brother Jim: Strengthen her heart along the way.

Brother Jim: Remind her God she is not done.

Brother Jim: She is not alone.

Brother Jim: For every prayer is fully known.

Brother Jim: Let us pray.

Brother Jim: Heavenly father, we thank you for the gift of mothers.

Brother Jim: Strengthen them, encourage them, and remind them that their labor

Brother Jim: is not in vain.

Brother Jim: Help all of us to live lives of faith and honor that honor you.

Brother Jim: And today, draw hearts closer to you.

Brother Jim: In the name of Jesus.

Brother Jim: Amen.

Brother Jim: Today's title.

Brother Jim: A mother's faith that shapes generations.

Brother Jim: Brothers and sisters, today you

Brother Jim: and I gather to honor one of

Brother Jim: God's greatest gifts and one of

Brother Jim: life's greatest blessings a

Brother Jim: mother.

Brother Jim: Motherhood is more than simply a role or a title.

Brother Jim: For many women, it is a calling.

Brother Jim: It is a ministry.

Brother Jim: And so often it is a quiet sacrifice that shapes lives in

Brother Jim: so many ways.

Brother Jim: The world may never see it, fully understand it, and at

Brother Jim: times even you and I will never understand, fully understand or

Brother Jim: witness what a mother has done for you, or what that one woman

Brother Jim: who took up the role of a mother has done for you.

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: Many children will never completely understand all the

Brother Jim: prayers prayed, tears, cried, sleepless nights endured and

Brother Jim: sacrifices made on their behalf.

Brother Jim: Your behalf, my behalf.

Brother Jim: At the ripe age of fifty two, I

Brother Jim: am just now starting to realize

Brother Jim: what I had just mentioned in the

Brother Jim: last sentence.

Brother Jim: All these characteristics of my own mama.

Brother Jim: Some of you here today were blessed with godly mothers who

Brother Jim: prayed over you and your family, guided you in truth, and loved

Brother Jim: you with an unwavering devotion.

Brother Jim: Others may come into this day carrying pain, feeling loss,

Brother Jim: broken relationships that were not strong or not even there.

Brother Jim: Regrets or longing.

Brother Jim: Mother's day can bring both joy and heartache depending on each

Brother Jim: of our stories.

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: But wherever you find yourself this morning, this message

Brother Jim: reminds us of the power of a mother's influence and the kind

Brother Jim: of faith that can echo through generations to come.

Brother Jim: A godly mother's impact.

Brother Jim: Think of that word impact does not stop at one life.

Brother Jim: It continues through her children, grandchildren,

Brother Jim: families, and beyond.

Brother Jim: So as we dive into this message today, I want to thank.

Brother Jim: I want you to think about the woman you call mom, mother,

Brother Jim: mama, grandma, or perhaps that one individual who became like a

Brother Jim: mother to you.

Brother Jim: Think about how she influenced your life.

Brother Jim: Think about the prayers she prayed, the lessons she taught.

Brother Jim: The love she showed.

Brother Jim: The time that she spent with you.

Brother Jim: Especially grandma's on that one.

Brother Jim: Think of the time because grandma's grandpas, they kind of

Brother Jim: get a redo, do they not?

Brother Jim: The time they spent with you.

Brother Jim: And the ways God have made.

Brother Jim: You may have used her to help

Brother Jim: shape the person that you have

Brother Jim: become today.

Brother Jim: First truth.

Brother Jim: The first truth we're going to

Brother Jim: cover a mother's strength comes

Brother Jim: from God.

Brother Jim: Now we are told in God's Word that in Proverbs thirty one

Brother Jim: twenty five, strength and honor are her clothing.

Brother Jim: She shall rejoice in time to come.

Brother Jim: Psalms thirty one twenty five.

Brother Jim: Now this verse does not say, life is easy for her.

Brother Jim: Can I have any mother raise their hand?

Brother Jim: That life has been perfectly easy for them.

