Converted Heart Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Guest (Male): Welcome to Converted Heart Church. Whether you're joining us for the first time or are a valued member of our community, we're delighted to have you with us today. As we continue to navigate through these challenging times, we believe that every person who enters our virtual doors is guided by the Lord. Though we may be apart physically, we greet you with a smile and embrace you with a virtual hug. On behalf of our pastor, Dr. Darryl, and First Lady Burton, and the entire Converted Heart family, we joyfully welcome you into our spiritual home.

We are Christ-centered, preaching messages of love and hope; community-minded, being aware of the needs of the community; cultivating relationships, partnering with businesses who have the same vision; and caring hearts, connecting the heart of God with the heart of the people. Thank you for being with us. We're thrilled to have you here and look forward to sharing this journey of faith and fellowship with you. Please enjoy the service.

Guest (Male): Let's put our hands together and give God some praise. For this is the day that the Lord has made. He said, let us rejoice and be glad in it. We celebrate the mothers on this Mother's Day, amen. And we're grateful to be here in your presence on the day to give God praise and thanks for the great things that God has done, amen.

And so I'm excited to be with you. I want to welcome those who are watching on our YouTube channel, LightSource.com, OnePlace.com. Thank you for listening, thank you for watching, and we're just here to celebrate the Lord on this day, amen and amen. Hallelujah. It is good to be here. It is good to be in the presence, amen, of you, and certainly we thank God for His presence being with us on this morning.

A call to worship on today, my brothers and sisters, amen. We're going to look at, amen, a wonderful, powerful call to worship today coming from God's word, Psalm number 40. It says, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up from the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock. He gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Amen. I read for our hearing verse number 1 through 3 of Psalm number 40. So let us put our hands together once again and begin to magnify the name of the Lord on this morning. Come on, put our hands together and give God some praise on this day. Come on, put our hands together. I didn't say it loud enough. And give God some praise, for He woke us up this morning, started us on our way, and we are here to celebrate the name of the Lord on this morning as Reverend Kim comes and leads us in prayer and worship. Hallelujah.

Guest (Female): Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I think I'm going to sing next. Let me hear you say blessed. Blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed. Yes, yes. Are you blessed? Say blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed. We're blessed, we're blessed, we're blessed. We're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed. Since thou hast walked the bright land, it's a light in the dark land. Thou hast placed in my heart all the Lord's commands. He set me above nations and cast my enemies away. He's standing up inside of you, so let me hear you say, we're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed.

Can you say blessed, say blessed. Blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed. We're blessed, we're blessed, we're blessed. We're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed. Since thou hast walked the bright land, it's a light in the dark land. Thou hast placed in my heart all the Lord's commands. He set me above nations and cast my enemies away. He's standing up inside of you, so let me hear you say, we're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed.

Late, late in the midnight hour, God's going to turn it around. It's going to work in your favor, yes it will. I'm telling you late, late in the midnight hour, our God's going to turn it around, around and around and around. Do it again, say late, late in the midnight hour, God's going to turn it around. It's going to work in your favor. Do you know what favor is? Say late, late in the midnight hour, God's going to turn it around. It's going to work in your favor. Around and around and around and around. Say we're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. Yes we are. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed. Hallelujah. Amen. Do you feel that you're blessed this morning on this Mother's Day? I feel really blessed. Hallelujah. God is faithful and He is worthy of all praise. Amen. And the God that we serve is incredible.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: The song says an incredible God deserves an incredible praise. I've had some problems, some great and some small. You, being God, delivered me from them all. Still can't believe all the ways You've made. And an incredible God deserves incredible praise. Oh yes, He does. Sing with me, I've had some problems, some great and some small. You, being God, delivered me from them all. Still can't believe all the ways You've made. And an incredible God deserves incredible praise. What kind of God would do this for me? Victory, grace and mercy, He is so special, simply incredible, He's so incredible. An incredible God deserves incredible praise. What kind of God would do this for me? Victory, grace and mercy, He is so special, simply incredible, He's so incredible. An incredible God deserves incredible praise.

