— Amy Jennings — (Kid Ministry Director) BIG IDEA: Two ways the Gospel changes our perspective of motherhood. 1. The Gospel changes my perspective of my responsibility as a mom. The Gospel says, Jesus did what I could never do Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His Father every moment of of every day Jesus completely paid for my past, present, and future sin with His life; He satisfied God’s wrath for my rebellion and sin Jesus is my substitute in life and death Through faith in Him, I am His daughter-I belong to Him He is at work transforming my life to reflect His character Ezekiel 11:19 “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart” 2. The Gospel changes my perspective of my identity and therefore my role as a mom. Identity: Child of God Role: Signpost Seeing myself this way, gives me Comfort Compassion Our heavenly Father is intimate Psalm 139:13-18 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!” Matthew 11:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Our heavenly Father is patient/slow to anger Psalm 86:15 “But you O Lord are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Our heavenly Father is forgiving 1 John 1:9-10 "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” The Gospel is something we need to meditate on our entire lives. Helps us to understand and let go of what we cannot do Reveals the character of our heavenly Father Shapes our role as parents — Stacey Esek — ( Women’s Ministry Director) 3 Big Ideas 1. We recognize our own depravity and need for God as we parent-it exposes our selfish hearts and attitudes 2. We surrender to God that we do not have it together and invite him into our daily lives-including motherhood and how we parent 3. God accepts us as we are but he doesn't leave us as we are CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: 1. Was there ever a time you got caught up in trying to pursue perfection more than Jesus? 2. The Gospel says, Jesus did what I could never do Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His Father every moment of every day Jesus completely paid for my past, present, and future sin with His death; He satisfied God’s wrath for my rebellion and sin Jesus is my substitute in life and death Through faith in Him, so… I am His daughter I belong to Him and He is at work transforming my life to reflect His character After reading the above list of what the gospel says, think of your different roles/responsibilities. Can you think of any ways the Gospel has impacted the way you live out these roles/responsibilities? 4. God accepts us as we are but he doesn't leave us as we are. What aspect of God’s character (intimate, patient, forgiving) do you struggle to reflect? How could meditating on His character help you?