Mother’s Day 2026

Humor; size 8. Prayer.

Heavenly Father,

We want to lift up the mothers of our church, our community and country before you today. We pray for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility; for expectant mothers, wondering and waiting; for mothers who are tired, stressed or depressed; for mothers who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family; for mothers whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities; for mothers who raise children on their own; for mothers who have lost a child; for foster moms and adoptive moms; for mothers whose children have left home; and for those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled. Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender, and that they may lead their children to know and love you. Help each one of them, Lord, deserving of praise, appreciation and recognition.

In the name of your precious Son, Amen.

To our mothers in heaven,

Your lives were a beautiful reflection of God’s grace. You didn’t just speak about faith; you wore it like a garment, showing us what it meant to walk with the Lord through every season. We find our comfort today knowing you are resting in the presence of the Savior you served so faithfully. You were a virtuous woman whose worth was far above rubies, and the seeds of faith you planted in our hearts continue to grow. Thank you for being a light in this world and for leading us toward the Light of the World. We carry your lessons and your love with us until we meet again at the feet of Jesus. Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day to a true servant of God.

To the mothers walking beside us today,

You are more than just a caregiver; you are a spiritual architect. Every time you offer a word of encouragement, pray over a sleeping child, or demonstrate patience in a chaotic moment, you are showing your family the character of God.

Your hands perform the work of a servant, but your heart carries the authority of a prayer warrior.

May you feel the Lord’s strength renewing you today. May you know that your labor is never in vain and that you are seen, known, and deeply cherished by the Father. You are a blessing to your family and a light to the world. Happy Mother’s Day to a woman who walks in faith and leads with love.

ILL.- A boy got his first job. As he was boasting about the amount of work he did, he said, "I get up at 5 a.m. and have my breakfast." He was asked, "Does anyone else get up too?" He replied, "Oh yes, mother gets up and fixes my breakfast and then fixes dad’s breakfast."

"And what about your dinner?" The boy said, "Oh, mother fixes that too."

"Does your mother have the afternoon to herself?" The boy replied, "No, mama cleans the house, looks after the other children, and then gets supper for me and dad when we come home. Then we watch TV before we go to bed."

"What about your mother? What does she do?" The boy replied, "Mama washes some clothes and irons the rest of the evening."

"Do you get paid?" "Of course, Dad and I get paid."

"And what about your mother, does she get paid too?"

The boy replied, "MOTHER, GET PAID?! MOTHER DON’T GET PAID. SHE DON’T DO NO WORK."

If anyone here today believes that moms don’t work, I would suggest that you’d better keep your mouth shut.

According to a new survey by Salary.com, moms should be charging $115,000 per year for their work. In the tenth annual Mom Salary Survey, researchers examined 6,616 mothers and attempted to value their work by breaking down motherly duties into 10 separate titles: Day Care Center Teacher, CEO, Psychologist, Cook, Housekeeper, Laundry Machine Operator, Computer Operator, Facilities Manager, Janitor and Cab Driver. Results indicate that stay-at-home moms would earn a base salary of $36,968 plus $78,464 in overtime, totaling $115,432.

ILL.- A London editor submitted to Winston Churchill for his approval a list of all those who had been Churchill’s teachers. Churchill returned the list with this comment: “You have omitted to mention the greatest of my teachers—my mother.”

ILL.- Thomas Edison said, “I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor. I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I should have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness, were potent powers to keep me in the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.” Praise the Lord!

I gave my life to Christ as a young teenager, unfortunately I don’t recall my exact age. Although, I believe that if my mother was with us today, she could tell us my age, the place and possibly even the time that I got saved.

My mother, Becky Teague, through her determined faith, her encouragement, her example, her teaching, her love and the seeds she planted through prayer brought me to Christ.

Even before my mommas passing, I began giving in to the temptations of the flesh. This continued for many years until my disobedience led to not only spiritual death but nearly took my life physically.

I never would have imagined that I would be in front of you today sharing the word of God, but here I am. From the seeds of faith sewed by her through her prayers, praise God here I am.

Our scripture this morning is;

II Tim. 1:5 5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. (NLT)

Here’s what Paul had to say about Timothy.

Phil. 2:19-22 19 I plan (according to Jesus’ plan) to send Timothy to you very soon so he can bring back all the news of you he can gather. Oh, how that will do my heart good! 20I have no one quite like Timothy. He is loyal, and genuinely concerned for you. 21Most people around here are looking out for themselves, with little concern for the things of Jesus. 22But you know yourselves that Timothy’s the real thing. He’s been a devoted son to me as together we’ve delivered the Message. (MSG)

Now that’s the way to be remembered. This is Paul, the man who wrote a good chunk of the Bible, this is what he thinks of Timothy.