What kind of God would do this for me? Victory, grace and mercy, He is so special, simply incredible, He's so incredible. An incredible God deserves incredible praise. What kind of God would do this for me? Victory, grace and mercy, He is so special, simply incredible, He's so incredible. An incredible God deserves incredible praise. Late, late in the midnight hour, God's going to turn it around. It's going to work in your favor, yes it will. Late, late in the midnight hour, our God's going to turn it around, around and around and around. We're blessed in the city. We're blessed in the field. Yes we are. We're blessed when we come and when we go. We cast down every stronghold of sickness and poverty must cease, for the devil is defeated. We are blessed.

Hallelujah. Amen. Do you feel that you're blessed this morning on this Mother's Day? I feel really blessed. Hallelujah. God is faithful and He is worthy of all praise. Amen. And the God that we serve is incredible. The song says an incredible God deserves an incredible praise. Praise, incredible praise. He deserves incredible praise. Hallelujah. Lord, we love You. Lord, we bless You. He's incredible. Hallelujah. Lord, we love You. Lord, we bless You. He's incredible. He's a healer. Lord, we love You. Lord, we bless You. He's incredible. Hallelujah. Lord, we love You. Lord, we bless You. He's incredible. He's a healer. He's a keeper. Lord, we love You. He's incredible. He's a healer. He's a keeper. Lord, we love You. He's incredible. He's incredible. He's incredible. He's incredible. He's incredible. An incredible God deserves incredible praise. Oh yes, He does. God deserves an incredible, incredible God, our God is incredible, incredible praise. God, we praise You, we magnify You, Jesus. For You alone are worthy of all of the praise and incredible praise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

God, we love You, and we offer an incredible praise, a praise that happens when everything is going wrong is an incredible praise. It doesn't even make sense when we praise God when things are not going right. That is an incredible praise for an incredible God that we know is turning the situation for our favor and in our lives. All things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called to His purposes. And for that, we can give God an incredible praise. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Yes. Thank You, Lord. God give us, thank You, Lord. Thank You, thank You. He's been a mighty, mighty, mighty good God, a good God. Yes, He has. We're still here, He still has us under His hand. Amen. Thank You, Lord. Hallelujah. Join me in a word of prayer.

Father God, we want to thank You now for this precious moment. Open hearts and minds, Lord God, to hear what thus says the Lord on this Mother's Day. Lord God, I thank You for each of them, those who are near and those who are far. I pray Your blessings upon them. Now, Lord God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be found acceptable unto You. You are my rock and my redeemer, Lord. I thank You for this moment. In Jesus' name I do pray. Let the church say amen. Amen. Amen. It's good to see all of you once again here to worship with you. Good to see you, Roman. God bless you, brother. I've been praying for you. God bless you for being here and your guest, my brother. God bless you for being with us on this morning.

Amen. We are grateful for another worship and praise experience on today. We celebrate Mother's Day on today, of course, again. I want to thank Sister Phyllis for reading her reading for us on today. Thanks, Sister Corene, for the scripture. Thank Reverend Kim. Can we give Reverend Kim a hand, amen, let her up, amen, for leading us in worship on this morning through song? Amen. We thank God for her. I want to thank those who are watching on LightSource, YouTube, and OnePlace.com. Thank you for your presence on this morning. I pray not to be before you long, but I'm going to just go as the Spirit leads me. Amen, somebody. The dinner plate will be waiting for you when you get there. Amen. Come on, y'all need to laugh at that. Amen. Amen.

I want to lift up verse 3, Exodus chapter 2. I'll let that be our foundation of where we go to set the course for this word today. NIV says, but when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. When she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him, coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. From this text on this morning, allow me to preach from the topic, how a mother's faith and courage can carry a generation. How a mother's faith and courage can carry a generation.

In 1960, when six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first black child to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, crowds screamed threats at her mother every morning. Bridges' mother was called all sorts of names. Reporters asked Ruby's mother why she kept sending her daughter into dangerous and traumatic environments. Why would you continue to allow her daughter to face scrutiny of all those white parents and those people who meant to cause her harm? And the reason Bridges' mother continued to endure this painful scrutiny was that she understood something every godly mother eventually learns. And this is what she understood: that sometimes motherhood means placing your child in God's hands while the world around them is hostile.

