Let's dive in. 1 Samuel chapter 1. I want to say this as clearly as I can right on the front of the actual sermon as we dive in. There ain't no mamas out there like Mercy Hill mamas, okay? I have seen y'all.
You are selfless. Man, you are challenging your children and shaping them as arrows to be shot out the hand of a mighty warrior. Psalm 127. Man, you're making the home a refuge. You're prioritizing the gospel in so many ways above other things.
I want to be encouraging to you. I want to do the same thing with our fathers. But today is Mother's Day. Unlike the video, we're not going to make Mother's Day about Father's Day, okay? Because that normally happens with little kids sometimes.
But then I want to focus and just say, hey, I want to encourage you. Man, we see the labor. Many times it's a thankless job. Nobody holds the place in your kids' discipleship that you do. All right, it's unique.
All right. But we also want to say, hey, let's go further, right? Let's, man, in greater ways, in what greater ways can we open our hands and parent and mother our kids towards what God has for them? All right. Here's the big idea: a mother's mission is to raise her kids for God's mission.
That's the mission that you are on as a mom. But I'm going to tell you, it is hard, isn't it? Because raising your kids for God's mission instead of yours means opening your hands with them and allowing them to be sent out, raising them for that end, and that can be scary.
Okay, listen, a lot of times, and I know not every family is set up like this, but generally speaking, dads want to push their kids, moms want to protect their kids. And I know somebody said, Well, you shouldn't stereotype people like that. I just did. I don't care. We all know it's true.
Okay, I'm not saying every family is set up that way, but generally, dads see something hard or even pain that their kids are going through, and they have this kind of dad thing where they're like, good, it's gonna toughen them up, you know, it's gonna make their character, it's gonna build their character, you know. And a lot of times, moms, it's that mama bear thing comes out. It's God-given, okay, it's a good thing. Mama Bear kind of comes out and wants to scoop them all up. You know, what came to my mind was thinking about when my kids were learning how to swim.
Okay, because learning how to swim is kind of scary. Like, what they want to do is they want to cling to mom, and mom kind of wants to hold them because they're scared. And then here I come and I just pick them up and walk them over to the deep end and just drop them, you know? And that's kind of how dads many times push. Moms want to protect.
Here's the thing. If you're wired to protect. Mom, it's going to be even harder for you to open your hands. When it comes time to send them out for the mission of God, right? It's going to be harder for you, for them to take risks.
And so that's not, listen, that's not bad. It's just something that we've got to understand in the wiring. That's how you know we're gonna it we're gonna have to kind of war against that to get to the place where we can open our hands and we have a great example of it with a woman a hero in the Bible named Hannah Okay, and Hannah a great heroine of faith Okay, she she is one of those who who is who has you know released her child back into God's service when it was man, it would just be the hardest thing in the world to do She begs God for a child God gives her Samuel and then she is able to dedicate him to the Lord. It's an incredible story. Let's dive in.
All right. We're gonna be in 1 Samuel chapter 1. I'm gonna sort of just drop you right into the story and then I'll fill in some of the blanks. All right. And she said, now she's talking to a priest named Eli.
She says, O my Lord, as you live, My Lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed. and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore, I have an interesting word here, lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.
And he, that's probably talking about Samuel, because that's her son. Samuel probably is what it's saying here: worship the Lord there.
Now, Hannah ends up being the mother of a guy named Samuel, whose story looms large in the scripture. Samuel was the kingmaker. Samuel was the guy, Saul, David, man, you know, he judged Israel. There's just, he's a big figure that God used in a lot of ways. But Samuel was not guaranteed to Hannah.
All right. Hannah actually was married to a man who had another wife and also had kids. She was being vexed by the other woman. She didn't have any children. And she went to the temple to pray for a child.
And she prayed her guts out so hard, if you go back and read it, that the temple, the priest there, thought she was drunk. And actually comes up to her and says, Hey, you need to put your wine away, like rebukes her. And she's like, Oh no, it's not. It's my heart is so broken. Why?
Because she didn't have any children.
Now, you think about back then, and even thinking about now, a lot of value was assigned to a woman because of child rearing. I want you to think about waking up in a warrior society, an agrarian warrior society, okay, where, man, my ability to produce warriors is our safety. My ability to produce workers is our future in security. All right, so not only that, but we also are seeing, you know, they also saw this as a blessing from God and that kind of thing.