Brother Jim: That's what I thought.

Brother Jim: Again, just ask mom or the woman who is seated here today.

Brother Jim: It says she clothed you with strength.

Brother Jim: That strength does not come from perfect circumstances.

Brother Jim: It comes from who?

Brother Jim: It comes from God.

Brother Jim: Both man and woman today.

Brother Jim: Sitting here.

Brother Jim: How many of us can stand up with a big old smile and claim that

Brother Jim: that life that I've been given gives me perfect circumstances?

Brother Jim: Anybody got here?

Brother Jim: Perfect circumstances going on.

Brother Jim: So you get the point.

Brother Jim: There's valleys, there's

Brother Jim: mountains, there's the in

Brother Jim: between.

Brother Jim: As I said, with us having

Brother Jim: perfect circumstances, not many

Brother Jim: times, my friends, at least for

Brother Jim: myself, perfect circumstances do

Brother Jim: not usually appear or happen in

Brother Jim: life.

Brother Jim: But when it comes to strength and here's a big word we're

Brother Jim: going to be using a lot when it comes to strength.

Brother Jim: And I'm talking about a godly woman.

Brother Jim: Strength comes from where, again, she relies on her Jesus.

Brother Jim: Strength comes from God.

Brother Jim: Can we agree this morning that a godly mother keeps on going when

Brother Jim: she is tired?

Brother Jim: Loves when it is hard and gives.

Brother Jim: When she is completely drained, completely empty.

Brother Jim: A mother's strength is not natural.

Brother Jim: You know what it is?

Brother Jim: It is supernatural.

Brother Jim: I should have got all capes for the woman and the women in here

Brother Jim: today with a big s m super mom.

Brother Jim: Super mom.

Brother Jim: For mothers.

Brother Jim: You may feel unseen at times.

Brother Jim: But God sees everything.

Brother Jim: God sees every sacrifice, every

Brother Jim: prayer whispered late at night,

Brother Jim: every tear shed for your

Brother Jim: children.

Brother Jim: This verse describes the inner character of a godly woman.

Brother Jim: It teaches that her true beauty

Brother Jim: is not found in outward

Brother Jim: appearances alone, but in

Brother Jim: spiritual qualities she wears

Brother Jim: every day.

Brother Jim: Strength and honor are her clothing.

Brother Jim: This does not refer to physical

Brother Jim: clothing, but to the character

Brother Jim: she displays.

Brother Jim: Again, character that she displays.

Brother Jim: Strength speaks of spiritual strength, endurance, wisdom,

Brother Jim: courage, and faithfulness through life's struggles.

Brother Jim: And if you're a mom or a grandma

Brother Jim: or a woman who has helped, you

Brother Jim: know what kind of struggles I'm

Brother Jim: talking about Sunday mornings,

Brother Jim: getting the kids ready for

Brother Jim: church.

Brother Jim: Now there's a struggle making a meal that nobody wants to eat

Brother Jim: nobody's hungry for.

Brother Jim: There's a struggle.

Brother Jim: Honor refers to dignity,

Brother Jim: integrity, respect, and godly

Brother Jim: character.

Brother Jim: So, in other words, her life is covered with godly qualities

Brother Jim: that people can see.

Brother Jim: People can see.

Brother Jim: She shall rejoice in time to come.

Brother Jim: This means that she does not live in constant fear of the

Brother Jim: future because she trusts.

Brother Jim: Another big word for you today.

Brother Jim: She trusts God and walks faithfully.

Brother Jim: She can face tomorrow with

Brother Jim: confidence and she can face it

Brother Jim: with peace.

Brother Jim: Even during uncertainty.

Brother Jim: This mother knows God is with her.

Brother Jim: A godly woman's confidence does not come from the world.

Brother Jim: No, no, no. It comes from her relationship with God.

Brother Jim: Her strength is found in him.

Brother Jim: Because of that, she can face the future without fear again.

Brother Jim: Church.

