This message was given at Casey
Life group Study: "The Protective Mother Heart of God"<o:p></o:p>
Date: Sunday 11th May 2025<o:p></o:p>
Speaker: Andrew Chisholm<o:p></o:p>
1. WELCOME & OPENING PRAYER (5 mins)<o:p></o:p>
Greet everyone warmly. Acknowledge that Mother’s Day brings a mix of emotions.<o:p></o:p>
Invite someone to pray, thanking God for mothers and asking for comfort, peace, and deeper understanding today.<o:p></o:p>
2. OPENING REFLECTION (10 mins)<o:p></o:p>
Prompt: Mother’s Day can be filled with celebration—or sadness, or both. Let’s take a moment to reflect together.<o:p></o:p>
Ask:<o:p></o:p>
What’s one special memory you have of your mum, or a mother figure in your life?<o:p></o:p>
For those who find this day difficult, would you like to share why, or how it feels for you?<o:p></o:p>
Optional: read aloud the short reflection from the message intro about Christine and the speaker’s own mothers—how honouring them came with joy, loss, and reconnection.
3. SHORT TEACHING: GOD’S MOTHER-LIKE NATURE (10 mins)<o:p></o:p>
Read Genesis 1:27<o:p></o:p>
“So God created mankind in his own image… male and female he created them.”<o:p></o:p>
God made both male and female in His image—meaning His nature includes both fatherly strength and motherly nurture.<o:p></o:p>
Discussion prompt:
Have you ever considered the feminine, nurturing qualities of God before?<o:p></o:p>
What comes to mind when you hear “God as a protective mother”?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Teach briefly:<o:p></o:p>
Throughout scripture, God is shown to carry, protect, and rescue like a mother.<o:p></o:p>
Even in the Lord’s Prayer, the word “deliver” has deep imagery—of a mother delivering a child, or of Israel being delivered from slavery.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
4. SCRIPTURE REFLECTION & DISCUSSION (25 mins)
Take turns reading each scripture aloud. After each one, allow a moment of silence, then ask reflection questions.<o:p></o:p>
1. Matthew 6:13 (NIV)<o:p></o:p>
"And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one." This is maternal language—“deliver” like a mother in labour.<o:p></o:p>
Ask:<o:p></o:p>
What does it mean to you that God delivers us?<o:p></o:p>
Can you recall a time when you felt God protecting or carrying you through something?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
2. Exodus 19:4 (NIV)<o:p></o:p>
"You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself."<o:p></o:p>
Ask:<o:p></o:p>
What do you picture when you hear “carried on eagles’ wings”?<o:p></o:p>
How does this change the way you see God’s involvement in your life?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
3. Numbers 11:12 (NIV)<o:p></o:p>
"Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant…?"<o:p></o:p>
Ask:<o:p></o:p>
How does this imagery of God ‘carrying’ people connect to your own experiences of being carried or comforted?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
4. Revelation 12:14 (NIV)<o:p></o:p>
“The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly… to the place prepared for her in the wilderness…”<o:p></o:p>
Ask:<o:p></o:p>
What does it mean for God to make a place of refuge for us?<o:p></o:p>
In what “wilderness” season has God met you or protected you?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
5. PERSONAL REFLECTION & ENCOURAGEMENT (5 mins)<o:p></o:p>
Prompt:<o:p></o:p>
Whether or not your earthly mother could be there for you, God promises to nurture and protect you with deep, unwavering love.<o:p></o:p>
There’s no loss or wound too deep for God to gently tend to.<o:p></o:p>
Ask:
What part of God’s nature as a nurturing parent do you most need to lean into right now?<o:p></o:p>
6. PRAYER & CLOSING (5 mins)
Invite the group to sit quietly for a moment and ask God to show them where He wants to be their comforter, protector, or healer.<o:p></o:p>
Close in prayer, thanking God for His mother-like love that carries, shelters, and delivers us.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Optional: TAKE-HOME VERSES
Write these on cards or text them out after the session as encouragement:<o:p></o:p>
Isaiah 66:13 – “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”<o:p></o:p>
Psalm 91:4 – “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…”<o:p></o:p>
Deuteronomy 32:11 – “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest… spreading its wings to catch them…”<o:p></o:p>