So, barrenness. Meant no future. Barrenness was one of those things that meant hopelessness. And I would say this: we look back and we say, man, there was so much value. that was given to mom based on the kids.
And I would say, y'all, this isn't just moms, this is parents in general. You know, it's different now. We don't live in a warrior agrarian society. We live in a suburban keyboard society.
Okay, it's a much different society. But I mean, is it really any different? I mean, how many of us can fall into finding our value based on our kids' success. Based on having children and having them be successful, their athletic ability, their academic success, we can find our identity in being a parent. You know, Hannah came to the point in her life where she realized that is not the point of me having a child.
The point of me having a child is that I would dedicate them to his service. It's not about me and what I get in my identity, but it's about releasing them into God's service. You know, many people struggle when they, you know, and Hannah was this way too. Many people struggle before they have children. And I know Mother's Day can bring up a lot for people that have struggled, and this is very real with infertility, miscarriage, that kind of thing.
But what happens in people's lives many times when they're in that station, same thing that happened to Hannah. is that what we think is Well, when I have a child, this is going to fix. Me. This is gonna make me whole. This is going to give me things that actually I should only be looking for in God: a future, an identity, an ultimate security.
One of the things that Hannah had to realize, and I would say we need to realize this in many ways, not just about kids. This could be about wealth. This could be about success, certainly about kids, though, is this: if God isn't enough without children, He ain't gonna be enough with children. Right? What we think is, this will fix me, this will make me whole.
And what we don't understand is: no, anytime, and this whole sermon is about this concept, okay? Anytime we run to something that we should be thanking God for, like a blessing, and try to turn it into God. We try to put too much weight on it. We try to base our life on it. Anytime we do that, It will fail us, and it will also lead us into some crazy places of fear and despair.
Because it will start dictating our behavior to us. And kids is a great option for that, y'all. You know, sometimes we say, well, it's hard not to worship your kids. It's not hard to worship them. It's hard not to sometimes because of what they can immediately give you.
They can immediately give you the highest highs when they're successful, when they're reflecting on you in a great way. You know, we go to that many times. Listen, I want to affirm the desire for children and family, but I also want to say this: I know that it is a day like Mother's Day can bring up a lot of things. Anna and I, you know, our story, we walked through miscarriage multiple times, very hard, heartbreaking. I know that some of us in our church and our campuses have dealt with infertility and things like that.
And man, it's just, it can be so hard, and I understand that. At the same time, We are called in all seasons of life to find our ultimate fulfillment and happiness not in a circumstance, but in our God. Right, so I want to affirm the desire for children is an incredible desire. God talks about them like they are a heritage and a blessing. Our man, our society talks about them like they're a burden.
Okay, God talks about them like they are a blessing and they are a blessing. If you are a young couple at Mercy Hill, I will give you a vision. I want you to put this in your heart. You don't have any kids yet, you just got married, or you're about to get married.
Some of the students in our heart.
Okay, you just need a picture in your mind. A 15-passenger van is in our future.
Okay, that's where it needs to go for you. It's a good thing. It's a heritage thing. But For some of us right now that are struggling, and Mother's Day is so hard. Mother's Day is so tough, man.
You know, for some, because they're dealing with these things. Even in that. We can be content because if we're not okay without them, we will not be okay with them. All right?
So let me give you an example. You know the verse we always go to before a football game or something? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Great, great verse. But actually, look at what that verse actually is in Philippians 4.
Not that I am speaking of being in need. For I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content. That's with kids, without kids. With marriage, without marriage, with a lot of money, without a lot of money, right? You understand what it's getting at?
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Then he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. What he's saying is, this is not just a rah-rah verse before a game. The point of this verse is: when I am in lack, when I feel like I'm in a dry and weary land.
When I'm in famine. I still have the thing that should be able to produce. The overwhelming, you know, the eternal kind of joy in my heart. One of the things that we say in a gospel prayer. Is we say, just, you know, we say a few things.
We say, God, I pray that you could help me, you know, be to me, help me be to others as you have been to me. That's one part of the gospel prayer. You know, hey, One of the things we say is, in you I have everything I need for everlasting joy. That doesn't mean we don't desire things. It doesn't mean that we don't think about children as being a heritage and desire them.
