News and Events

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Honoring Our Mothers on Mother's Day

By Ruth Oni

We had a wonderful Mother’s Day Celebration on Sunday, May 10, 2009. The message for the occasion was given by Sister Ayo Temple, our Women Fellowship Leader. The sermon was entitled “The Virtues of a Spirit Filled Mother.” Enumerating the roles and responsibilities of motherhood, Sister Ayo explained that no one could fulfill the role of a virtuous mother except through the grace of God.

She said a great responsibility lies on mothers of our day to intervene in the crisis the world faces today. Spirit-filled mothers are needed on a daily basis to reach out to hell-bound souls.

She referred to a spirit-filled mother as one whose role surpasses the domestic circle. Deborah was a woman who was able to stand in the gap at a time of dire need in Israel. Sister Ayo challenged mothers not to limit themselves to their homes alone, but ask the Holy Spirit to give them genuine love to care deeply about others, such that their lives would become testimonies.

Reading from Galatians 2:22-23, she elaborated on the fruit of the Spirit and related them to the virtues expected of a Godly mother.

She grouped these expected virtues into three clusters: Love, Joy, and Peace - which she said will help us with our attitudes towards God and our fellow men; Longsuffering, Godliness and Gentleness – which deals with our social relationship with each other; Faith, Meekness and Temperance, which, she said, are principles that guide our Christian conduct. She emphasized that God has something for every mother to do in the work of the kingdom, urging women to lay aside petty ungodly behaviors and pursue righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit. “The world is watching us and we have to be good ambassadors of Christ”, she warned.

Sister Ayo had a word of admonition for everyone - wives and husbands, mother-in-laws and father in-laws, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, while reiterating the fact that the only requirement for entering God’s kingdom is salvation.

No extra baggage of bitterness, animosity, malice, anger, jealousy, or any such thing, will be allowed entry. She concluded by saying that there is a blessed but urgent invitation for mothers to draw closer to God, become Spirit-filled and impact godly virtues on our ailing world.

 

 

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