HAPPY MOMS DAY

Table of Contents

1. Worship and Thanksgiving for Jesus
2. A Testimony of Healing and Grace
3. Mother’s Day as a Celebration of Women
4. Women Reveal the Heart and Character of God
5. The True Strength of Women
6. A Mother’s Encouragement and the Blessing of a Wife
7. Mary as a Picture of Quiet Strength
8. A Wife as Favor from the Lord
9. Mothers, Hidden Prayers, and Spiritual Strength
10. Learning Love and Grace Through a Godly Wife
11. Honoring All Women, Wives, Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties, and Spiritual Mothers
12. Communion and the New and Better Covenant
13. Final Blessing Over Women and Mothers

Worship and Thanksgiving for Jesus

The message opens with worship, praise, and thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus. Pastor Leonard magnifies the name of the Lord and gives Him glory, honor, and praise. He thanks the Father for Jesus and immediately centers the service on the love of God revealed through Christ.

He refers to the truth of John 3:16 and John 3:17, declaring that God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, and that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. He also thanks God that Jesus was not sent into the world to judge or condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:17- “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Pastor Leonard praises God because He saved the world through Jesus Christ. He then makes it personal, thanking God that He saved him and his family. The opening prayer sets the tone for the entire message: everything flows from Jesus, salvation, grace, and gratitude.

A Testimony of Healing and Grace

Pastor Leonard then pauses to share a personal testimony that he originally had not planned to share. He explains that six and a half years earlier, he came down with cancer, specifically sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma. Five and a half years earlier, it was diagnosed, and he was told he had six months to live.

He shares that he recently went for his five-year checkup, which was the last time he had to go. He says he already knew what the results were going to be. The doctors took blood, took samples, looked at his throat, and examined his nasal passage. They told him what he already knew: the cancer was gone.

He gives glory to God for this testimony and explains how important the “grace lane” was in his journey. He says that if he had not been established in the gospel of grace, he would have been scared to death. In the past, he had been taught uncertainty about healing: whether it was God’s will to heal, whether he would be one of the chosen or lucky ones, whether God heals sometimes but not always, whether sickness could be unto death, for the glory of God, or because of chastisement.

Pastor Leonard describes those former beliefs as coming from an inferior gospel. He contrasts that with the new gospel of grace, where faith in Jesus Christ saves us and where healing is grounded in the finished work of Jesus.

Isaiah 53:5- “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

First Peter 2:24- “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

He says that because he was founded in the gospel of grace, he was not afraid. Once he received a word from the Lord, he had peace. The word he received was that he would not die, he would live, he would not miss a Sunday service, and he should proceed with peace.

Psalm 118:17- “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.”

He remembers that the first person he called when he learned about the cancer was Brandon. Brandon told him, “Dad, you know what to do.” Pastor Leonard explains that this meant believing in and calling on the name of Jesus, because by His stripes, he was already healed.

Isaiah 53:5- “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

1 Peter 2:24- “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

He then praises God that, six and a half years later, five and a half years after diagnosis and five years after his last treatment, the cancer is gone and will never return. From a two percent chance of survival, he is living.

He continues by sharing how the Lord still gives him strength to do difficult things. He tells a story about receiving a job involving mold remediation in a customer’s attic. He had been praying for financial blessing, and the Lord provided work that paid the equivalent of three weeks of pay in two hours. The work required a full hazmat suit, breathing apparatus, goggles, and crawling through an attic with only about two and a half feet of space. He had to move on all fours, shimmy across the floor, lie on his back, and move from side to side. But the Lord gave him strength to complete the job.

Pastor Leonard then makes the testimony available to everyone. He says he is not a special son or a special child in a way that makes God’s goodness unavailable to others. What God has done for him, He will do for others. He encourages the congregation to trust, believe, ask, and reach out, because God is good all the time.

