May 10, 2026
• Rev. Mindie Moore
Yes In God’s Back Yard Week 1: Generational Impact
1 Samuel 1:1-28
Remind people about leave and summer service times (SLIDE FROM LAST WEEK)
Pray
We’re in a new sermon series for the month of May, where we are exploring what it means to live out the things we talk about here...out there. We’re calling this series “Yes, In God’s Backyard” which is actually the name of a really cool organization that works for affordable housing. And what we liked about that name is that it kind of reframes how we view the communities we live in. Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “Not In My Back Yard.” It can be applied to all kinds of things, and it usually has a sort of self-protective angle to it.
But when we move away from that kind of mentality, our view starts to expand. We start to realize that as we move about the world, as we live in our neighborhoods...it’s not about what belongs to ME. It’s about what belongs to GOD. And these places we inhabit are places that, as people of faith, we’re called to care for and invest in. We get to tend to the people and places in our proximity and be a part of what God is up to.
Now, we’re starting this series on Mother’s Day...which is always such a complex day in the Church. We all carry such different experiences into this specific day. Some of us love it, some of us hate it, some of us don’t really know where to land with it. I would put myself in that last category. I’m someone who lost my mom when I was a toddler and have had more uncomfortable Mother’s Day moments than I can count. AND I’m someone who is a mom to two awesome kids who I am sure are going to make sure I feel very loved and appreciated today. AND I am someone who’s just grateful for all the people—regardless of gender—who have invested in my life and been a supportive, encouraging presence.
And that’s just my one experience. I know there are so many in this room. Whatever you bring to this day, I just want you to know that you’re not alone in it and that this community has more than enough space for you and your story.
So today, we’re looking at a story of motherhood that reflects some those different complexities. It’s the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel. Hannah, who WILL eventually become a mother, mother to a great figure in Israel’s history named Samuel, but that’s not the case when this story begins. When the story begins, we find Hannah in a pretty desperate and heartbroken place.
A big part of Hannah’s story is that she is not able to have a child, which in her context was a pretty devastating blow. This reality would have impacted so much of her life, even beyond the longing in her heart. It would have shaped her social connections...it definitely impacted her marriage. In order to have descendants, her husband took a second wife, one who was able to have children. And as these people lived their lives together, as they navigated all the emotions and dynamics that came from an arrangement like that...it just became a pretty messy situation.
And beyond the interpersonal mess that they were living in, they were also living in a nation that had its own kind of mess. The book of Judges paints a picture of what it was like to live in those days, saying, “Everyone did what they thought was right...” And you can imagine that those personal definitions of what was right were kind of all over the place. There was disunity, there were things happening that were truly horrifying, there was an overall sense that things were spiraling out of God’s framework and into something that was never intended for this group of set apart people.
And when I look at Hannah, her family, what was going on in her country it encourages me because it shows us,that (SLIDE) God doesn’t need perfection to create something good. God doesn’t need the perfect family. God doesn’t need every situation to follow the expertly laid out plan. God doesn’t need us to try and hide our hardest moments. In fact, those imperfect places are where God can do some of God’s best work. God shows up in the grief. God shows up in the dysfunction. God even shows up in the times we find ourselves judged or treated like an outsider.
We see Hannah have a moment like this, when she shows up to the temple and begins to pray. You know, she is in a place where her prayers are SO far beyond being “appropriate” and “polite”. I don’t know if you’ve ever prayed like that, but it’s intense. It shows how desperate she is for God to hear her.
And even though Eli is the priest, even though we would expect him of all people to GET a prayer like this...he doesn’t at first. In fact, his initial response when he sees her is to scold her and accuse her of being drunk! He expects God to show up in a very specific way, he has a whole framework of what is “right” in a religious setting...and those expectations almost get in the way of him seeing what God is up to.
When I read this, as a pastor, I just felt pretty uncomfortable. Because I think I might react similarly to Eli, even though I wish that wasn’t true. And it made me wonder how many times I have either intentionally or unintentionally responded to someone’s faith like Eli responds to Hannah. Even if not through what I’ve said or done, though my own internal reception of a person who God has put in front of me.
But what I love about Hannah’s response to Eli is that she is SO grounded in her faith and her purpose that day. She’s so direct in how she says back to Eli- you've got it wrong. I’ve been pouring my soul out before the Lord. She’s not concerned if she’s causing a scene. She’s not worried about breaking rules. She is simply acting boldly in faith, with deep determination and trusting that God is going to hear her and respond.
And I think it’s the deep grounding that makes it possible for Hannah to not only pray FOR this child but to make the commitment that she makes in that moment. It’s kind of stunning what she says in this prayer (SLIDE):
“O LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants,[d] and no razor shall touch his head.”
To translate this a bit from their context to ours, what Hannah is committing to here is basically to give her child to the priesthood. She’s not going to be the one to raise him primarily. She’s not going to have the most time with him or greatest influence in his life. He’s going to be set apart for God’s work, to live an unconventional life, and she’s going to vow to let him go.
And this one decision has a ripple effect that will go so far beyond Hannah and that moment.