Brother Jim: In plain words, a godly mother

Brother Jim: may grow tired, but she does not

Brother Jim: give up.

Brother Jim: Why?

Brother Jim: Glad you asked.

Brother Jim: Again, a mother's strength does not come from herself.

Brother Jim: It comes from her Lord and her Lord alone.

Brother Jim: How many women seated here today can say thank you, Lord, for the

Brother Jim: strength you give me?

Brother Jim: Proverbs says, strength and honor are her clothing because

Brother Jim: the beauty of a godly woman is not just seen on the outside.

Brother Jim: But in the faith, the faith she

Brother Jim: carries through every season of

Brother Jim: her life.

Brother Jim: Second truth, a mother's word carries life.

Brother Jim: And Proverbs three or thirty one twenty six she opens her mouth

Brother Jim: with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.

Brother Jim: My friends, why do words matter?

Brother Jim: Do words not matter in the life of a child as well as in the

Brother Jim: life of an adult?

Brother Jim: And here's why.

Brother Jim: A mother's words have incredible power.

Brother Jim: They can build confidence or they can tear it down.

Brother Jim: They can speak life or plant doubt.

Brother Jim: They can guide a child, an individual, toward God, or

Brother Jim: sadly, they can help push a child away from him.

Brother Jim: Let's be honest, there are good mothers and there are bad

Brother Jim: mothers out there.

Brother Jim: It's the world we live in

Brother Jim: because we live in a fallen

Brother Jim: world.

Brother Jim: We live in a sinful world.

Brother Jim: How many of us can still hear

Brother Jim: our mother's voice in our minds

Brother Jim: even today?

Brother Jim: Some words encouraged us, some

Brother Jim: words corrected us, some

Brother Jim: challenged us.

Brother Jim: And some of the most powerful words were the prayers she

Brother Jim: prayed over our lives, usually late at night.

Brother Jim: The prayers that covered myself when I was out too late, coming

Brother Jim: in past curfew.

Brother Jim: Now, as an adult, I am so thankful for those prayers.

Brother Jim: Who knows what the outcome could have been?

Brother Jim: And maybe for some of you, you

Brother Jim: know exactly what I'm talking

Brother Jim: about.

Brother Jim: And maybe for you parents that

Brother Jim: have teen age or older children,

Brother Jim: you know now what Mama went

Brother Jim: through.

Brother Jim: The worry that comes because they're not home.

Brother Jim: And again, who knows what the outcome could have been if it

Brother Jim: weren't for those prayers.

Brother Jim: A godly mother understands the importance of her word.

Brother Jim: She speaks truth with love.

Brother Jim: She brings correction with grace.

Brother Jim: And yes, even a wooden spoon or her hand at times.

Brother Jim: I would love to know how many wooden spoons were broken over

Brother Jim: my backside out of love, but they were broken.

Brother Jim: She gives encouragement with purpose.

Brother Jim: Her words are not meant to destroy, but to guide,

Brother Jim: strengthen and build up.

Brother Jim: Mothers, mamas and women.

Brother Jim: Never underestimate the power of your word, Heavenly Father.

Brother Jim: They never underestimate what God can do, what the Scripture

Brother Jim: tells them to do.

Brother Jim: A single sentence spoken in love can stay in the heart of a child

Brother Jim: for a lifetime.

Brother Jim: Think about that church.

Brother Jim: Just a single word can stay right here and here forever.

Brother Jim: If we're listening.

Brother Jim: Long after the child leaves home, they often still carry the

Brother Jim: word spoken over them.

Brother Jim: Better yet, even maybe the

Brother Jim: prayers that they now pray over

Brother Jim: their children.

Brother Jim: Again, it echoes throughout the generations.

Brother Jim: Your words echo longer than you just might think.

Brother Jim: That is why godly mothers must speak life.

Brother Jim: They must speak hope.

Brother Jim: They must speak wisdom.

