Free Mothers Day Sermon Outline

A GIFT TO ALL MY PASTOR FRIENDS

I’ve always enjoyed preaching on Mother’s Day. I have been blessed with a strong and wonderful mother. I’ve always had fond memories to pull from when preparing a Mother’s Day sermon.

Many of you have a mother like mine.

Many of you may not.

I did not realize it until I got into ministry that many preachers grew up with an absent mother. Or no mother. Or an abusive mother.

For these pastors, Mother’s Day sermons are particularly hard to prepare and deliver. That is one of the reasons I put together the Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Mothers and Fathers Day Sermons. I want to help those who struggle with messages for this day. You can take a look at the sermons included on that book’s page and see if you’re interested in it.

One of my favorite Mother’s Day sermons I’ve preached is not in that book. I prepared and delivered this message after that book was published. Because it means so much to me, I want to make it available to you for free.

You can look it over below. If you would like a PDF copy of this sermon, there is a button at the bottom of the page for downloading it.

I hope you find this sermon helpful for your ministry this Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day – Not Condemned

Luke 10:38-42

1. Intro
   1. In honor of Mother’s Day, I’ve got a few things for you, courtesy of the internet.
      1. Little Billy’s mom was rubbing moisturizing cream on her face as Billy walked in. “Mommy, what are you doing?” he asked. “I’m putting cold cream on my face,” she replied. “Why, Mommy?” Billy asked. “To make my skin look beautiful,” she said. When she started wiping the cold cream off her face with a Kleenex, Billy said, “Gosh, Mom, you’re giving up already?
      2. Mother to daughter advice: Cook a man a fish and you feed him for a day. But teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend.
      3. A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He answered, “Call for backup.”
      4. I’ve got something else from the Internet, but I’ll save that for a little later.
      5. And, by the way, Happy Mothers Day!
   2. Since this is a day we’re thinking about mothers and women I want us to look at a couple of women from the New Testament.
      1. They’re actually sisters.
      2. And they had really good connections.
      3. Because they were friends with Jesus.
   3. Here’s a little bit of their story.
      1. Read Luke 10:38-42.
2. So let’s take a look at this story.
   1. Jesus comes to a little town called Bethany.
      1. And He has some friends there.
      2. There’s his friend Lazarus.
      3. And there’s Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary.
      4. Lazarus is not mentioned here, but in just a few short verses, we find out a lot about his sisters.
   2. These sisters were about as opposite as you can get.
      1. Martha is a doer.
      2. She can’t sit still.
      3. She’s got company so she’s got to be doing something.
      4. She runs in the kitchen to get supper going.
      5. She’s Type A.
   3. Mary is the complete opposite of her sister, Martha.
      1. Mary is just coasting along.
      2. She is just happy to see Jesus.
      3. She’s not concerned about what to fix for supper.
      4. She’s not worried about the dust on the coffee table.
      5. She’s just laid back and listening to Jesus.
   4. Which camp do you fall in?
      1. Both men and women have personalities like either Martha or Mary.
      2. Some of you have to be doing something, all the time.
      3. Somebody showing up puts you into a frenzy.
      4. You got to keep you hands busy all the time.
      5. You’re a Martha.
   5. And some of you can just coast on along.
      1. You wonder what all the fuss is about.
      2. Just take a deep breath and chill.
      3. Like me.
      4. What’s the big deal?
   6. In this situation, Jesus talks with Martha.
      1. He basically says, “Don’t work yourself up.”
      2. Don’t be so worried.
      3. Don’t get upset.
      4. Just spend some time with me.
   7. Now Jesus didn’t say never to do anything.
      1. Just find some time to spend with Him.
      2. Make some time in all the hustle and bustle for Him.
      3. He wasn’t fussing at Martha for what she was doing.
      4. He was pointing out what was driving her to do it.
      5. So, in this instance, maybe Mary had it right.
      6. If we’re giving points, Mary gets a point here
3. This is not the only time we see Mary and Martha talking with Jesus.
   1. Another time is in John 11.
      1. Before we jump into this passage, here’s what’s going on.
      2. Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus, has died.
      3. Jesus finds out.
      4. He and His disciples go back to Bethany to be with Mary and Martha.
   2. We’ll jump in the story at John 11:17.
      1. Read John 11:17-32.
   3. So Jesus talks to both sisters.
      1. Martha is the first one to Jesus.
      2. Mary gets there later.
      3. They’re both mourning.
      4. They’re both hurting tremendously.
   4. They both basically say the same thing.
      1. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have not died.”
      2. There was some amount of faith in their questions.
      3. They both believed that somehow Jesus could have stopped Lazarus from dying.
   5. But Martha takes it a step more.
