March 10, 2019

Gethsemane Young Mothers

Written by:
Rev (Dr) Prabhudas Koshy

Godly families are integral to the peace and progress of a church and society. Broken families bring much sorrow and trouble not only to the family members, but also to the communities they belong to. More importantly, the shaping of the future, be it of a family, or a church, or a society, is very much committed to families. The roles that parents are expected to play in the nurture of our children is a very crucial one. Our children are ‘the face’ of our future. Hence, Christian fathers and mothers have a high calling of God to fulfil.

God is the Owner, Master and Builder of our homes. As Psalm 127:1a reminds us, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it". Every parent must labour together with God in the nurture of his or her home. Labouring with God means that we must be trusting, obedient and faithful in carrying out our roles and duties according to all His counsels. The building of our homes is not without toil, hence the word "labour". But it will all be worth it, as our efforts nourish our children and bring them up to be fine, godly children – as corroborated by Psalm 127:5, which actually describes the result of successful parenting – "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Knowing the immensely important task of our young parents, our church has established Gethsemane Men’s Fellowship (GMF) and Gethsemane Young Mothers (GYM) for the spiritually strengthening of men and women in our church through biblical teaching, prayer and fellowship. We encourage especially young adults, whether married or about to be married, to regularly attend the meetings of those fellowship groups so that they may be well equipped to fulfil their high calling at home.

Our prayer for them and their families is encapsulated in the benediction of Psalm 128 – "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel."

We thank God for the joy of seeing many young mothers in our midst regularly participating in the GYM. Please read some of their testimonies printed below:

Sharon dela Cruz

I thank God for the ministry of the Gethsemane Young Mothers. It has been a great help to me in my growing in the knowledge of God’s Word, and guiding me in my role as a mother.

I have learnt that I should not be discouraged by weakness or burdens, but to trust in the Lord for strength and wisdom, for He will endue us with sufficient grace in times of testing and trials.

I am reminded that amidst struggles, I must be a joyful mother, living by example. My life, words and actions must be an example for my child, for a virtuous life according to God’s Word will impress upon my child. I should teach the relevance of God’s Word in my child’s life. But in order to be a good teacher, I must firstly be a good student of God’s Word myself.

I would like to encourage all mothers with young children and even mothers-to-be to join us to learn more about biblical motherhood and to prepare for the challenges ahead.

Merisa Teong

I thank God truly for the Gethsemane Young Mothers’ Fellowship. I have been greatly blessed by the messages preached because the topics have great relevance to my daily challenges and expectations as a Christian mother. The messages gave me a greater understanding of how I should conduct my life and set a godly example to my children and in my home. I am also thankful for the many precious warnings received from God’s Word, which I would not have known if I had not attended these meetings. I would like to earnestly encourage young mothers to make time to join these meetings and hear God’s Word. Truly, from it we can learn many wise counsels that we cannot afford to miss.

Rhodora Resuma

2 Corinthians 9:8 - "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."

Looking back, I sometimes wonder how I managed to take care of my kids in a way most pleasing to God. Truly, it is only by the grace of God that I am able to perform my God-given role as a wife and a mother to my three young children. I thank God for the numerous corrections, rebukes, encouragements and instructions I have received though the faithful preaching of God’s Word by Pastor Koshy and other preachers in our Young Mothers’ Fellowship. During the stressful and difficult moments of my motherhood journey, I am always being reminded, having learnt from Pastor, to cling on to the Word of God.

Here are some of the blessings I have received through the Gethsemane Young Mothers’ Fellowship:

  1. Learning how to be a joyful mother despite the many burdens at home - like taking care of the children while performing all the chores when your husband is working.
  2. Learning how to love, take care of, discipline and nurture the children in the Lord.
  3. Learning how to submit to and support your husband.

Indeed, it is a blessing to have a ministry in Gethsemane BPC that can cater to the needs of the young mothers, and I thank God for that. I always look forward to every last Friday of the month to hear the preaching of God’s Word and to fellowship with fellow young mothers. It is my utmost prayer that the Lord will continue to use the Gethsemane Young Mothers’ Fellowship to be a blessing to all the young mothers. All glory be to God!

Low Hui Lin

In the early stage of my motherhood, at times I felt rather lost as to how I should be a godly mother. Parenting books did not provide me with any counsel from God’s Word. Therefore, I was extremely thankful when the Gethsemane Young Mothers Fellowship was started about 3 years ago.

The GYM Fellowship has been a great blessing to me. The preaching of God’s Word has time and again instructed, encouraged and rebuked me in my role as a mother. I have been greatly reminded that as a Christian mother, my focus should be on leading my children to know Christ, to bring them up to love and fear God, and not be distracted by the expectations that the world may put on me. Through the prayer session we have at each meeting, we have the opportunity to share with one another and uphold each other in prayer. It has been an encouragement to me to hear sisters testifying of the grace and faithfulness of God in their lives. I am also thankful for the times when I could share my burdens with like-minded sisters.

It is my joy to see young mothers coming for our meetings despite the difficulties they may face in doing so, for example, the tiredness of their physical bodies or fear of not being able to handle their babies well during the meeting. I pray that all the young mothers in Gethsemane BPC will join us for the GYM Fellowship, that they may also receive blessings untold.

Gethsemane Bible-Presbyterian Church adheres to the system of faith commonly known as the “Reformed Faith” as expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
Our Worship Address
SingPost Centre
Level 5 Auditorium
10 Eunos Road 8, Singapore 408600
(next to Paya Lebar MRT station)
Our mailing address
Gethsemane Media Centre
33 Ubi Crescent
Singapore 408584
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