Mother’s Day as a Celebration of Women

Pastor Leonard then transitions into Mother’s Day. He says that after Easter, the best day of the year is Christmas, and the third best day is Mother’s Day because we get to celebrate mothers. But he expands the celebration beyond mothers alone. He says today is a day to celebrate mothers, wives, and all women.

He repeats the point clearly: all women are to be celebrated. This is not only Mother’s Day in the narrow sense, but a day to honor women, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and spiritual mothers.

He brings in a cultural reference to James Brown’s song “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” He recalls the line that this may be a man’s world, but man is nothing without a woman. Pastor Leonard uses that thought to emphasize that women are everything and that women are strong.

Women Reveal the Heart and Character of God

Pastor Leonard speaks personally about his wife, Lori. He says that because he is married to her, he has to say she is the strongest woman he knows, but his words are deeply sincere. He remembers what she helped him through during his cancer journey.

He describes a day when he could not walk. He had lost so much weight, had no energy, and had no strength. Lori threw all the supplies over one shoulder, hoisted him up with the other shoulder, and walked about half a mile while holding him up to get him to Mount Sinai Hospital.

He then says he watches her every day as she takes care of their home and takes care of him. He describes her strength, patience, and love as amazing.

From there, he expands the point again. He says all women are strong. He mentions watching his daughters-in-law and seeing how they take care of their households, husbands, and children. He compares mothers to a mama bear in the woods who protects her cubs. If anyone gets in the way of her cubs, they are in trouble, because the mother bear will protect them.

Pastor Leonard then makes a theological point: women reveal God’s character. When women care, love, and serve, they are revealing the heart and attitude of God. They show in the natural what is true in the spiritual.

He describes God as loving, supplying, protecting, guarding, making safe, and healing. In the same way, women, especially wives and mothers, often reveal God’s heart through their care, love, sacrifice, and protection.

He says that his mind is still being renewed and that he is not yet where he is going to be, but he is where he is now in his beliefs that he is loved by God, righteous, and walking in sanctification, partly because of the Holy Spirit and partly because of his wife. Lori constantly encourages him in those truths, tells him those things, and gives him notes every day.

The True Strength of Women

Pastor Leonard continues by saying women, wives, and mothers encourage, support, uplift, and protect. A woman’s character holds things together.

He acknowledges that women are not generally as physically strong as men, but he makes clear that physical strength is not where real strength is measured. Real strength is measured in character.

He mentions the physical differences between men and women and briefly references public debates about biological males identifying as women competing in women’s sports. He uses this as an example of physical strength differences, not as the point of the sermon. The point is that real strength is not merely physical strength.

He mentions reading about an elite women’s soccer team scrimmaging against an elite boys’ fourteen-and-under soccer team, and the boys won. Again, this is used only to distinguish physical strength from the deeper kind of strength he wants to honor.

He then defines real strength as character, love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. That is the strength he sees in women.

A Mother’s Encouragement and the Blessing of a Wife

Pastor Leonard then gives a special shout-out to his mother. He says she may not remember the moment, but he remembers it clearly. He was driving through Newburgh and passed Delano Hitch Stadium, a baseball field. He remembered playing high school baseball while he was on a junior high team. He got a base hit and eventually scored. As he crossed home plate, the only voice he heard was his mother screaming and yelling with excitement over what he had done.

He says his mother has been a tremendous source of encouragement in his life. He is grateful to know that she is proud of him. He also says he would like to be by her side on Mother’s Day, but she is in Tampa, Florida, by her own choice. He jokes about who would want to leave the cold, frigid, snowy weather of New York for Tampa, where the average temperature is in the 80s.

He then turns to Proverbs 18:22. He explains that before a wife is a wife, she is a woman. The woman who becomes a wife is a good thing, and women help men obtain favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 18:22- “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”

He then reads Proverbs 31:28, emphasizing that her children rise and call her blessed, and her husband also praises her.