Jochebed was that type of mother and knew that feeling. On this Mother's Day, I want us to look at Jochebed. She is the mother of Moses. I have never preached from this text before. I have never preached of this woman, her faith before, but she should be noted for her incredible amount of faith and courage she exhibited. She lived during a dark season in history. She lived at a time when children two years of age or younger were being killed in massive numbers. And I need to qualify that by saying male children were being killed who were two years of age or younger that lived in Egypt, that were born in Egypt. Amen. For the context on this morning, I'd like to say that Egypt was a dangerous place for Hebrew boys.

After Joseph died in Genesis chapter 50, the Hebrew population grew rapidly and Pharaoh ordered a decree that every male child should be killed. Exodus 1 and verse 22 said that they were to be thrown into the Nile River. Fear filled every Hebrew home. Anxiety filled every Hebrew home. Yet in the midst of oppression, one mother believed her child's destiny was greater than the danger around him. One mother believed her child's destiny was greater than the danger around him. The danger was real. Pharaoh's decrees were real. The oppression was real. The uncertainty was real. But Jochebed believed. Somebody say she believed. She believed God's purpose for her son was greater than the pressures surrounding him.

And sometimes the greatest act of faith is believing that God can still raise a purpose in a hostile environment. I believe that Jochebed, the mother like the mother that we hear about in this text, knew that the destiny for her son was to survive in this difficult situation, purpose to survive cultural pressures. The danger around Moses was external, but the promise over Moses was eternal. Most of us know the story of Moses. I don't need to give you a whole page full of things that he did. But let me just say a few things about him. How God used him to lead the children of Israel out of bondage, parted the Red Sea so they could cross over on dry ground, and gave him the Ten Commandments.

He also stood before Pharaoh as the Lord sent plagues. Y'all know the story. And after 40 years of shepherding Jethro's flock, he encountered God at a burning bush that was not consumed and received his divine assignment. These are only a few highlights, but none of them would not have been possible without the mother Jochebed, a nurturing woman willing to entrust to God what she loved the most. And in the midst of the dangers around this woman, I'm sure she must have wrestled with the emotional question. And here's the question: can my child still become who God called him to be in a world like this? Jochebed's response was yes, and she proved it in the text today.

Verse 2 of Exodus chapter 2 says, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. This verse revealed a couple of things worth noting on this morning. She became pregnant even though there was a decree to kill every male child. Pharaoh sought to eliminate the population by killing every male child. Jochebed took a risk even though the decree was in place. She was more concerned about expanding her family and trusting God in the process, which tells me a couple of things on this morning. She was not going to allow this man-made law to keep her from expanding her family circle.

And number two, intentionally becoming pregnant meant that she trusted God to protect her child. Jochebed did not know what she was going to have when she became pregnant, but we see here in the text that she gave birth to a son. She noticed that he was fine and then she hid him for three months. Here's where I wish to make my first observation on this morning, and that is Jochebed saw purpose before the world saw potential. Jochebed saw purpose before the world saw potential. There are mothers sitting in this room right now, this morning, who saw purpose in their child before the world sees the potential of that child.

We raise three children, and to some degree we're raising a grandson right now. But at various points in our journey, in their journey to adulthood, my wife and I saw what they could become before they got out into the world. Jochebed looked at Moses differently than Pharaoh did. Pharaoh saw a threat. Jochebed saw purpose. The writer of Hebrews says it this way: by faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was no ordinary child. This is not merely about Moses being physically beautiful. Jochebed discerned that God's hand was on his life. Great mothers today often see possibilities before anybody else does.

A mother sees the leadership in a stubborn child. A mother sees the compassion of an emotional child. The mother sees the creativity of a distracted child, a calling in a confused child. Watch this: before teachers affirm them, before society validates them, before they even believe in themselves, a mother's faith can speak destiny over that child. Before the society validates them, before the world affirms them, before teachers affirm them, before they even believe in themselves, a mother can speak destiny over that child. And the question is today, have you spoken destiny, have you spoken life over your child?

The Bible says that life and death is in the power of the tongue. The words can promote life or they can bring death. And here's one application you can take with you and put in your pocket on today as you leave the room: mothers today must resist allowing culture to define their children, not statistics, not by labels, not by failures, not by diagnosis alone, not by neighborhoods, and certainly not by social media. Jochebed teaches us to look at our children through the lens of faith rather through the lens of fear. Jochebed saw purpose before the world saw potential. Let me move on because verse 3 says that she could no longer hide him.