I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is, man, we come to the place of being satisfied in Christ, understanding that He is enough. And when he is enough, then we're able to be, we're kind of able to put kids in their proper place, you know, instead of worshiping them. Look what he says in verse 28. And therefore, I have, this is an interesting word to me, lent him to the Lord.
And as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.
Now this is very important for us to understand. Yes, God answered Hannah's prayer. But I don't want some of us to run to this idea that, well, of course, she's happy God answered her prayer. That's not my situation. Y'all, she's about to dedicate her one son to the temple for his whole life.
I mean, honestly, what situation Wait, it's different. Is the situation that much different after she does this than where she was before? Her heart is different, though. Why? Something has changed in Hannah's heart and her calculus from when she was so drunk on grief and depression, if you want to put it like that, whenever she was praying in the temple the first time, to where we're going to see in chapter two, she sings an incredible exaltation of the Lord and says, My rejoicing is in him after dedicating her child to his temple service.
Something has really changed. in her life. And I'm going to tell you what changed in her life is that God became really, really big. Huge in her view. And when God is really big, the kids start, and everything else, the wealth, the status that I'm desiring, whatever it is in your life that you just think, man, if I could have that or do that, I would be okay.
Whatever that is can begin to get small and get put in its proper place when God is really big. You know, every firstborn male was supposed to be bought back, redeemed. They were all gods. They were to be given over. But the Lord would allow in his law they would be bought back.
Okay, so the family would understand that they are for the Lord, but they'd be bought back. But then some could be given for temple service for a time. Samuel is being given for temple service for all time. And I just want you to catch this picture of what Hannah is doing. She is such a hero in the scripture for this reason.
She is truly the example of raising kids for the mission, mom, mothering for the mission. I am doing this so that I can open my hands and release him to be all God that you have for him to be. Actually, even the language, if you want to go back and read it again, look what it says. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.
Can I give you a little insight here on that word lent? That word lent. is actually the same word that she uses and that is used for the word beg or petition.
So, if you put this together, what it's literally saying is, Hannah's saying, God I begged you for this child and now I am begging him back to you.
Now, that's here's what I think about this sometimes in the Bible. You're like, wait, I don't know that that totally makes sense. But then we're like, I think I understand that. I have begged you for him, and now I beg you back to him. Right?
I am begging him back to you. The things I wanted, now I want just that bad, but I want them to be used for you. I beg him back to you. And that's and here's what I want to tell us. Listen.
It We will never get to that place with our kids or anything else, especially with our kids, moms. I mean, it's hard not to worship their success and make sure they're fine and just find all of our identity and them being well kept and taken care of and safe and all those kind of things. It is so hard not to find our ultimate kind of value and identity in them. We will never be able to beg them back to God, in a sense, if. Man, they are the thing that we're actually...
worshiping. You can't worship God and your kids at the same time.
Now, some of us find that to be odd language. You're like, what do you mean by worship your kids? But, man, if you've been around Mercy Hill for a while, you know this. Man, an idol is not just I burn incense and it's a statue. It can be that.
I've been placed in the world where it is that. An idol is anything that takes the place of God in our heart. Nothing takes God's place. But in our heart, things can take God's place. And what happens is very simple.
We begin to think about something and it starts to root its way in. And we begin to want to derive from it things that we should only look for in God. And then what happens, and this is the hard part, then what happens is, like God's do, it starts to dictate our behavior to us. We think we're in control. We're not in control.
We're going to serve something. Either we're going to serve the God of the universe or we're going to serve idols that we have placed in our heart, but we are going to serve them. They're going to dictate to us what we're going to do. Can I give you a lighthearted? Let me give you a light-hearted example just to try to illustrate the point, okay?
And then we'll try to apply it to a couple of things a little more broadly, particularly with kids. I know I'm not the only man who's ever done this. I'm about to say it, okay? But I don't know, guys, if you've ever been in a situation where you sit down, man, you're ready to lock in. You know, you got the coffee's ready.
You're ready, man, I'm ready to knock some stuff out work-wise. And it's like, man, I'm getting in the zone and I'm thinking about it. And all of a sudden, you ain't there for 20 minutes, but you look up, and for five minutes, you have no idea how you found yourself, but you are now cruising Facebook Marketplace. And you're just looking around, going, How did this happen? How did I get here?