Proverbs 31:28- “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

Pastor Leonard reflects on how children know how special their mothers are. He mentions visiting his daughter in North Carolina, along with her husband and children, Wilder and Sailor Grace. He sees how the children want their mother when something happens, when something goes wrong, and when they are not feeling well. They want their mother because of the love and strength of a mother.

Mary as a Picture of Quiet Strength

Pastor Leonard then turns to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a powerful picture of strength. He says Mary had to be one strong woman, one strong person, and one strong mother.

He references Luke 2:19, where Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19- “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

Pastor Leonard asks the congregation to imagine Mary. She heard the messages about her Son. She heard His teaching. She was aware that He would go to the cross. She was there at the cross. He asks them to consider the strength she had, what she endured, and what she went through.

Mary becomes an example of quiet, sacred strength. Pastor Leonard says there is something truly sacred about the wonder and splendor of a godly woman, a godly wife, and a godly mother. She is heaven’s quiet strength in a home, carrying love, wisdom, tenderness, and perseverance, often unseen by the world but deeply treasured by God.

A Wife as Favor from the Lord

Pastor Leonard returns to the idea that a wife is not merely a companion. She is called a good thing, and he expands that language by saying she is a great thing, a wonderful thing, a wondrous thing, and an amazing thing.

He shares a personal moment from the previous week when he and Lori were sitting on the couch listening to worship music. The song was saying that Jesus is all he needs. Pastor Leonard says he thought to himself, “Lord, I hope You’re not upset with me,” because while he loves the Lord and needs the Lord and the Holy Spirit, he also needs Lori.

He explains that he believes God was okay with that because, in the beginning, Adam had everything. He had creation, he had provision, and he had God walking with him. Yet God Himself said it was not good for man to be alone.

Genesis 2:18- “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

Pastor Leonard takes comfort in that Scripture. By God’s own words, it is okay for him to recognize that he needs his wife. A wife is not merely a companion. She is favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 18:22- “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”

He calls this an astounding statement from Scripture. A loving wife reflects the kindness, grace, and faithfulness of God in everyday life. Through her encouragement, prayer, sacrifices, and steadfast love, she becomes a living testimony of divine favor resting upon a family.

He then asks how many men honestly and truly feel that the woman in their lives, the mother in their lives, or the wife in their lives brings them great favor. He says that belief alone will often give men strength in how they deal with the women in their lives, because they understand how favored they are.

Mothers, Hidden Prayers, and Spiritual Strength

Pastor Leonard then speaks about the deeper beauty of a mother. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, mothers hold precious moments in their hearts. They carry burdens, pray silently, remember deeply, and love endlessly.

Luke 2:19- “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

He says many of the greatest works of God begin in the quiet prayers and hidden tears of mothers who ponder things in their hearts before the Lord.

This section continues the theme that women, wives, and mothers are strong not only because of outward action, but because of inner endurance, love, prayer, and spiritual steadiness.

Learning Love and Grace Through a Godly Wife

Pastor Leonard then shares that he has learned much from his wife. He says he has been prone to anger, prone to getting upset, and prone to responding wrongly. Lori has often been there to keep him in check.

She reminds him to minister in love, believe in love, treat people in love, and respond in love. He says he has watched her minister in love, encourage, and walk in peace, even when he did not want to be part of a situation. Watching her caused him to believe that this is the way he should be, too, along with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

He says this is how amazing women are. He then says children may not always understand the depth of a mother’s labor when they are young, but in time they will rise and call her blessed.

Proverbs 31:28- “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

He says this often happens as children, especially daughters, grow into women, become wives, become mothers, and face situations and circumstances themselves. Then they realize how special their mother was.

He mentions that Lori often receives calls from her daughters in times of need. He also says there were times when Lori herself reached out to her own mother in a time of need. That is when people learn.

