20 Years of Radiant Women

Scripture References: John 4, 8; Mark 1, 5; Luke 8, 10, 13; Matt 26, 28; John 20; Esther 4:16; Ruth 1:16-17; 1 Kings 17:8-16; 1 Sam 1:27-28; John 11:28-35; Judges 4:14, Judges 5; Prov 31.

Sermon: Honoring Mothers & Godly Women

Intro: Happy Mother's Day! We celebrate moms and spiritual mothers, acknowledging the joy and the aches holidays can bring (loss, struggle, longing). Jesus meets each of you in your unique story. He knows what you need. Jesus deeply loved His own mother and all women, treating them with radical dignity, respect, and compassion—truly countercultural for His time.

Key Points:

1. Jesus’ Radical View of Women:
   • Spoke respectfully to them (Samaritan woman, John 4; woman caught in adultery, John 8).
   • Healed them publicly (Peter's mother-in-law, Mark 1; woman with issue of blood, Mark 5; bent-over woman, Luke 13).
   • Affirmed their faith & worth. Many women followed & financially supported His ministry (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna - Luke 8). Mary of Bethany learned at His feet (Luke 10).
   • Entrusted women as first witnesses of His resurrection (Matt 28, John 20).
   • These women, freed from shame, became deeply devoted, bold partners in His mission.
2. Celebrating Women in Our Church Family – Echoes of Biblical Strength:
   • Mary of Bethany (Matt 26): Extravagant worshippers, pouring out your most valuable for Jesus. Like her, Radiant women, you’ve done beautiful things for Him.
   • Miriam (Exodus 15): Leading in worship, singing songs of deliverance, reminding us God brings us to dry land.
   • Esther (Esther 4:16): Courageous, sticking your necks out for others’ freedom and safety, saying "If I perish, I perish."
   • Ruth (Ruth 1:16-17): Faithful, loyal, obedient, choosing right relationship over comfort, loving for the long haul: "Where you go, I will go."
   • Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17): Hospitality in scarcity, giving generously from little, trusting God’s miraculous provision.
   • Lydia (Acts 16): Businesswomen and those with abundance, leveraging success and resources for God's Kingdom.
   • Hannah (1 Sam 1:27-28): Prayer warriors, contending earnestly, prevailing on God, and lending your answered prayers back to Him.
   • Mary at Lazarus’ Tomb (John 11:28-35): Raw faith in grief, falling at Jesus’ feet, finding Him as the God who weeps with us & brings comfort.
   • Deborah (Judges 4-5): Strong leaders with prophetic wisdom, inspiring victory ("Up! For this is the day..."), and partnering beautifully, calling men and women higher in God.

Conclusion: Radiant women, for 20 years (and all women of faith), you've chosen the better thing. You've poured out love in extravagant worship, not counting the cost. You’ve taken courageous steps, chosen faithfulness, given generously, contended in prayer, wept honest tears at Jesus’ feet while believing Him even in the dark, and led with wisdom. Because of this, we’ve seen Him. Thank you for being lovers of God and spiritual mothers. Proverbs 31: not competition, but a celebration of a woman's lifelong fruit. God counts & celebrates all you do.

Call to Action: Let's continue this journey of faith: loving God and living for Him. Men, actively honor and celebrate the women in your lives. Women, keep arising, using your God-given gifts to call us higher. Let's embrace the future, partnering for the Gospel. God is worthy of it all!

Transcript

Thanks guys, good morning.


Happy Mother's Day.


So happy to be here with you all and I'm a mom of five amazing daughters and so I get to be celebrated today. I also get to celebrate my mother and my mother in love and my grandmother today and honor their place in my life and I get to celebrate and honor spiritual mothers in my life in this church family. What a joy and what a privilege it is to be a mom to come into this world through a mom and also I want to recognize that all holidays this one being no different can also represent an ache for some of us in this room.


I know there's friends in this family who have lost moms this year and so here you are at your first Mother's Day and today might represent some ache and some grief for you.


I know today can be a day where we can struggle over areas we feel like we have failed. It can be a place where if we don't have a mom there's that ache and longing for the thing that we don't have or the thing that we wish that we had. I know too there's women in this room who have longed to be a mom and there's a longing for a child that has not yet come.


I just want to recognize we come together on holidays as a family and we're all carrying very unique and different things and that's good. That's okay.


I want to recognize Jesus's presence here with us today and that he knows each one of you. He knows your story and what you're carrying. He knows what you need today and he's going to meet you right there and supply everything that you need. There's a portion for you today in Christ that makes all the difference and I'm celebrating that today.