Brother Jim: And they must speak truth into the hearts of their children and

Brother Jim: grandchildren, especially when they're young and moldable.

Brother Jim: Think about a lump of clay.

Brother Jim: I remember when you opened up Play-Doh, that's who.

Brother Jim: Love that smell.

Brother Jim: I wanted to eat it.

Brother Jim: But think of that.

Brother Jim: You got a lump of clay there.

Brother Jim: A mother, through her words, her

Brother Jim: godly words, her passion, her

Brother Jim: love.

Brother Jim: She can help shape form that

Brother Jim: child into what is to come, to

Brother Jim: be.

Brother Jim: Our third truth for today.

Brother Jim: A mother's faith impacts generations.

Brother Jim: If you go to second Timothy one five, when I call to remembrance

Brother Jim: the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your

Brother Jim: grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am

Brother Jim: persuaded, is, and I am persuaded, is in you also.

Brother Jim: Genuine faith.

Brother Jim: What is genuine faith, my friends?

Brother Jim: How many of us here today can claim they got genuine faith?

Brother Jim: Genuine faith?

Brother Jim: That's a hard one, isn't it?

Brother Jim: Because doubt and fear.

Brother Jim: The devil trying to get in.

Brother Jim: Remember the little devil?

Brother Jim: The little angel over here?

Brother Jim: The little devil just whispering away.

Brother Jim: Telling you a bunch of lies.

Brother Jim: Trying to steal, trying to pull

Brother Jim: you away from God, trying to

Brother Jim: wake it.

Brother Jim: Weaken your faith.

Brother Jim: Anyone here want to disagree with me on that one?

Brother Jim: Genuine faith.

Brother Jim: Paul is speaking about a

Brother Jim: sincere, real, authentic faith

Brother Jim: with God.

Brother Jim: Timothy's faith was not fake.

Brother Jim: It was not forced or just outward religion.

Brother Jim: It was a living faith, a living faith.

Brother Jim: Say that word with me.

Brother Jim: Living faith.

Brother Jim: Living faith that could be clearly seen in his life, which

Brother Jim: dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice.

Brother Jim: Timothy learned faith from where he learned it at home.

Brother Jim: What a great place to start.

Brother Jim: True, his grandmother and mother

Brother Jim: passed down their love for God

Brother Jim: through teaching, through

Brother Jim: prayer.

Brother Jim: Samples and daily living day to day living.

Brother Jim: This shows the powerful

Brother Jim: spiritual influence of mother

Brother Jim: and grandmother can have across

Brother Jim: generations.

Brother Jim: And I am persuaded in you also,

Brother Jim: and I am as persuaded in you

Brother Jim: also.

Brother Jim: Paul shows that same godly faith living in Timothy.

Brother Jim: He saw it.

Brother Jim: It was showed.

Brother Jim: He saw it.

Brother Jim: Godly faith, living the faith of his mother and grandmother had

Brother Jim: shaped and influenced his life.

Brother Jim: Some spiritual truth for this Mother's Day.

Brother Jim: Faith is often based from

Brother Jim: generation to generation through

Brother Jim: faithful teaching, godly

Brother Jim: examples, through prayers and

Brother Jim: love.

Brother Jim: And let's be honest, it's hard to do that, isn't it?

Brother Jim: When the kids won't listen, when they're doing being bad, when

Brother Jim: mom has to drop.

Brother Jim: Wait till your dad gets home.

Brother Jim: Wait till your dad gets home.

Brother Jim: It's not easy, is it?

Brother Jim: And I can only speak from what a father sees.

Brother Jim: What a wife, what a mother goes through.

Brother Jim: But again.

Brother Jim: Strength comes from her God.

Brother Jim: A godly mother never fully

Brother Jim: realizes how deeply her

Brother Jim: influence impacts the future of

Brother Jim: those she loves and surrounds

Brother Jim: her.

Brother Jim: Timothy did not become a man of God by accident.