Pastor Leonard says a mother gives pieces of her own heart away daily for the sake of her family. Her love becomes the warmth of the home, the strength of the family, and often the steady voice that points everyone back to God. He says the splendor of women, wives, and mothers is not found merely in outward beauty, but in the beauty of their hearts. Their lives are woven with compassion, wisdom, gentleness, courage, and sacrificial love. These are treasures heaven itself honors.

Honoring All Women, Wives, Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties, and Spiritual Mothers

Pastor Leonard returns to the James Brown song and says perhaps this is why the song says, “This is a man’s world,” but man is nothing without a woman. He says he is nothing without the women in his life: his wife, his mothers, his daughters, and his daughters-in-law.

He calls them all strong and says they are strong examples of his heavenly Father and his God. He then gives a Mother’s Day blessing to all beautiful wives, mothers, grandmothers, and spiritual mothers. He asks that the Lord richly bless them for every prayer, every sacrifice, every tear, and every act of love.

He prays and thanks the Father for the women in their lives, for wives, and for mothers. He acknowledges how favored and blessed they are because of them and prays the richest blessing of God upon them.

After the prayer, Pastor Leonard jokes that when he stays with his notes, he gets done in twenty minutes. He says Lori tells him to keep it short and reminds him of “KISS,” meaning “keep it short and simple.”

Pastor Lori then adds that they cannot leave women out. Women are women before they are mothers or wives. She mentions aunties and spiritual moms as well. She explains that sometimes a spiritual mother is someone you can reach out to, no matter what you are going through. They help, lead you back to the Lord, pray with you, and intercede.

She shares a personal example of sensing someone in her heart and praying for them. She says she kept seeing someone who looked like her cousin Vinnie for several days, so she prayed for him. Then he showed up at her nephew’s birthday, and she was able to talk to him. Everything was good, but she believed God had wanted her to pray for him. Pastor Leonard affirms that aunties, cousins, and uncles matter too, but since it is Mother’s Day, they are especially honoring women.

Communion and the New and Better Covenant

Pastor Lori then leads into communion. She says she has been encouraging the church since the beginning of the year to seek and hear the still small voice of the Lord. She explains that when people learn to hear God’s still small voice in quiet times, it becomes easier to hear Him in the middle of turmoil, noise, and everyday life.

She then magnifies the Lord and explains that communion is celebrated in remembrance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

She goes to Matthew 26 and follows what Jesus did. She reads that as they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:26- “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.”

Pastor Lori thanks the Lord for His broken body so that believers may be whole. She declares that believers are the righteousness of Jesus Christ and are healed and whole because this is what the Word says.

She then reads about the cup, explaining that Jesus gave thanks and gave it to them, saying to drink from it, because it is His blood of the new and better covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 26:27-28- “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Pastor Lori thanks Jesus for shedding His blood so that believers could have forgiveness of sins.

Pastor Leonard then emphasizes the phrase “new and better covenant.” He says the old is gone, the law is gone, believers are under the better covenant, and the conditions of the law are gone. Pastor Lori agrees and says that many people do not know, understand, or believe that.

Final Blessing Over Women and Mothers

The service closes with instructions that mothers and women should not leave without seeing Lori because she has a gift for them. The gift is not a real flower because real flowers die after a few days. Instead, the women receive windmill flowers that can be placed in gardens or planters and will last longer as they spin in the wind.

Pastor Leonard then gives a final blessing, declaring that they are the head and not the tail, the top and not the bottom, above only, blessed coming in and blessed going out.

Deuteronomy 28:13- “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:”

Deuteronomy 28:6- “Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”

He thanks the Father in Jesus’ name for the women, wives, and mothers in their lives. The message ends with gratitude, honor, blessing, and celebration for the women who reveal the heart of God through love, strength, sacrifice, prayer, encouragement, and care.

We hope this article has blessed you. Share this teaching with someone who needs to be reminded of the beauty, strength, and value of women, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and spiritual mothers, and may every woman who reads it be encouraged in the love and favor of God.