Happy Mother’s Day.
Donny’s starting where he should this morning — with the moms.
He opens in Exodus 20 with the sixth commandment: honor your father and mother. Then Psalm 139 — “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Then Jeremiah 1:5, where God tells the prophet He knew him before he was formed. The thread through all of it is that God was already at work in us before we ever took a breath, and He put mothers in our lives to carry that forward.
He spends time in 2 Timothy 1:5 — Paul writing to Timothy and pointing to a faith that lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice before it lived in him. That’s how faith moves. Not just through sermons and Bible class, but through the women who pray over their kids at night, who read them the stories, who show up even when nobody’s watching.
He takes us to Genesis and the story of Rebekah — wife of Isaac, mother of Esau and Jacob. Her story isn’t tidy, but her role in the unfolding of God’s plan was essential.
This morning there’s a special blessing for pre-teen children and their mothers, and every mom in the building is receiving a gift from the church. We love our moms and some things are worth stopping to say out loud.
Then Donny shifts gears.
Second half is called “Finishing Strong,” and it’s built on Hebrews 12:2 — “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Finishing strong isn’t about sprinting. It’s about staying. Stay in the Word. Talk to God every day. Listen for Him to answer. Show up for the stuff that matters — worship, prayer, each other.
The faith your mother or grandmother planted in you doesn’t sustain itself. You have to tend it.
Donny closes with one sentence that’s worth sitting with all week: when we know God well, He enables us to finish well.
Happy Mother’s Day. Call your mom.
Scripture References:
Exodus 20:12 · Psalm 139:13 · Jeremiah 1:5 · 2 Timothy 1:5 · Genesis 24-27 · Hebrews 12:2
