This upcoming Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day, a holiday meant to honor a group in our society who rarely receives the honor they deserve: moms.
But for many of you, Mother’s Day is also a time of great difficulty and pain. It’s a day that brings up feelings of guilt, or reminds you of your failures, or makes you wish you were more appreciated than you are. For others still, Mother’s Day only serves to remind you of what you don’t have yet, don’t have any more … or, perhaps, never had at all.
During this time, it’s good to be reminded that the gospel isn’t about your identity as “mother.” It’s not about your accomplishments or your failures at all. It’s about your position as God’s beloved child. The greatest honor and most cherished identity belongs not to a segment of our society defined by a demographic feature but to those who have been redeemed by a great God.
We’ve gone back and pulled a few helpful resources from the vault to help prepare you for Mother’s Day. If you like what you see, click the title for the full article.
–Chris
The Sorrowful Blessing of a Missionary’s Parents
Daniel D—- and his mother
Daniel,
The Lord has used your spiritual journey over the past several months to show me how much I’ve struggled with letting go of my children. It’s easy to imagine you always being nearby, especially since many of my friends have grown adult children who live close to them. The prospect of you leaving the country for a couple years really heightened that entire struggle.
More than anything, I want you to do God’s will. But I also need you to have certainty that this is exactly what God is calling you to do. Of course I don’t want to worry about you for two years. What mother would? But I also feel the Spirit telling me that this isn’t about me. It’s about faithfulness to God and sacrifice for the Great Commission. So as difficult as this is for your dad and me, you have our blessing.
Mom
Why We Do Parent Commissioning Instead of Baby Dedication
J.D. Greear
We Baptists don’t baptize infants. But most Baptist churches replace that ceremony with a baby dedication. The motivation between these two ceremonies often overlaps: The parents wish to commemorate the birth of their child and promise before God, grandma, and everybody to raise that child to know God—no water needed.
Recently, though, it’s become increasingly common for churches to move away from baby dedications in favor of Parent Commissioning. This is what we do at the Summit. I’ve found, however, that many people aren’t quite sure what the difference is or why we talk about “commissioning” rather than “dedication.” So I thought I’d set the record straight.
Ready to Launch: Jesus-Centered Parenting in a Child-Centered World (A Seven-session Bible Study)
J.D. and Veronica Greear
Christian parents are not seeking mere behavior modification in their children but the growth of truly godly passions. “Training a child up in the way he should go” must be done intentionally, with the mind and heart of God.
Based on Psalm 127, this seven-session study plumbs the wisdom of the Bible about the goals of parenting, the stages of discipline, the role of the church, and strategies to shape the heart toward the gospel.
Dear Mom
Summit Communications Team
To Mothers (And Everyone Else) on Mother’s Day
Adapted from Amy Young
