worship guide
Mother's Day Resources
Planning your Mother's Day service? Find sermon ideas, scripture guidance, and liturgy — including resources for those who find Mother's Day difficult. Free and subscriber content.
Mother's Day initially feels like a "slam dunk" for pastors. On a bright spring morning, we get to celebrate mothers. They are literally the life-bringers in our community. We can have them stand, we can applaud, we can say prayers for them—it's a feel good moment all around.
Right? Well... it's complicated.
There are a lot of dark, rainy days in spring. Mother's Day carries hurt with it, too. It reminds us of mothers who have died. It reminds some of us of estrangement and abuse. It reminds others of the children they have lost. Those who have experienced miscarriages or infertility can feel the pain of this day acutely.
This worship guide tries to offer ideas to navigate the celebration and pastoral challenge of Mother's Day. We want to recognize mothers—they should feel special and appreciated in our churches—but we also want to acknowledge the ways in which Mother's Day is hard for some—and show that we understand and are available for those who experience it that way.
This page includes both free and premium resources. If you aren't a subscriber yet, consider a 14-day free trial to see how TPW can help your ministry.
Mother's Day Sermon Ideas and Scripture Passages
Planning your Mother's Day sermon requires pulling together Biblical insights about motherhood, but also the friction in our relationships and griefs we carry into this day.
Proverbs 31
While the "Proverbs 31 woman" features in a lot of Mother's Day sermons, it's a passage that we need to be careful with. Recognizing that it is not actually addressed to mothers (or women) and its place in the wisdom literature genre may actually be liberating to women who have received this passage as a guilt trip rather than encouragement.
Read: Should You Really Preach Proverbs 31 on Mother's Day? →
Free resource on TPW blog
Biblical Mothers
The Bible is full of mothers whose faith (and foibles) advanced the plan of salvation history. They also tend to be woefully underpreached. We offer several angles for your Mother's Day sermons, from Mary's fist-pumping Magnificat, to the tears of Hannah, and Jochebed's daring plan, these stories (and others) reveal the pain, heroism, and faith of women in the Bible. We also include a pastoral note about preaching the infertility narratives with care.
Read: Biblical Mothers for Mother's Day Sermons: Go Beyond Proverbs 31 →
Free resource on TPW blog
God as the Model of Motherhood
Fatherhood may be the dominant biblical image for God, but Scripture also uses maternal metaphors to tell us who God is. Remind your congregation that motherhood comes out of the image of God and that when human mothers fail us, God waits to embrace us. Examine four different verses with interesting and pastorally sensitive sermon angles you can expand on in your own sermons.
Read: Four Verses That Find Motherhood in the Heart of God →
Free resource on TPW blog
Mother's Day Liturgy and Prayers
Two Free Prayers for Mother's Day
Mother's Day church services have to balance the celebration and pastoral sensitivity the day requires. These two prayers from Ryan Bundrick help you do this in your services. The first is a prayer of thanksgiving that reminds us of how at its best, motherly love reflects God's own love. The second is a prayer of intercession for all those who carry grief on Mother's Day. These prayers are free for you to use or adapt in your services.
Read: Mother's Day Prayers for Worship: For Celebration and for Those Who Grieve →
Free resource on TPW blog
Mother's Day Liturgy by Type
Premium—Complete Package
More Special Prayers and Liturgy for Mother's Day
Premium—Complete Package
Blessing the Women: A Prayer for Mother's Day | Lisa Degrenia — This beautiful prayer allows you to celebrate and bless all women (not only mothers) in your congregation on Mother's Day.
Seeing and Honoring Mothers — Kathryn Roelofs | This prayer specifically focuses on seeing and honoring the mothers in the midst with a call-and-response format.
Mother's Day Prayer for those Who Hurt | Jacob Traeger — This prayer allows the congregation to lift up sources of suffering or anxiety surrounding motherhood and Mother's Day in unison.