Right? And it's like, no, that's not what I sat down to do.
Something has dictated to me what I'm going to do. Like it's work time, it ain't Facebook time, you know? And instead, I'm doing that. Why? Well, and this is a little bit of a light-hearted example, but I think it makes the point.
You know what happens in my life sometimes, if I'm getting dictated to by Facebook Marketplace, you know what's happening? Probably I've got a project that I'm looking forward to doing, building something, doing some kind of project, taking some trees down, doing something at our property. And because I'm looking forward to that so much, it starts to dictate to me how I'm going to act. It starts getting too big, in other words. Too much of if I'm going to be happy and have an incredible weekend is wrapped up in this thing.
And now, because I'm giving it too much weight, it starts to tell me what I'm gonna do.
Now, that's a lighthearted example. I don't think it actually, that's literally idolatry, but it kind of gets to the point, right?
Now, when we actually get into some big stuff, like wealth accumulation. Like our status in terms of, man, I gotta be the boss. I need that next promotion. When we start thinking about, man, I'm not married. I wanna be married.
I'll never be happy if I'm not married. When we start thinking about our children, guys, our kids are, it's so hard not to worship them, but here's what happens. When they begin to take a place in our life that God never intended for them to have. I mean, I want you to think about this for a minute. Man, when we make those kids into little gods, we put a weight on them that nobody should have to carry.
And then they begin to occupy a place in our heart that was never meant for them to occupy. And all of this, you know how you know you're there? This is when parents become crazy people. Crazy.
Okay, this is the guy that's you know screaming at just I mean at the game and just trying to you know the kid's six years old out there doesn't even know where he is, and the guy's just on it going on and on and on. You know, this is what I mean. It's like because the kid's success has become so big in my life. Moms, it ain't just on the sports field. I mean, think about some of you guys.
We have a lot of homeschool moms, and I'm telling you, I know because we did this too. The end-of-the-year tests come around that you got to send in. And it's like, I kind of feel like all of this is reflecting on me. How they do, you know, and it's it's it's like man, we can start to put so much pressure on them to do well, or uh, you know, I one of the things I think right now, you guys know what life 360 is. Or maybe there's something on it.
I don't know if it's Apple or whatever, but it's that idea of being able to see. I mean, that is crack for a millennial parent. I mean, just think about it. I can now see and observe every single place my child is and how fast they're going at all times of the day. Humans were never meant to live with that kind of scrutiny, okay?
But yet, like, we can't even get off of it. Why? This is what I mean. When our kids become too big. we begin to act like crazy people.
All right, why? Because the idol is dictating to us. what we're supposed to do and what we will do. Uh and and And listen, it's just from us giving them a weight that they were never meant to carry and giving them a place in our heart that they were never meant to occupy. This is a and the only way That those things get thrown down is when God becomes huge.
That's it. That's what has to happen in our life. God back on the throne of our heart. And I mentioned this earlier. Y'all, I see the moms in this church just absolutely pouring out, raising your kids for the mission.
Running them all over creation, a selflessness that men are never going to understand, carrying so much of the load. But we want to do all those things more faithfully, even, don't we? Like, we want to be encouraged to go farther and to do these things in even greater ways. It will not happen if God is not huge in our life, all right? And that's what I want to call us to in her prayer.
Look at chapter 2. Hannah prayed. And said, My heart exalts in the Lord. That means my heart rejoices in the Lord. My heart is triumphant.
in the Lord. This is after dedicating her child to the temple service.
Okay, and she's able to say, my rejoicing, my joy, my triumph. Man, it is all wrapped up in God. She says, My horn is exalted in the Lord. What that means, a horn means strength. You know, that it's representative.
Okay, so I've told you guys before, we have we keep two cows, and we are like any good pet owner.
Okay, we send one of our cows to camp every summer, okay? They get to go to camp. It's called Freezer Camp, okay? And whenever you are, I'm just telling you right now. Whenever you're loading a cow, Or bull steer, whatever.
If it has horns, you treat it a little differently than one that ain't got horns.
Okay, and here's why: because the horns are representative of strength and power. And that's what she says here. My heart exalts the emotional side of me, but also my strength is exalted in the Lord. My strength is lifted up to him. This is what I'm saying.
