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Preaching
Rev.
Sam Schreiner
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This Sunday
May 14, 2017
Sermon Title:
"Mother's Day
and DNA"
Scripture:
II Timothy 1:3:7
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"But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children."
I Thessalonians 2:7
May 11, 2017
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends,
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First, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms who are part of our congregation or friends of our congregation. When you nurture your kids, raise them, tend to them, and guide them, you fulfill a vocation and a service |
to Jesus and the church. For that, we are grateful.
John Calvin, one of the fathers of the Presbyterian tradition, had a lot to say about mothers, as did St. Augustine, one of his primary influences. In fact, Calvin called the church the mater fidelium, or the "Mother of Believers." I've been giving some thought to that phrase lately, and I find it to be incredibly profound. When we think of what a church should be, we think of the attributes of a good mom. First, to be a mom, a woman has to give birth to something. The motherly role of the church is that she gives birth to those who are faithful to Jesus Christ. She aligns herself, through prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to partake in the mission of God to make believers of all the nations. The spiritual, maternal nature of the church takes place in its disciple-making charism. It fulfills its role as mother by fulfilling the Great Commission. Second, a mother is a nurturer. This is a primary role in motherhood. To raise up her child, to guide, protect, and most importantly, to tend to the growth of the kid. But being a mom does not end there. Sometimes, a mom needs to enact disciplinary procedures. This was especially the case in my household, where my three brothers and I would attack each other with fireworks, gardening tools, and any other 'weapon' we could find around the house. God bless my poor mother. If it wasn't for the wooden spoon that all good Italian mothers used to carry around with them for disciplining, I'm convinced I'd be in jail right now-- 
or worse. In a similar way, sometimes the sheep in the church get a little out of hand, and the church as a whole, but particularly its leadership, is called to intervene. Not beat up the sheep, but intervene. This is not a sign of hatred--quite the opposite. It is a sign of care and concern. Last, and perhaps the most important element of motherhood, is love. We've heard the term "a face only a mother could love." Well, the church is called to love those outside of the immediate family (orphans and foster people, I like to call them), those within the immediate family, and especially, those people who are the most difficult to love.
So there you have it. No wonder why Calvin thought of the church as a mother. The church, like a good mom, births, nurtures, disciplines, and loves her children, really so that the child can leave. We as a church, should be proud, when by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to spiritually birth, nurture, discipline, and love people to the point where they are willing to be sent into the world, just as a child becomes a mature young adult, and goes on adventure outside the comforts of home and into the world. But for the church, that adventure means being salt and light for Christ in the world. It means being resident aliens, with one foot at home and one in the mission field. When we embark in Mission Possible 10 this year, or when we send our youth to Bluefield, W.V. on mission, or when we receive three pastors from Kenya into our homes and church in order to share in the ministry of the gospel, we are seeing the children grow into mature adults. We are seeing the believers that were birthed turn into  servant-leaders who make sacrifices for the sake of the cause.
There are women in our midst who cannot have children. We pray, because for some, that is a painful prospect. There are others who have chosen not to have children for various reasons--perhaps to pursue a deep sense of call and fulfillment in another area of life or work that is a vocation when used in honor of Christ. Still with others, both men and women, the relationship with mom was not so great. And yet others have recently lost their moms, and the sting of that is fresh. No matter who you are, please know, that our goal is that you know and experience that you are part of a birthing, nurturing, disciplining, and loving family. That is our prayer--that in Christ, we are family together, and we do the things that families do.
I, for one, am proud to be a son of the church. I was literally birthed into new spiritual life through the ministries of MLEPC, namely, the youth ministry. I was nurtured, often-times disciplined, and always, always loved. Ultimately, Christ inspired me to serve in ministry through it. This Sunday,
May 14, Rev. Sam Schreiner will be preaching at MLEPC. Sam too is a son of the church, and his roots go deep and way, way back. He was a church kid, and experienced the nurturing embrace of our local community of faith. It inspired him to spend his life in ordained ministry, and he now serves as the executive director of Friends of Forman Christian College (in Pakistan), a school that has a deep history as one of the best and most formative Presbyterian schools in the world, spreading the name of Christ abroad, and opening up dialogue about the person of Jesus, in a country that is predominately Muslim.
As we welcome Rev. Schreiner this week, consider the ways that the church has been a mother to you, while you also thank a mom in your life. Think too, of the sacrifices that moms make for their kids. They would do anything for their child. We too are called to sacrifice for the sake of a lost world the same way Jesus sacrificed for us. I believe God is not done with us yet, and that He wants to see believers birthed, nurtured, disciplined, and loved in our future, through our church, for His glory alone.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Steve
This week, we'll be taking a special offering, at the same time we receive the weekly tithes on Sunday. Offering envelopes for this purpose will be made available. This special offering is missional in nature and will be split three ways between our local Mission Possible 10, the youth ministry's national mission to Bluefield, WV, and our international mission in East Kano, Kenya. All three seek to spread the gospel of Christ and assist the "least of these." Please feel free to contribute to this special offering any time over the next few weeks. Simply write "Mother's Day Mission Offering" in the memo.
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