Whether you're, you know, we've been seeing all of the Instagram reels and memes going on this week and I just want to say whether you're the mom that's like bring all of my children around me constantly all day long today or whether you're the mom that's like put me in a dark room and no one opened the door for 24 hours.


Both are okay.


And we're celebrating every kind of mom and we're looking to Jesus for all of our needs.


Jesus loved mothers.


He loved his own mother really well. In fact, I just love the scenes between Jesus and Mary and looking at him as a son and seeing the way that he honored his mother.


He loved his mother well. He loves mothers and he loved women well. He loved women really well. Jesus treated women with unusual dignity and respect and compassion.


He was radically


counterculture,


cultural for his time.


In a first century Jewish society women were often marginalized yet Jesus consistently included, honored, and empowered women in his ministry. And here's a few things that I noticed about Jesus and women that I wanted to point out today.


He spoke directly and respectfully to women. We see this with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Jesus engaged her in deep theological discussion.



Something rabbis at that time avoided with women, especially Samaritan ones, but Jesus had no problem going there with her.



Jesus spoke directly and respectfully to the woman caught in adultery in John 8. He defended her from public shame. He refused to condemn her, even though others had the right to stone her to death. He sent her accusers away.


Jesus healed and helped women publicly.


He healed the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5.


And he publicly reinstated her as clean before a crowd, changing the trajectory of her life. He healed Peter's mother-in-law in Mark 1 and the bent over woman in Luke 13 who had been disabled by the enemy for 18 years.


He often affirmed women's faith and their worth in front of crowds.


Jesus had many women among his followers,


like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna. In Luke 8, we read about these women that traveled with Jesus and financially supported his ministry, which was uncommon for women in that era.



We see Mary of Bethany. She sat at his feet with the disciples learning from him in Luke 10.


And Jesus entrusted women with his gospel message that he had come, that he had lived the perfect life, that he had died the death to pay for our sins and rose again. He entrusted women with this message. After his resurrection, he first appeared to women in Matthew 28 in John 20. And he told them to go and tell the disciples about his resurrection, effectively making them the first witnesses and messengers of the gospel.


Jesus


consistently affirmed the value, dignity, and spiritual capacity of women, modeling a radically inclusive and loving approach that broke with the norms of his time.


And because of this, because of who he is, and because of how he was, these women in turn were deeply, deeply devoted to Jesus,


following him through the highs and the lows of his ministry. The scene of his death on the cross, there's a group of women that stay till the end. These women were freed from shame by Jesus. They were filled with boldness and worship and praise.


Because of what he had done for them, and regardless of cultural acceptance, they went for it with Jesus. These women knew they could be honest with Jesus, and they risked public humiliation and rejection because of their love for him.


They trusted him through it all. They loved him back, and they did it boldly.


Jesus partnered with women in ways that were radical for his time. They were key participants in his ministry, recognized, respected, and honored by Jesus. He invited them into roles of support, discipleship, witness, and proclamation. They were vital partners in his mission.



He didn't just minister to women, he ministered with them.


We get to celebrate Mother's Day today. We're also celebrating the month of May, 20 years of Radiant Church. It's amazing.


Women have been vital partners in Jesus' mission here at Radiant Church. This morning, I get to celebrate 20 years of Radiant Women.


How good is my job? (Applause)


I've been reflecting on the vital role that women have played in the life of this church from day one until now. Memories and moments have come to mind, and I'm so grateful for you guys.


What a joy. What an honor. What a privilege it has been


for 20 years to partner for the gospel in this city.


I've also been reflecting on women throughout the Bible that played vital roles in our family's story of faith. This morning, I'm going to highlight some of these women from the Bible. I'm going to call out what I see in them, and then I get to call out what I see in you.


Let's start with Mary of Bethany. Mary of Bethany was an extravagant worshipper. So in Matthew 26, 6 through 13, let's read it. "Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask, a very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste? For this could be sold for a large sum and given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.


In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial, even though she didn't know that. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in her memory."


She took a year's wages worth of expensive perfume, and instead of washing Jesus' feet with water, she washed his feet with the most expensive things she could find that she owned.


The most valuable thing she had, she poured it out on Jesus on his head and on his feet as an expression of her love and her adoration for him, as an expression of his immense worth. It was like, I have to express his worth. What could I possibly find that could even come close to touching what he's worth? And it's like, okay, how about a year's wages? Somehow she could get her hands on that and just waste it. Just waste it on him. And I've watched women in our family, radiant women, pour out their lives, spend themselves, all the good that they have, everything of value for the worth of Jesus Christ.