Guys, there is a connection between Hannah's ability to open her hands with her child and send them away for the mission and the way that she views God: that He is my rejoicing, He is my strength. He is huge in her life, and that makes the kids put in their proper place and be able to be used for God's mission. You know, one of the ways the Bible talks about God's glory, and we think about God, it's the idea of weight. You know, if you push something down, if you put something heavy down, it will displace. Like when you drop something heavy in water, what happens?
The water overflows, right? It's displaced by what is heavier. I've used this example before, some of you guys have seen it, but to me, it just makes it click in my mind. And me and my daughter, Hattie Joe, went to a camp two summers ago out in California, and they had a thing called a blob.
Alright, so I don't know if you guys have ever seen a blob. You can't see me. How did Joe convince me to do this?
Alright, I'm on the very edge holding on for dear life. You can't see me. And I look up. It's supposed to be one person jumps and blobs you. I look up and there's two and they're huge.
Okay? These guys together were, they were 600 pounds. I mean, one of the guys was a cheeseburger away from 320, okay? And And they're going to come down in unison. And when they came down, what was heavy came down?
What was lighter? Flew okay, that was, and it was, I mean, I just was twisting all up in the air and all this kind of stuff. And I've used that as an example over and over because like That's sort of what happens in our life. Like when God comes down heavy. What's not heavy will sort of be thrown out.
And you're like, I don't want to, you know, I'm not talking about throwing your kids out of your heart. You understand what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, you need to get them in a proper place. The weight of God comes down, and all of a sudden, we begin to see our kids for the blessings they are. To be used for God's mission, shaped to be used for God's mission.
The things that we're going to be called to do. I shouldn't have said that. Moms, the things that you. What that mama bear instinct are going to be called to do. in terms of releasing your kids and shaping them for the mission are hard.
And the only way you're gonna get there. is if God is huge. I was talking to one of our Mercy Hill moms. She said, My daughter's going on a summer project this summer. They're going to Malaysia.
As soon as she said the word Malaysia, she starts crying. She said, I can't stop thinking about the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. You guys remember that? Gone. Nobody knows.
Nobody knows what happens. Just gone. And she's like, every time I think about her on the plane, I just get this. But then she goes on to say, But I understand God is calling her to this. It's for his mission.
You do not get there unless God is huge. In your mind.
Some of you moms and the little kids at home, it's a grind every day. It's just like, man, it's just same day, different days, same dance. Every day, it feels like, right? And it's, and all the while, You're doing that knowing I am doing all of this, pouring out all of this so that they will leave me. They're going to grow up and leave.
And be sent out. How hard is that? How hard is it to keep shaping them? for a mission that God has for them, not just so they're your little trophy. It's very tough.
We're not going to do that well if God is not huge.
Some moms are going to move their whole life around this summer because of the student camp announcement that I just made. And it's like, man, everything again, mom takes the back seat. Everybody else is in front. Their stuff is going to, we're going to move things around again. And it's just like, we're not going to make hard decisions like that.
If God is not huge. I think about our Mercy Hill moms that are on the mission field right now. I mean, guys, think about this with me. They listen to these sermons, and it's like, How much are they sacrificing to raise their kids away from any kind of parents, to raise their kids away from the sports stuff, all the experiences that we want to give our kids? Those things are hard.
They only are able to do it if God is huge.
So, big application point, conclusion, all wrapped up together, okay? Mother for the mission of God, not for your mission. But for the mission of God. Take a play out of Hannah's example.
Now listen for Hannah She caught a vision of God being so good to her. and him being so faithful in what he was going to do in her life. That she was able to open her hands with her kids. And what's crazy is, y'all, you and I on this side of the cross, we have an even better picture. of how good God is.
Of how awesome it is to put our kids in his service and in his hands, to trust his sovereignty with them. We have an even better picture than Hannah would have had. If what Hannah knew about God was enough to make her open her hands. Then what about what we know about God? See, what we know about God is this.
Before God ever asks you to open your hands and send your child, you gotta remember that He already opened His hands and sent His for us. He's already done it.
Okay, that's the gospel. You know, you think about Hannah and Samuel. It's a picture. You see this in the Bible all the time, those connections, just thousands and thousands of connections like this.