Brother Jim: No no no. Behind his ministry

Brother Jim: stood a praying mother and a

Brother Jim: faithful grandmother.

Brother Jim: Never.

Brother Jim: Ladies, ladies, ladies, never

Brother Jim: underestimate what God can do

Brother Jim: through a woman who faithfully

Brother Jim: lives for Christ in front of her

Brother Jim: family, a godly mother

Brother Jim: influences.

Brother Jim: again, that word echoes through

Brother Jim: generations long after her voice

Brother Jim: grows quiet.

Brother Jim: Fourth truth.

Brother Jim: A mother's work often goes unnoticed, but not by God.

Brother Jim: If we go to Proverbs thirty one

Brother Jim: twenty eight, her children rise

Brother Jim: up and call her blessed her

Brother Jim: husband also, and he praises her

Brother Jim: who.

Brother Jim: Putting a little heat on us dudes now aren't.

Brother Jim: We might be falling a little short from time to time.

Brother Jim: Perhaps a godly mother not always hears.

Brother Jim: Thank you true ladies.

Brother Jim: A godly mother, let's be honest,

Brother Jim: hardly ever hears thank you

Brother Jim: every day.

Brother Jim: But a life lived for Christ leaves fingerprints on the

Brother Jim: hearts of her family forever.

Brother Jim: Proverbs says her children rise up and call her blessed because

Brother Jim: real goodness cannot and will not stay hidden.

Brother Jim: You can't put a cape over it.

Brother Jim: You can't masquerade it into something else.

Brother Jim: It will reveal itself.

Brother Jim: The truth is revealed.

Brother Jim: It will eventually be seen.

Brother Jim: It will be honored and it will be remembered.

Brother Jim: And if we're completely honest this morning, mothers do not

Brother Jim: always receive that recognition in the moment.

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: How many of us say, hey, mom, I need a jersey washed?

Brother Jim: I need an outfit the night before.

Brother Jim: Oh. Hey, mom.

Brother Jim: By the way, I got a science project due tomorrow.

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: I see my kids laughing a little bit there.

Brother Jim: Yes.

Brother Jim: It happens.

Brother Jim: But we do it out of love.

Brother Jim: Many mothers experience long, exhausting days, sleepless

Brother Jim: nights, and countless sacrifice that often, so many times, go

Brother Jim: unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Brother Jim: Sometimes all a mother longs to hear.

Brother Jim: All the time.

Brother Jim: All that she wants, she longs to hear is a simple thank you mom

Brother Jim: or thank you wife.

Brother Jim: Thank you grandma.

Brother Jim: And how about I love you?

Brother Jim: Attached to that.

Brother Jim: But here is the quiet blessing in the middle of the chaos.

Brother Jim: God sees it all.

Brother Jim: He sees it all.

Brother Jim: Every prayer whispered, every tear cried.

Brother Jim: Every sacrifice made in love.

Brother Jim: None of it.

Brother Jim: None of it.

Brother Jim: None of it is wasted in the eyes of God.

Brother Jim: And one day, whether we're here on earth or in eternity, there

Brother Jim: will be recognition.

Brother Jim: So have hope, ladies.

Brother Jim: You might not get it here, but

Brother Jim: in heaven, in eternity you will

Brother Jim: get it.

Brother Jim: Her children rise up and call her blessed.

Brother Jim: That means her children come to

Brother Jim: recognize her value, her love,

Brother Jim: her sacrifice, and her godly

Brother Jim: influence.

Brother Jim: The phrase rise up carries the idea of respect and honor,

Brother Jim: something that is missing so horribly we went wrong somewhere

Brother Jim: in today's youth.

Brother Jim: It tickles me when you see a young person have manners.

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: It's a rare opportunity, but it sure does make me feel good.

Brother Jim: Because somebody teaching that child right?

Brother Jim: Moms realized they were blessed because of their prayers, their

Brother Jim: teachings, their faithfulness, and their devotion.