I also want to commend you for being worshippers, for being women who adore him, for being women who spend yourselves in love for him, giving your gifts, your time, your talents, the things you have, whatever you can get your hands on, and pouring it out for him as an expression of your love for him and his worth to you. Jesus said, "You have done a beautiful thing." And, radiant women, I want to tell you, you have done a beautiful thing. I also want to shout out this morning to the Miriams in the house, the women who lead us in worship, the women who


in the midst of the sea are singing songs over us, reminding us that our feet are going to find dry land, and also the women who wants our feet land on dry land, grab their tambourines and start singing the horse and rider he's thrown into the sea. I want to commend the worshiping women in this body and the way that you have led us for 20 years to his feet. How about Esther?


Esther was a favored woman. She was also courageous. She did some really brave things to see her people saved. Queen Esther risked her life by approaching the king to stop a plot against the Jews, saving her people from destruction. In Esther 4 16, we hear her say, "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink for three days, night and day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." She stuck her neck out there for her people. She risked her life for the sake of others. Over the last 20 years, I have watched and witnessed radiant women sticking their necks out for the sake of others, doing courageous things to save others, to see others free. You've taken courageous steps to open your lives, open your mouths, open your hearts. You've fought for what is right. You've put yourselves in harm's way. You've made great sacrifices to see other people made safe, to see other people come home, to see other people experience freedom. I see it. God sees it, and it's really brilliant.


How about Ruth? Ruth was a woman who was faithful and loyal and obedient.


After her husband died, Ruth, a Moabite widow, chooses loyalty over comfort by staying with her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi. In Ruth 1, 16 through 17, Ruth says, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you, for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death, parts me from you." And I see when I look around a lot of faithful women, a lot of loyal women, a lot of obedient women out of love for Jesus. And you've chosen right relationship over comfort, and you've loved one another. You're loving one another over the long haul. You've worked through relational conflict and difficult times. You've forgiven. You've gone again. You're playing the relational long game around here, and you're doing it well. And I want to commend you for it. You're doing the hard work in relationships, in your families, in your friendships, and it really matters. Your faithful, loyal, obedient women. How about the widow of Zarephath? In a drought time, despite having almost no food, she fed the prophet Elijah, trusting God's promise, and her jar of flour and jug of oil never ran out. This is hospitality in scarcity. This is hospitality in drought times. In 1 Kings 17, 8 through 16, "Then the word of the Lord came to him," this is Elijah, "arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you." So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink." And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread from your hand." And she said, "As the Lord lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die." And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear. Go and do as you have said, but first make a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, the jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth." And she went and did as Elijah said, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty according to the word of the Lord that he spoke through Elijah. I just want to quickly point something out here. He chose a widow that had nothing left to provide this miracle. He likes to do that, and it's a better story. First, widows. We've now talked about Ruth and this widow of Zarephath. We have widows in our church family. Widows who have grieved with God,


been a comfort to others, walked with others in their losses, used their single life to see God's kingdom come, led, hosted, prayed, contended, discipled the next generation, done cross-cultural missions, and have spent countless hours meeting with women to counsel them and pray for them. You know who you are, Pam Evans. We have widows in our church family who have poured out this season of life for Jesus, and it's really mattered. The widow of Zarephath gave God the last of what she had. She had one meal left, and God asked for it. He does that,


and he doesn't do it because he's mean. He does it because he's good. God asked for it, and she said yes. She gave it, and God never let her go hungry.


I've witnessed radiant women giving generously to God. The little they have, not holding it back. I've watched God sustain us year over year. When he's asked, you've said yes. Your cup has never run dry. You've opened your homes. You've opened your pantries.


You have hosted people. You've pulled up another chair to the table.


With the last dollars in your account, or the last ounce of energy you had left, because you love him, and he has sustained you in your scarcity. This is radical hospitality,


even to enemies. I've watched you do this. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You've lived lives that say, "I have all that I need in God." It's made a huge difference around here.


Or, like Lydia, I've watched business women, women with abundance, women who've experienced success leverage what they have for the kingdom of God and fund ministry. It's been a really incredible thing to witness and to experience. Or how about Hannah? Hannah is the prayer warrior.