      1. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
      2. She still thinks Jesus can do something.
      3. Her faith goes beyond common sense.
      4. She believes that Jesus can still do something about Lazarus’ death.
      5. She believes Jesus is the Son of God and can do anything.
   6. In this instance, we see Martha’s faith much more than Mary’s.
      1. That’s not to say Mary didn’t have faith.
      2. These two completely different personalities just express it in different ways.
      3. But, if we’re going on action, Martha gets the point this time.
      4. Mary got a point the first go around.
      5. Martha gets the point in the second half.
      6. So what does this all mean?
      7. Who’s side are you on?
      8. Martha or Mary?
4. Keeping score and choosing sides sounds absolutely silly, doesn’t it?
   1. Why in the world would we choose sides with these women?
      1. Choosing sides is almost like condemning the other side, isn’t it?
   2. But we do that all the time in real life.
      1. We make up our minds about people pretty quickly.
      2. And the way we make up our minds has to do with how we think about something.
   3. If we’re Martha’s, we make up our minds about Mary’s pretty quickly.
      1. They’re lazy.
      2. They waste their time doing nothing.
      3. They don’t have any pride about themselves.
      4. They make everybody else’s lives twice as hard.
      5. Not only do I have to do my stuff, I have tp do theirs, too.
   4. And if we’re Mary’s, we make up our minds about Martha’s pretty quick, too.
      1. They are so obsessive-compulsive.
      2. They drive everybody else crazy.
      3. They can’t enjoy the life they live.
      4. And they take the life out of everybody else’s lives.
   5. So, the score is tied.
      1. Both sides see their way of life is best.
      2. And both sides see the other’s way of life as not so good.
      3. One side condemns the other.
5. So what’s the right side to be on?
   1. Which side is condemned and which side is rewarded?
      1. How does God feel about this?
      2. Which side does He reward?
      3. Which side does He condemn?
   2. I have the answer for you.
      1. Read Romans 8:1.
   3. If you are in Christ Jesus, you are on the winning side.
      1. Whatever your personality.
      2. Martha’s, if you’re in Christ, you are not condemned.
      3. Mary’s, if you’re in Christ, you are not condemned.
   4. We all have different personalities and tendencies.
      1. Some of those personalities need work.
      2. And some of those tendencies need to be worked out of our lives.
      3. But, when we are in Christ Jesus, neither condemn us.
6. Earlier I read you a few funnies I found on the Internet.
   1. I told you I had something else for later.
      1. So here it is.
   2. Mother’s, if you are in Christ Jesus, you ought to have no fear of condemnation because of your standing of righteousness because of Christ’s work on your behalf on the cross. from Discerning the Times
      1. Mothers, even though you may feel you are…
         1. You are not condemned by messy homes.
         2. You are not condemned by your personal sins.
         3. You are not condemned by your miscarriages.
         4. You are not condemned by your lack of desire to have more kids.
         5. You are not condemned by your inability to cook.
         6. You are not condemned by being divorced.
         7. You are not condemned by your desire to be alone, away from the kids for a time.
         8. You are not condemned by your body, which may not be what it once was.
         9. You are not condemned by your failures as a mother.
         10. You are not condemned by your rebellious children.
         11. You are not condemned by the frustration of having to scrape mac & cheese off the kitchen floor. Again.
         12. You are not condemned by all the fears and tears which flirt with insanity and take you to the precipice of despair.
         13. You are not condemned by not being able to throw the party of the century for your kids.
         14. You are not condemned for not feeding your kids meals that could only be made after a trip to Whole Foods.
         15. You are not condemned by your need for a vacation.
         16. You are not condemned for not living up to the standards of your Mother or Mother-in-law.
         17. You are not condemned by the stares of those who have no kids when your kids erupt into volcanic screams in public places.
         18. Mother’s, though you may feel condemned, if you are in Christ, you are not condemned. Fight with this knowledge of what is real reality.
         19. You are not condemned, because if you are in Christ, your identity…your righteousness is Christ alone. Therefore, enjoy the love and affection and acceptance of being a daughter perfectly loved with an unwavering love that flows from your Father in Heaven.
   3. You are not condemned because you are in Christ.
      1. That means your identity is His identity.
      2. Your righteousness is His righteousness.
   4. You are loved.
      1. You are loved whether your house is clean or not.
      2. Jesus accepts you whether you can boil water or not.
      3. Jesus has great affection for you whether your kids are good or bad.
   5. There is no condemnation for those in Jesus.
      1. Let that be your comfort today.
      2. Claim that verse today.
      3. Claim Jesus today.