Brother Jim: Her husband.

Brother Jim: Alright men, here we are on the chopping block.

Brother Jim: Her husband also and he praises her.

Brother Jim: Her husband openly honors and appreciates her.

Brother Jim: He recognizes her strength, her

Brother Jim: faithfulness and godly

Brother Jim: character.

Brother Jim: His praise is not merely for outward beauty, but for the

Brother Jim: woman she is before God.

Brother Jim: Let us remember that men.

Brother Jim: The deeper spiritual truth is this a godly woman leaves a

Brother Jim: lasting impact on her home.

Brother Jim: Her faith, love, and devotion

Brother Jim: creates a legacy, a legacy that

Brother Jim: causes others to thank God for

Brother Jim: her.

Brother Jim: Long after the meals are cooked, long after the laundry is

Brother Jim: folded, long after the sleepless nights are forgotten, the

Brother Jim: influence of a godly mother still, still, still lives on.

Brother Jim: Our final one.

Brother Jim: Fifth truth.

Brother Jim: True beauty comes from a heart

Brother Jim: that fears the Lord, that fears

Brother Jim: the Lord.

Brother Jim: Proverbs thirty one thirty.

Brother Jim: We are told charm is deceitful.

Brother Jim: Sorry.

Brother Jim: Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing.

Brother Jim: But a woman who fears the Lord shall be.

Brother Jim: What shall be praised shall be praised.

Brother Jim: Is it not true that our society today defines beauty?

Brother Jim: One way the world tells us

Brother Jim: beauty is found in an outward

Brother Jim: appearance.

Brother Jim: How to look?

Brother Jim: The clothes you wear.

Brother Jim: What is current?

Brother Jim: What is in style?

Brother Jim: The popularity you have.

Brother Jim: The crowd you run with.

Brother Jim: The cliques you're in.

Brother Jim: Hey, how many followers look at me.

Brother Jim: How many followers I have on social media?

Brother Jim: I'm really twisting it up, ain't I?

Brother Jim: True.

Brother Jim: The world wants to define a woman that way.

Brother Jim: But no. Here comes the truth.

Brother Jim: But here comes the big difference this morning.

Brother Jim: God defines beauty another way.

Brother Jim: God says true beauty is found in

Brother Jim: faithfulness, in a reverence for

Brother Jim: him, and in a heart fully, a

Brother Jim: heart fully.

Brother Jim: Do you hear me on that, people?

Brother Jim: The heart that fully surrenders to his will.

Brother Jim: To his will, not the worlds.

Brother Jim: That kind of beauty does not fade with age.

Brother Jim: That kind of beauty does not disappear when trends change.

Brother Jim: That kind of beauty.

Brother Jim: You know what it does?

Brother Jim: It shines from the inside out.

Brother Jim: Shines from the inside out.

Brother Jim: Church it is.

Brother Jim: Is that not the beauty that defines a godly woman?

Brother Jim: Church.

Brother Jim: Is that not the beauty that defines a godly mother?

Brother Jim: How many mothers have made a

Brother Jim: choice have made the choice to

Brother Jim: say, I do not care what the

Brother Jim: world says.

Brother Jim: I care what God says, and I care so much about how I serve Him

Brother Jim: and Him alone.

Brother Jim: How can a mother not go wrong when she puts her faith and ask

Brother Jim: for guidance from God?

Brother Jim: Riddle me that one, my friends.

Brother Jim: I don't care how many podcasts you watch, what books you buy,

Brother Jim: how to be a better mother.

Brother Jim: Yeah, those are all fine, but the answer is God and God alone.

Brother Jim: Even as we celebrate Mother's Day today, this message is not

Brother Jim: just for moms.

Brother Jim: This message is for all of us.

Brother Jim: Let me ask you something, church.

Brother Jim: Think back on your past.

Brother Jim: Were you.

Brother Jim: Were you shaped by someone in your life?