Well, Hannah would sing a song.
Well, there's another Hannah. You know, there's another person that would sing a song. And her name was Mary. And Mary had a child of the Holy Spirit. Mary did not just give her child so that he would be used to serve the temple.
The greater Samuel, Jesus Christ, the greater Hannah, if you want to say that like that, she gave her child so that. Jesus Christ would be the one that became the cornerstone of the temple that was being built. And that's us, actually. 2 Corinthians 6, 16 says, we are the living temple. The Spirit of God resides in us.
And so Jesus was given over so that you and I could be brought in to be a temple for the Holy Spirit. If we would admit our sin, believe in what He's done, and confess Him as the Lord of our life. What an incredible truth. Doesn't that push us to say, man, a God who would do that for me? And then he wants me to open my hands.
and give my children over to the Lord, moms. I know it's hard. You know, you want to kind of keep the kids. Dad wants to drop them into the deep end. I know that.
But listen, we have a God who we can trust to open our hands. and commit them to his service. And they're going to be better off at his hands anyway, you know? And he is worthy. Of our mothering in that way, he is worthy.
For us. To release our kids for his mission. Man, all this stuff is hard. Man, he's worthy of it. We're going to sing a song.
We're going to have a moment of prayer. We're going to sing a song. In a minute called, Is He Worthy? And we've never done this on corporately. We've done it in worship nights.
Some of you guys have heard it. It's an incredible psalm, but I want to tell you why I wanted to do it this week.
So, three and a half weeks ago, The worst night. That me and Anna had in the hospital with Faith Ann. It was very hard. She had become very, very, very frustrated. You know, you just think about not being able to talk, not to know what's going on, in pain.
Very frustrated. I ripped her IVs out. She was grinding. She's never lost a tooth in her life. She was grinding her teeth so bad, she popped one of her teeth out.
I mean, it's just if you can imagine all the Just very hard, you know, and We're doing everything we can do to try to soothe and keep her calm and that kind of stuff. I text Anna at two in the morning. I said, You're a soldier. I mean, Anna's just sitting there with her for two hours, just rubbing her hand and getting yelled at and hit and all this stuff. It was just very hard.
Um And I turned on. I turned on the song. Is he worthy? The song we're about to play. I'm telling you, this sounds like a preacher story.
If I'm lying, I'm dying. The child closed her eyes and went to sleep in five seconds. Just just just it's like it just it just released. She just And she went to sleep. And man, I should have gone to sleep at that moment because I mean, we were so tired.
But I was, I felt like God is in this room, I felt like the Spirit is here. I got my journal out. I'm like, you know, I'm like writing. And guys, you can see the lesson just on the face of it. The song is asking a question.
Is he worthy? And I'm sitting there thinking, Man, God, you are worthy of us being in this hospital room. You are worthy of all the heartache that comes from being a parent. Moms? Is he worthy of our mothering for the mission?
Is he worthy of all that comes with that? And I'm just having this. And even when it's hard, I mean, when it's really hard, here's the thing: I'm having this moment. I'm like, God, I'm going to, I can't wait to tell our church, to tell this is such a, this stuff happens to me. And I'm like, man, I want to share it.
And. You know that picture perfect moment got shattered because about, I don't know, 30 minutes later, she wakes right back up. Hurting, mad, pain. And then I thought, now that's the lesson. Because now I have to ask again.
Is he worthy? Not asking, is he worthy when I think it's over? but asking, is he worthy when I'm right in the midst of it? And for some of you moms, that's the question, man. You're right in the midst of it.
You know, is he worthy of continuing to pray for this wayward child? Is he worthy of all the pain that comes from trying to raise kids the right way in a crazy society? Man, is he worthy of raising them in the faith to see them sent out? I'm telling you, man, it's crazy, parents.
So many times this happens. We get kids in summer project college students. Man, God is calling them to the nations, He's calling them into pastoral ministry, and it is the very same parents. That started that child on the trajectory they're on by bringing them to a church like Mercy Hill that then say, well, no, we weren't talking about this. We're not talking about you doing that.
You know? It's like, man, it's hard. But when God is calling them, are we able to open our hands? Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day.
God, I pray that this next moment will be powerful.
Well, we thank you for these moms. But we pray that they'll be encouraged and edified and lifted up and built up. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
