Mother’s Day

May 9, 2004

After the horrendous rain-storm of Saturday, the fine weather welcomed more than 200 brothers and sisters and their mothers to our Mother’s Day Sunday Service on 9 May 2004.  Praise God that three friends accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Let us welcome them to the Hope family and we look forward to serving God with them.

Sister Julia gave her testimony following a powerful praise and worship session. She thanked God for a loving and caring mother who had sacrificed her personal preference in order to take care of her children. Julia recalled that her mother would bring her for European food instead of her mother’s fondness in Chinese food, and bought her “sweeties” from the supermarket for sharing during school break. As Julia is the youngest member in the family, her mother decided to sacrifice an overseas posting. Instead she remained in Hong Kong to provide a home filled with love, care, guidance and protection when Julia was still a teen-ager.

A video clip was shown after Julia’s testimony. Sister Inge, Brother John, Sister Miranda with her brothers, Man Wai and Kin Wai; Sister Lolita and Sister Janet shared and thanked their Mothers’ sacrificial love and caring during their upbringing, and now as the sisters are mothers and mother-to-be, they are willing to learn and to be trained as good mothers according to biblical principles. Following the video, all mothers in the congregation were presented a gift as well as a carnation symbolizing our thanks for their love.

Pastor Gavin’s sermon was on Mothers’ Love – Sacrificial Love, which was taken from Exodus 2:1-10. Throughout our lives, as infant, child, adolescent, and at adulthood, mother demonstrates her love with the care and attentiveness she devotes to the family especially the children. However, different mothers raise their children in different ways, which is the right way to love and care for our children? Let us look into the biblical example of Moses’ mother. 1. Love with sacrifice – as Pharaoh had ordered all newborn males to be killed, Moses’ mother had risked her life and kept baby Moses at home for three months. 2. Love without expectation – after nursing baby Moses for three months, Moses’ mother, although unwilling, sent away the infant via River Nile to his “foster parents” for his safety. 3. Love with the teaching of biblical principles – Moses’ sister intelligence in following the papyrus basket and offered Pharaoh’s daughter in getting a Hebrew woman to nurse for the baby demonstrated her boldness and courage in the image of the mother.

We thank God for His teaching on this special Sunday and his mercy on the souls of our new belivers.