Brother Jim: Did somebody have influence in your life growing up?

Brother Jim: Maybe even as adults right now?

Brother Jim: Does somebody have influence?

Brother Jim: And I'm talking about a good guy influence because believe you

Brother Jim: me, there are plenty of ungodly influences out there.

Brother Jim: True church.

Brother Jim: Look around there, everywhere.

Brother Jim: Now, let me ask you a question.

Brother Jim: Can each one of you sitting here

Brother Jim: today have the ability to

Brother Jim: influence and love someone in

Brother Jim: your life?

Brother Jim: Is it possible?

Brother Jim: Are you willing to be the

Brother Jim: decisive factor in someone's

Brother Jim: life.

Brother Jim: And if you claim that today, have you been called to live a

Brother Jim: life of faith?

Brother Jim: If you're claiming it.

Brother Jim: Have you been called to live a life of faith?

Brother Jim: And most importantly, we are all invited into the family of God.

Brother Jim: I'm sorry.

Brother Jim: Last one.

Brother Jim: Sixth truth.

Brother Jim: The greatest love reflects

Brother Jim: Christ in Romans five eight, but

Brother Jim: God demonstrates his own love

Brother Jim: toward us, in that while we were

Brother Jim: still sinners, Christ died for

Brother Jim: us.

Brother Jim: Did you hear that Christ died for us even though we were

Brother Jim: sending it up?

Brother Jim: If we think about this church, it is true to proclaim that the

Brother Jim: love of a mother points you and me to something even greater the

Brother Jim: love of Jesus Christ.

Brother Jim: As followers of Jesus Christ, if

Brother Jim: you're claiming it should be

Brother Jim: able to say yes to that

Brother Jim: statement.

Brother Jim: Think about how many times a mother your mother.

Brother Jim: My mother has sacrificed,

Brother Jim: protected, comforted, and

Brother Jim: nurtured her children throughout

Brother Jim: her life.

Brother Jim: But here comes the truth this morning.

Brother Jim: Did Jesus Christ not do even greater for us?

Brother Jim: Greater for us?

Brother Jim: Did Jesus now think about this.

Brother Jim: If you're in heaven, if you're

Brother Jim: in Paradise, would you want to

Brother Jim: leave that to come back to this

Brother Jim: world?

Brother Jim: No way.

Brother Jim: No.

Brother Jim: Jesus.

Brother Jim: Did Jesus not leave heaven for you and I?

Brother Jim: Did Jesus not carry our sins to the cross?

Brother Jim: Did Jesus not willingly give his

Brother Jim: life for you and I and for all

Brother Jim: mankind?

Brother Jim: A mother's love is powerful, but

Brother Jim: the love of Jesus Christ is

Brother Jim: perfect.

Brother Jim: It's eternal, and it is saving.

Brother Jim: Every act of a godly mother should point us to who should

Brother Jim: point us to the Savior who first loved you and I. That is

Brother Jim: ultimate love, my friends.

Brother Jim: That is ultimate love.

Brother Jim: Today, as we celebrate mother's.

Brother Jim: But more than that, you and I celebrate the God who created

Brother Jim: them, strengthened them, and works through them.

Brother Jim: Right now, this very day.

Brother Jim: To every mother and woman out there.

Brother Jim: Your work matters.

Brother Jim: Your faith matters.

Brother Jim: Your love matters.

Brother Jim: And most importantly, you matter.

Brother Jim: Thank you to all the women and

Brother Jim: mothers, grandmothers, and even

Brother Jim: great mothers here, great

Brother Jim: grandmothers here at Rockford

Brother Jim: Church.

Brother Jim: And for me, a special thanks to

Brother Jim: my mama, my wife, my mother in

Brother Jim: law, and all the women here at

Brother Jim: Rockford Church who've kind of

Brother Jim: adopted me in a special and

Brother Jim: loving way.

Brother Jim: May God bless you all.

Brother Jim: Happy Mother's Day.