She got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. She placed the child in it and put him among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. My second observation is that a mother seeks to protect what God gave her. A mother seeks to protect what God gave her. The Bible says that she got a papyrus basket for Moses and coated it with tar and pitch. The papyrus basket carries a theological significance. Jochebed was not throwing Moses away. She was strategically releasing him into the Nile. But watch this, the papyrus basket was an ark. The Hebrew word for basket was tebah, and it's the same word used for Noah's ark in Genesis chapter 9 through chapter 6 through 9.

This word appears only twice in the Old Testament: Noah's ark and Moses' basket. This is not a coincidence. The theological significance is that both Noah and Moses preserved in water to bring deliverance. Noah preserved humanity through judgment. Moses preserved Israel through and from bondage. But before Moses could become a deliverer of a nation, he first had to be delivered himself. Jochebed, the ark, was not merely transportation. It was a divine preservation. Her faith is not careless. Faith is often deeply intentional, and Jochebed trusted God but she still built wisely.

Can I go deeper with y'all this morning? The Bible says that she used tar and pitch. The tar and pitch for the papyrus basket was insulation for the basket. It kept water and other things from entering inside of the papyrus basket. The tar and pitch in the text can be seen today as a representation of a mother's prayer. Mothers who pray over their children, mothers who form insulation around your child, you are asking God to cover them. You are asking God to keep them. You are asking God to protect them. You're asking God to guide them. Why? Because you as a mother know what the world can do to them.

And then this does not stop there because the tar and pitch, when a mother creates opportunity for counseling, creates an environment for education, creates boundaries for protection, creates and establishes discipleship, holds their children accountable for their actions and invite healthy environments for learning and intentional parenting. That's why Proverbs 22 and 6 says, train up a child in the way he should go. That is tar and pitch, the insulation that a mother should seek to apply. A mother seeks to protect what God gave her, and she gave her Moses that she then released into the Nile.

But watch this, as I hurry to the close. Some of you have dinner reservations, I know that you've got other commitments, I'm trying to get you through this, but I want you to get this before you go. Exodus chapter 2 verses 7 through 10 gives us a beautiful picture of a mother who trusts God. Miriam follows his baby, his only sister Miriam, she follows the baby brother as he floats down the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter gets a slave girl to go retrieve the basket as she is bathing in the water. She sees the basket, tells the slave girl to go get the basket. She opens the basket and discovers a baby inside. And the Bible says that she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, that's what she said.

My third and final observation this morning is that a mother gives and receives in return. A mother gives and receives in return. Not only did God save the child, He allows the mother to nurture him. God gave back to Jochebed what she was willing to release. Here's a shout for you this morning: Pharaoh's household paid her to do it. She trusted God with what she had. God made sure the dangers of Moses' life were secure. That's a divine reversal, somebody. The same empire to destroy Hebrew sons financed the upbringing of a future deliverer. The same empire that tried to destroy all the Hebrew boys financed the upbringing of a future deliverer.

A mother's influence often extends farther than she realized. Far after children grow older, leave home, become adults, become parents themselves, they still remember your prayers. They still remember your sacrifice. They still remember your words. They still remember your faith. They still remember when you stayed up all night crying when they was in a bunch of mess. They still remember when you went to school to get them out of school. They still remember the sacrifice you made for them as you were growing up as a child. Some of the same prayers that my mother and my grandmother prayed are still being fulfilled today. Can you imagine that?

Your parents out there, they are deceased, your parents may be dead, your mother may be dead, but guess what, the prayers that she prayed are still working today in your life. Why? Because God made it so that as she prayed, He remembers the prayers of our parents. He remembers the prayers of our grandmothers as they sacrificed for us, as they gave for us, as they provided for us. Are y'all with me on this morning? I'm so glad that this woman was a praying woman. She believed that God was going to do something special because God's hand was on Moses. I'm so glad this morning that as Moses grew older, he came to realize that he rejected the identity of the Egyptians because something had been planted inside of him that knew that he wasn't an Egyptian, but he was a Hebrew.

