Mother’s Day Sermons can be very difficult to write.
Dozens of pastors over the years have asked me that question, “Randall, what are you preaching on for Mother’s Day?
Do you have any Mother’s Day Sermon Ideas?”
We often feel pressure to create a Mother’s Day sermon that will speak specifically to this holiday.Right here, right now I officially set you free from this expectation!
You do not have to preach a Mother’s Day sermon on Mother’s Day.
Yeah, you heard me correctly.
If you do it right, your congregation won’t lynch you, they won’t excommunicate you.
And it will be a blessing for everyone in church, especially the mothers
What should you do?
If you emphasize Mother’s Day in the service, you don’t need to emphasize it in the sermon.
That means you can continue with whatever series you had already been preaching.We’ve done this in our congregation with great effectiveness on Mother’s Day.
Here are some types of things you can easily implement in your Mother’s Day service:
(1) 5 Minutes before the service begins play a Mother’s Day related video. This can be humorous, it can be a countdown to Worship, it can be a song. Lots of options. Just surf the internet for resources.
(2) During the Welcome Time (within the first 5 minutes of the service) have someone greet the congregation and talk about Mother’s Day related items.
You can have the congregation greet each other by turning to someone near them and say, “Happy Mom’s Day.” Or have them ask each other, “So, what did you get me for Mother’s Day?”
(3) During this Welcome Time is also a great place to recognize any mothers you’d like (Oldest mom, mom with the most children, mom whose child traveled farthest to be with her on Mother’s Day, etc.).
You can also utilize humor here with various lists. We’ve used this portion of the service for various things like:
The Top 5 Things Moms Never Say
1. “Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too.”
2. “I smelled your shirt. It’s good for another week.”
3. “Well, if Billy’s mom says it’s OK, that’s good enough for me.”
4. “Don’t bother wearing a jacket. The wind-chill is bound to improve.”
5. “The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. I’m not running a prison around here!”
(4) It is also very important to recognize the obvious elephant in the room. A great many people in your congregation love Mother’s Day! But a great many in your congregation also dread it.
Many in your congregation will even think about staying home on Mother’s Day.
In the service acknowledge those feelings by saying, “Let me go ahead and state what some of you are thinking.
Many of you love Mother’s Day. It is a wonderful day for you and your family.
But others of you dread this Day.
In fact, you even considered just staying in bed today and skipping the service.
Maybe for you today is painful because your mother has passed away. Or maybe you had to bury a child.
Or maybe you had a mother who was selfish, abusive or absent.
Perhaps you are a mother who has lots of regrets with your children and you’re overcome with guilt.
Maybe you want to be a mom but haven’t been able to conceive or adopt yet.
I realize some of you didn’t have the kind of mother you needed and what God intended.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t be the kind of mother or person that God intends you to be.
Whether you are a mother or not, you can be a catalyst of grace and love to others.
If today is painful for you, we ask God’s presence to comfort you.
We want you to know we love you and don’t want you to feel like you are grieving alone.
Mothers and all the ladies here, thank you for your investment in our lives. You deserve great honor today.”
(5) At the end of the service have a focused moment of prayer thanking God for the mothers. In the prayer also acknowledge the fact that for many this is a difficult day.
I recommend having a man in the church pray for the mothers. (Then on Father’s Day you can have a woman pray for the men).
If you do these things, you will honor the mothers in a right and good way.
And you also won’t feel the pressure to come up with a Mother’s Day sermon.
But make sure you honor the mothers in the service… because they deserve it!
Now, you have the answer for Mother’s Day Sermons and some Mothers Day Sermon Ideas.
Your Brother In Christ,
Randall Garing