So, Tim is a nice guy, so what? Why bring him up today of all days? Why spend time talking about him now? Because:

TIMOTHY IS WHO HE IS BECAUSE OF HIS MOTHER

This is from Paul writing to Timothy:

**II Tim. 1:5 5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. (NLT)

Paul had went to Tim’s hometown and stayed there a while for more than one mission trip, apparently Paul just didn’t know Timothy, he knew Tim’s whole family. Paul apparently knew grandma.

And Paul says very specifically to Timothy that his faith is strong, why? Because of mom and her mom.

Here, Paul mentions mom and grandma specifically, Tim is who he is because of them. Dad is never named. All we know is he was Greek, he may not have even believed in Jesus, we know so very little about dad. Timothy was all thanks to mom. Even what he knew about the Bible, that came from mom.

II Tim. 3:14-15 14But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. 15Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (NCV)

If we know that he was taught the Bible as a young child, and we know there was no real church there, or else Paul wouldn’t have gone on a missionary trip, and we know dad probably did not even believe in the Bible, who do you think it was teaching Timothy the Scriptures? Mom and grandma.

That is true for me, and probably for a lot of you. I still have no problem at all picturing my mom’s brown leather cover bible. We had a bible study for the children in the community at our home. Because here’s the truth of it.

MOMS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

-John Quincy Adams - “All that I am, my mother made me.”

-Abraham Lincoln - “All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother."

-Dwight Moody - "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother."

Mom, you’re loved, whether you believe it or not or your kids tell you themselves or not, you’re loved. A study asked teens what they would like to change about mom and 29% said they’d change nothing at all, they love her the way she is.

Moms, you take care of us, which is wonderful, but because of that, you have great influence on our lives.

And this carries over into our faith and relationship with God. Look at Timothy, it was because of his mom and grandma’s teaching.

We can’t give anyone your faith. We can’t make someone believe, but we can teach and guide and help children see the decisions they make. No matter how hard we work, people are twice as likely to come to church by driving by and seeing the building and wondering what’s inside.

So, who are the influencers? Mom, you’re a big one!

When we read that Timothy’s mom and grandma taught him the Scriptures, it probably was not that Timothy was some on-fire excited for God five-year-old. They taught him the Bible before he knew God to help him find God. They didn’t leave it up to him to decide as to what he believed then start giving him information, they gave him information so he could make a choice.

In Deuteronomy, there is a verse known as the Sh’ma, a verse many people have heard, many people know, Jewish people are taught to repeat it often “the Lord your God is One”, or “God is God alone” and “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” People know those verses, but do you know what is before and after it?

Deut. 6:1-9 1“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all His decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (NLT)

All these reminders that were to be written and placed throughout the home that God is God alone and to love Him with all you are, they weren’t put up for us, they were to be put up to teach our children about who God is.

Why us? Because you, mom and dad, are the most influential people in your child’s life.

Moms, you have more power and more influence than you know and God gives it to you because He trusts you with it, just keep praying for your kids.

There is a patron saint of mothers. Her name is Monica and she is remembered this way for one reason; she prayed for her son.

A son that did not believe in Jesus early in life, who made many wrong decisions, who did lots of things she did not approve of, but she kept praying for him, she never gave up on him. While she prayed, he caroused around and studied philosophy and intellectualism, focusing his entire life on himself. And she kept praying. And eventually her son turned. He started to listen to her and believe in God, so much so he changed the church so much the church now remembers him as a saint too, St. Augustine. A man who we would know nothing about and may even have a different view of the church today if it had not been for a mom who wouldn’t stop praying for her son.

Now, she has a prayer dedicated to her that people remember. Not that I believe in praying to the saints, but it is a great memorial to who she was.

-"Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven. Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray." Amen.

All because a mom prayed for her son.

So, moms, I want you to feel good today. You may look at your kids and think about running a DNA test, they can’t be yours, but they love you, you have great influence on them whether they admit it to you or not, the world would be a far darker place if it wasn’t for the light from moms.

A lot of you knew my mom and to those of you that didn’t, she was a Godly, praying mother. I’m confident that she prayed for me daily. If you did know her, you may say “That explains a lot about John” because there is no greater influence than our moms.

Sometimes we forget how important stability is to a child "The easiest part of being a mother is giving birth.... the hardest part is showing up for it each day..."

The quickest way for a mother to get the attention of her children is to sit down and look comfortable.

Mothers can have a few minutes to themselves at the end of the day by doing the dishes.