Use these eight mothers for a Mother's Day lesson, a devotion at home, or one a week through May. Each has a short retelling, a King James verse to read from the Bible, and one thing she teaches us. Not every child has a mom at home, so remember that grandmothers, mothers-in-law and others who care for children count too: Naomi and Lois are two of them.
1. Sarah: God keeps His promises
God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, and Sarah was very old when Isaac was born, just as God had said. "And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken." (Genesis 21:1, KJV) Sarah said, "God hath made me to laugh" (Genesis 21:6). She teaches us: God always does what He says, even when it takes a long time. (Genesis 17:19; 21:1–7; Hebrews 11:11)
2. Jochebed: brave and trusting
Moses' mother is named in Exodus 6:20. When Pharaoh commanded that every Hebrew baby boy be cast into the river (Exodus 1:22), she hid her son three months. "And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein..." (Exodus 2:3, KJV) Pharaoh's daughter found him, and she paid Moses' own mother to nurse him. She teaches us: We can trust God with the people we love. (Exodus 1:22–2:10; Hebrews 11:23) Baby Moses →
3. Hannah: she prayed and kept her promise
Hannah had no children, and she prayed at the house of the LORD in Shiloh. God answered, and she named her son Samuel. When he was young, she brought him to serve the LORD, as she had promised. "For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him." (1 Samuel 1:27, KJV) Every year she made him a little coat (1 Samuel 2:19). She teaches us: Tell God what you need, and keep your promises to Him. (1 Samuel 1–2) Hannah's prayer →
4. Naomi: a mother-in-law who was loved
Naomi lost her husband and her two sons. Her daughter-in-law Ruth would not leave her: "...for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." (Ruth 1:16, KJV) Ruth gleaned grain to feed them both, and later Naomi held Ruth's baby, Obed, "the father of Jesse, the father of David" (Ruth 4:16–17). She teaches us: God gives us family, and we take care of each other. (Ruth 1–4) Ruth and Naomi →
5. Elisabeth: filled with joy
Elisabeth and Zacharias were old and had no children, but an angel told Zacharias that Elisabeth would have a son named John. When Mary came to visit, "the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." (Luke 1:41, KJV) When her son was born, she said, "he shall be called John" (Luke 1:60). She teaches us: Rejoice in what God is doing. (Luke 1:5–25, 39–60)
6. Mary: the mother of Jesus
Mary believed the angel and said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" (Luke 1:38). She cared for baby Jesus and "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19, KJV) At the wedding in Cana she told the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5). At the cross, Jesus made sure His mother would be cared for (John 19:25–27), and later she prayed with the disciples in the upper room (Acts 1:14). She teaches us: Listen to Jesus and do what He says. The birth of Jesus → · Boy Jesus at the temple →
7. Lois and Eunice: a grandma and a mom who taught the Bible
Paul wrote to Timothy about "the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice." (2 Timothy 1:5, KJV) Timothy had known the holy Scriptures since he was a child (2 Timothy 3:15). They teach us: Grandmas and moms who teach us God's Word give us a gift that lasts forever. (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15)
8. The widow of Nain: Jesus cares for moms
Jesus met a widow whose only son had died. "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not." (Luke 7:13, KJV) He raised the young man to life, "And he delivered him to his mother." (Luke 7:15, KJV) She teaches us: Jesus sees moms who are sad, and He cares. (Luke 7:11–17)
Use it in class
- Who am I? Read a clue from each mother ("I hid my baby three months") and let the kids guess. Then play our mothers in the Bible trivia.
- Learn a verse: Bible verses about mothers has 16 KJV cards, including Hannah's verse.
- Act it out: the Hannah Mother's Day skit lets children act out story 3 while a narrator reads the KJV.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the mothers in the Bible?
Some of the best known are Sarah (Isaac), Jochebed (Moses), Hannah (Samuel), Naomi (Ruth's mother-in-law), Elisabeth (John the Baptist), Mary (Jesus), and Lois and Eunice (Timothy's grandmother and mother).
Who was Samuel's mom in the Bible?
Hannah. She prayed for a son at the house of the LORD in Shiloh, named him Samuel, "Because I have asked him of the LORD" (1 Samuel 1:20), and made him a little coat every year (1 Samuel 2:19).
What was the name of Moses' mother?
Jochebed (Exodus 6:20). Exodus 2 tells how she hid him three months and laid him in an ark of bulrushes by the river, and Pharaoh's daughter paid her to nurse him.
What is a good Mother's Day lesson for Sunday school?
Teach Hannah's prayer (1 Samuel 1–2) and learn 1 Samuel 1:27, or walk through these eight mothers and ask the children which one they want to be like.