The Song of Mary (Magnificat) | A triumphant prayer that takes the words of the mother of Jesus which boldly exalts God and his kingship. For saying together as a congregation.
Sermon and Liturgy Resources by Theme
Browse sermon resources (including illustrations and quotes) and liturgy organized by theme — including pastoral topics like grief, infertility, and domestic abuse.
Sermon resources accessible to all subscribers. Liturgy requires Complete Package subscription.
Mother's Day Frequently Asked Questions
See our free sermon resources above for more detailed discussions of these and other verses.
About Mary, Jesus' mother: Luke 1:26-38 (the Annunciation), Luke 1:46-55 (the Song of Mary), John 19:25-28 (Jesus speaks to Mary on the cross)
Other important Biblical mothers: Genesis 17-18 (Sarah and the child of promise), Exodus 2:1-10 (Jochebed defies Pharaoh), I Samuel 1-2 (Hannah's miracle child and song), and 2 Timothy 1:5 (a heritage of faith—Eunice and Lois).
Other passages: Proverbs 31, Isaiah 49:15 (God compared to nursing mother) & Psalm 131:2 (resting in God like a mother).
Absolutely. Mother's Day can be very isolating for those who have struggled with infertility, miscarriages, or the loss of a child. You can't make this day not painful. But acknowledging this common and powerful source of grief helps members of your congregation know that they are not forgotten. Additionally, make space for this grief in your service—let them know that it is ok to bring grief to God. The special liturgies above contains examples for what this can look like.
We would also recommend caution about linking their situations too closely with stories of women who struggled to get pregnant in the Bible who received miraculous interventions. This is not likely to be comforting.
Honoring mothers on Mother's Day is important. It allows a big part of your congregation to be seen and know that they are appreciated. On the other hand, these acknowledgments can cause pain or even alienation. Can we do both?
Yes. Many of the special liturgies linked above include ways of both celebrating mothers and acknowledging the painful side of Mother's Day. Consider using or adapting one for your own congregation.
Beyond liturgy, here are some further suggestions:
Acknowledgement: When the joyous side of Mother's Day is the only side people hear about, it can make those who find Mother's Day difficult feel forgotten, or devalued. Gently acknowledging the that the day is painful in your sermons and liturgy may go some distance to helping.
Privacy: Pain and grief related to either one's mother or one's relationship to motherhood is deeply personal. Whatever way in which you address these issues should respect the fact that these are deeply personal and private.
Prayer ministry: If you regularly have a prayer ministry after your services, make a special invitation to those who find Mother's Day difficult. If you don't do this on other Sundays, don't do this only on Mother's Day.
Testimonies: Consider having testimonies from members of the congregation on Mother's Day. In addition to one or more women who share how God has worked in their lives through motherhood, consider including women for whom Mother's Day is or has been painful. People who have grieved, worked through abuse, or struggled with infertility and are willing to share the story of God in their lives both improve visibility for those who find the day difficult and offer hope for the future.
Here are two common mistakes:
Don't simplify motherhood: It's a bit too common to presuppose that motherhood looks a certain way: a mother, a father, children, and the means to spend ample time with each. Even if you don't say anything negative about other ways motherhood might look, simply never mentioning them sends a message. Your single mothers, divorced mothers, married mothers working multiple jobs, or caring for sick or disabled children need to know on Mother's Day that they are just as appreciated and loved as those in an "ideal" situation.
Motherhood is not female identity or value: In your sermons (and prayers and celebration of mothers), recognize that even with the best of intentions, we can communicate to women in our congregations that motherhood is female identity and value. Motherhood is not why women in our congregation have value. Even women whose motherhood brings them intense happiness should know that they are daughters of Christ above all else. That if children die, become estranged, or move out, they will not be less valuable. A preacher that praises motherhood and its virtues to the heights (a good thing) without noting other valuable contributions of women or their true value as children of God can teach this incorrect lesson. (Take this beyond the sermon: in your liturgy, recognize women first as beloved of God before recognizing them as mothers.)