Hannah was childless, and she was suffering in a myriad of ways because she was childless. Hannah prayed earnestly for a child. She contended. She went to temple over and over again, repeating the same prayer. She prevailed on God, and she promised if God would give her what she asked for that she would give him back to God. And when Samuel was born, she fulfilled her vow 1 Samuel 1, 27 through 28. Hannah says, "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord." As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord. And I want to recognize today the women in our family who are actually praying for a child and say, "We see. We see you. We know how difficult that season can be. We know the pain it involves. Don't stop putting your voice before the Lord. We're with you."


I've witnessed radiant women contending in prayer for so many things over the years. Some for years upon years upon years. Some contending now still for things you haven't seen answered yet. And I've watched you wait on God. I've watched you go to the right places and you're waiting. I've watched you continue to ask in vulnerability because asking is really vulnerable, right? Asking for what we need. Asking for what we want. It's a vulnerable thing. I've watched you ask of God. I've also watched you receive from God answered prayers, things you've longed for, things you've contended for. And I've watched you lend those back to the Lord. Not putting your hands tightly around the things that you've received from God, but giving them generously to the Lord. What you care most about has been lent to him. Or how about Mary at Lazarus's tomb? We see this picture of raw faith in the middle of tremendous grief. When her brother Lazarus died, Mary fell at Jesus's feet weeping and her honest sorrow moved Jesus to tears and then to a miracle.


John 11, 28 through 35. When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The teacher is here and he is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." But Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping. And he was deeply moved. This is our God. He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled, even though he knew what he could do. He was deeply moved on behalf of his people. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" And they said to him, "Lord, come and see." And Jesus wept. Reading women, you have lost loved ones,


relationships, dreams, seasons. And I've watched you fall at Jesus's feet.


You've held your grief and your disappointment and tension with your faith in his ability and his love. You've believed him in your grief. And you've found in Jesus the friend who weeps with you, whose heart breaks when yours does. You've found the source of all comfort in him. Thank you for going to the only real place you could go in your grief.


It's had a tremendous impact on us as a family.


Or how about Deborah? Strong leadership, prophetic wisdom. Deborah was a prophet and a judge who led Israel and inspired a military victory with God's guidance. Just a little something.


Judges 4, 14. And Deborah said to Barack, "Up. For this day," how many of you hear your mom say, "up?" "For this day in which the Lord has, for this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?" That's a good line. I'm going to start using that one on my kids too. "Does not the Lord go out before you?" So Barack went down from Mount Taboor and 10,000 men following him. And they were led to victory. There are some incredible female leaders in this church. Women with gifts who know what to do. There's some women around here who know what to do. Women who hear God's voice, women who have that gut knowing. This is the next step. There's some strategic women in this family. We are so blessed. Your leadership gifts have blessed our family and they've spilled over and blessed our community.


The other piece with Deborah is that she partnered with Barack. I love this so much. So


there is this duet that they sing together in Judges. Right? This is a duet. And the first line in the duet is like, "When the leaders lead and the people respond." Oh, bless the Lord. It's like how good it is when the leaders lead and the people respond to their leadership. Then it goes on and Deborah sings, and this is what should be on your Mother's Day mug. (Laughter)


She sings, "Everything was bad. Like everything was going bad until I, Deborah, arose.


A mother, a mother in Israel." This is just next year custom mug for your wife. "Everything was going bad until I," insert her name, "arose, a mother in the Aikland household or whatever it is." Something like that. Okay? I'm winning you huge brownie points here. Okay. So I love that line. It's a good line. We need the mothers to arise.


Stuff happens when the mothers arise. Okay? And then there's this line in the song where they're singing Deborah and Barack. They're singing back and forth to one another.


Barack sings, "Awake, awake, Deborah. Sing. Burst into song. Sing your song."


And then she sings back to him, "Arise, arise, Barack." And it's basically like, "Bring back the spoils of war. Like, be victorious." And it's this beautiful picture of men calling out, calling higher women and women calling out and calling higher men into the things of God. And I love it. And I have seen this at Radiant, women partnering with men and honoring men and calling out men. There's a gender war going on out there. There's no gender war going on in here. There's beautiful gospel, gender partnership happening in this family. And it's really beautiful. And it's really powerful. So, Radiant women, for the last 20 years,


you've chosen the better thing. You've poured out your love and extravagant worship for Jesus, not counting the cost. You've loved him first and most. You've done beautiful things for him. And this revelation of who Jesus is and his worth has caused you to stick your neck out and take courageous steps of faith in order to protect and see others set free. You've chosen faithfulness over comfort. You've committed to people, places, and God. You've given generously out of the little you have or out of the much that you have. And you've trusted God to sustain you. You've contended in prayer and you've waited on God, continuing to ask for what you need. And you've surrendered the most precious things that you have. You've lent them back to the Lord. You've wept honest tears at Jesus's feet and you've believed him, even in the dark,


even in the dark seasons, even in the drought, you've believed him. You've led with wisdom, strength, and discernment. And you've partnered with others and you've called us higher. And because of this, we've seen him. We've experienced him. We've watched him do some things.


Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being lovers of God. Thank you for being spiritual mothers in this house. He's worthy of it all. This is the good life, loving him and living for him. And so let's go another 20. Let's go. Let's go. We're not done yet. The book of Proverbs is an ancient wisdom book. The final chapter ends with a poem about a godly woman. And Jesus awesome woman. She does a lot of cool stuff. She's highly capable and productive. She serves her family like nobody's business. She's a farmer. She's a realtor. She's a crafter. She sews and weaves and she does it all. She's good to her husband. She makes money. I don't know. We want to throw her off the roof. We do. You know that. Be honest. But what we need to know is that this is not a woman that we, this is not a picture of a woman that we're supposed to compete with. What we need to know is that this is a picture of a woman over the course of her whole entire life.


And it's a poem that's counting and celebrating the fruit of a woman's life. Like wow.


What fruit comes from a woman's life? In the Hebrew culture, Proverbs 31 was a, it was an A to Z poem about the beauty of a woman's life. It was memorized by husbands who would sing it over their wives every week at the Sabbath meal as a way of honoring and celebrating all her hands had done. The good. And I think that I could guarantee there's no one in this room who has a husband who sings Proverbs 31 over them every Sunday at Sabbath meal. But wouldn't it be nice if we did?


It's easy as moms and as women to see all the ways that we miss it. But what we learn about God in Proverbs 31 is that he counts and celebrates all the ways that we did it. And he invites those around us to do the same. And so this morning we've counted and celebrated the fruit of radiant women over the last two decades. And now we want to celebrate and bless and count the fruit and honor the moms in our family for all that their hands have done. So Danny, would you come and do that? Thanks guys. Love you.


(Applause)


Hey worship team, would you join me up here? Hey man, that was really good. Thank you Tiffany. And also really challenging. Now I've got to go home and memorize Proverbs 31. I don't know if I'll sing it, but how about if I read it, memorize it? So for those of you that aren't singers, you can just confess it, proclaim it over them, or sing it either way. I have the just the privilege of blessing mothers on Mother's Day this morning. And we just want to honor you this morning and just put you in the rightful place that God created you to be. And if you're a mother this morning, we just want to ask you to stand. (Applause)


And those that are around you like we did earlier this morning, we just want to lay hands on you and extend a hand and pray over you. And I just want to pray this prayer of blessing over you this morning. And also we have just a gift that we're going to give you. And we've got some just connect team members that are going to pass one of those out to you as you stand. But let me pray this over you this morning. Lord we thank you for the gift of motherhood, for all they mean or have meant to us. Lord thank you for the love that they have shown and the care that they have given. For the many times that they've given us hugs, provided steady encouragement and offered prayers on our behalf. God we thank you for the qualities of mothers, for their patience, their kindness,


their God-designed concern and understanding and the so many ways that they reflect you to us. Lord thank you for that. Lord we pray for those whom on Mother's Day this day brings heartache rather than celebration. Lord we pray for those who have never known their mother or who have lost one. Lord thank you for your heart and your love that it nurtures us who have been abandoned and who have lost. Lord we also just wait today with those who long to be mothers but are yet to have their own children. And Lord we also wait for those who long to see a child lost.


Lord thank you for their mothering hearts which long to be expressed and how you pour out your mercy and grace. Lord pour it out on them today.


We need your strength that only comes with your joy.


And Lord we also grief with those who have been orphaned or have difficult relationships with their mom. Thank you that as we long for your love that you never abandon us but you extend your love of acceptance over our lives. Lord I just pray that you would extend your hand of acceptance over their lives today. Lord bless all these mothers here today Jesus.


And we pray that they would experience comfort in knowing your love


and knowing it in a constant way. Lord that you understand us perfectly. You're ever compassionate and full of joy. Lord we just ask would you pour out joy on them today. Fill them with your spirit Lord and the life that comes with a life in Jesus.


And we pray all these things in your mighty name. Amen and amen. Hey bless you on Mother's Day this morning.