Something about being in that Egyptian household did not sit right with Moses. And I believe Jochebed, as she nursed Moses, planted the Hebrew identity of faith and the covenant consciousness into Moses when he was a young man. I believe she took every opportunity that she had to tell Moses of who he was. Jochebed only appeared briefly in scripture, yet her impact changed the history of this world. Because without Jochebed, this woman of faith and courage, there would be no Moses. Without Jochebed, there would not have been an exodus. Without Jochebed, there would not have been a crossing of the Red Sea. Without Jochebed, there would not have been a deliverance story.

Jochebed never stood before Pharaoh. She never stretched out a rod. She never climbed Mount Sinai. Yet God used her faith to shape a man who would. That's the power of a mother. That's the power of a praying mother. That's the power of a mother who sacrificed. That's the power of a mother who will never give up on their children. That's the power of a mother that will keep on walking and keep on believing that God can do exceedingly, abundantly more than what you can think of. That's the power, somebody say that's the power, that's the power of a praying mother. Any praying mothers in the house on this morning? Any mothers in the house on this morning that have sacrificed for your children? Keep on praying. Keep on sacrificing. Keep on giving them guidance. Keep on being there for them. Keep on holding them accountable.

Keep on because God will bring them through. That's the power of a mother. Some mothers today are tired. Some mothers today are praying for that prodigal child. Some mothers are raising children in difficult environments and we know that. Some mothers are wondering whether their sacrifice matters. Let Jochebed's story remind us that God sees the hidden sacrifices. Every prayer you pray, God hears it. Every tear you have cried, God knows about it. And what you place in God's hand can still float into impossible circumstances.

So mothers on this Mother's Day, my challenge to you is keep praying. My challenge to you is keep on covering. My challenge to you is keep on believing. My challenge to you is keep on speaking life, because the child you are nurturing today may become the answer to somebody else's bondage tomorrow. I know that I have shown you the life of Jochebed and her faith, but if I can use the same faith to show you what happened with Mary, the Mary the mother of Jesus, because He too became the answer for a world who lived in bondage. Aren't you glad that we've got these powerful women in scripture to remind us of what God can do? Remind us that God will carry us. All He wants us to do is just keep on praying, keep on trusting God, keep on looking to the hills from which cometh forth your help, mother, because your help comes from the Lord. So come on, let's give God some praise. Let's give God some praise. Let's give God some praise for the mothers in the house on this Mother's Day, and how a mother's faith and courage can carry a generation. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

The doors of the church are open. There may be somebody here today that don't know Jesus in the pardoning of your sins. We want to invite you to accept Jesus today as your Lord and Savior. We want to invite you, if that's you, to come and give me your hand and give God your heart. Is there one today? You don't know Jesus? Romans 10 and 9 says if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, the Bible says that you are saved. If you are saved, raise your hand. Let me see your hands if you're saved, you have a relationship with the Lord. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. God bless you.

But there may be somebody watching me right now that don't have that relationship. Perhaps you want to rededicate your life. Whatever the case may be, you can text the word Join to 240-269-5193. Get in touch with us. There you will see a minute and 26-second video explaining what it means to become a disciple of Christ. If that's you, text the word Join to 240-269-5193. We're waiting to hear from you. We're ready to receive you. We're ready to point you in the direction that leads to life, and life eternal, and that is through Jesus Christ. That's the only way that we get to see the face of God is through Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

And amen. So again, come on, let's give God some praise. Meet us here on next week as we come together to worship. God bless you. Have a tremendous day. Have a tremendous Mother's Day wherever you plan to do. Spend time with family, your daughters, your sons, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, whatever the case may be, have a wonderful day today. Have a wonderful day today. Have a wonderful day today.

The Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace and give you peace. The Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace and give you peace. Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace and give you peace. A benediction, which is our final blessing before we leave this place. Lord God, thank You for every mother, every sacrifice, every prayer they've prayed, every tear they have shed, Lord God, every issue that they have endured. Thank You for carrying them and keeping them and giving them the faith and the courage to look to You, Lord God. We thank You for each of them. Now bless them, Lord God. Keep Your hand upon them. Do not allow any evil to come against them. Father, we thank You. Now to Him who is able to keep us from falling, to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Let the people of God say amen, amen, and amen. Come on, give your hands together and give God some praise on this morning. God bless you. God bless you. We look forward to seeing you again on next week. Have a tremendous week and a tremendous day today.