Because I don't know how familiar you are with Samuel, but he will grow into one of the most important people in Israel’s history. He becomes a faithful prophet, entrusted with the responsibility of anointing Israel’s first king and then King David after that. He grows from a much-prayed for child to a man who is not afraid to tell the truth and to guide people back to God when they’ve gone astray. The work he does will eventually set the stage for Jesus, centuries later.
Generations upon generations will be impacted, and it all started with one person, one prayer, one commitment of faith.
That kind of impact isn’t just limited to stories in the Bible or people you’ve never met. You and I can absolutely be living out impact like that in our own lives.
I want to tell you about one way you can do this, through Freedom School. Now, you might have heard of Freedom School before—maybe you’ve volunteered in the past or maybe you’re just aware of Freedom School's mission for summer literacy, social action, and character-building enrichment. What you might NOT know is that multi-generational leadership development is also one of the core pillars of the Freedom School model.
And one of the things that makes Freedom School at St. Luke’s so special are the people who lead it. (SLIDE) Monique, Kendra, and Chris Johnson are siblings who have had different connections to Freedom School throughout their lives. It’s not only been a place that they’ve worked—they've watched Freedom School have an impact on their family that spans generations.
Chris was the first one in the family to encounter Freedom School, as an elementary school kid who needed a safe and nurturing place to go for the summer. His big sisters were helping to raise him while finishing college, and when they saw what was happening at Freedom School, they wanted to get involved. Over the next few years, Chris continued as a scholar, while Kendra and Monique's paths included roles like Servant Leader Intern, national Freedom School trainer, community advocate, and ultimately parent when they enrolled their own children in Freedom Schools.
And you can be part of this generational impact. When you invest in Freedom School, you WILL make a difference! Whether your investment looks like serving one meal (and we have 52 of them to choose from!), or as a classroom assistant for 5 mornings or more during the summer, every single role is an investment in life-change for the next generation.
Today we have some experienced Freedom School folks at a table outside the worship space to answer questions. They can help you explore the options and get signed up. You can also sign up at (SLIDE) stlukesumc.com/serve.
I wish I could read the whole of Samuel’s childhood story to you, because in it we see not only the fruit of Hannah’s decision, but we also see how Eli ends up being the one who really nurtures Samuel and helps him grow into who he will become as an adult. And here’s what I want you to know—Eli's not perfect. He doesn’t always get it right. But he does faithfully show up as he invests in the next generation through Samuel.
What I love about the church is that none of this investment that I’m talking about is limited to our individual offspring. Being in community together means we get to widen our lens of what this looks like in our lives. It’s why we have that moment in baptism where we commit to a family that we’re going to be invested in the parents’ faith, the child’s faith. Because when we make that commitment, remember we belong to each other. That this is what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God.
Frame series (Not in my backyard vs. Yes in God’s backyard)
It’s not about something that’s mine, it’s about something that God has invited me and us to steward and tend to.
How do we view our communities? How do we engage with the needs of the world BECAUSE of our faith?
Let’s pray
Complexity of Mother’s Day—so many different emotions. (PUT VIDEO IN HERE?)
We see it in this story. Hannah can’t have a child, she prays, and then she gives her long-prayed for child into service for the Lord.
this is not going to be a typical Mother’s Day sermon, because I don’t really do “typical” Mother’s Day. Today, we’re kicking off this new series by looking at a mother who had deep faith, fierce determination, and who took action that not only had an impact in HER life, but that impacted generations to come.
God’s wider story gets told through our stories.
We’re looking at the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel.
FRAME STORY
Turning point historically. National sense of crisis. “Everyone did what they thought was right...” The bible focuses on a personal crisis. Many of these turning points start with a birth...Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Jesus. It’s a symbol for a new chapter and a new way for God to work.
Connection between personal crisis & national crisis. End of Judges. Israel nearing collapse. God uses personal crisis to tell a bigger story.
God can use our challenges to feed into ad be a part of a larger story.
For Hannah, this moment begins as praying through the thing that was so deep in her heart.
Give a little cultural context—what did it mean to have children in their culture? Why would it have been such a devastating blow to NOT?
It leads to some dysfunction...he gets a second wife because the beloved wife, and the dynamics between these family members. God still used a very dysfunctional family unit to change the history of Israel. You don’t have to be the perfect person, family, situation for God to use you.
It’s different than our culture, but we have our own ways of isolating people who don’t fit into whatever a cultural “norm” might be. We still experience shame when we don’t fit whatever the trajectory is.
And so all of this finds Hannah in a place of absolute desperation as she prays that day.
She moves beyond politeness. There is a rawness and boldness.
Look at how Eli responds to her fiath. It makes sense because it’s hard to know what to do with extreme faith.
The way she is treated by the priest.... she is not behaving properly.
When confronted with judgement, how does she respond? Very direct. “I’ve been pouring my soul out before the Lord.”
Faith trusting God for unseen things deeply.
She gets what she prays for. Her determination and sacrifice to have him raised elsewhere is bittersweet. If God gives me ___________, here is what I will sacrifice or give up.
The sacrifices and lengths that mothers will go.
That’s what I love about some of what we have coming up this summer...we get to create space for people and orgs that are doing the work of generational investment.
We see our church investing in kids from everywhere
Generational impact: Freedom school
Breaks cycles—when you work with families in any kind of pastoral or need-based situation, you see a lot of cycles. And when someone breaks out of it, it’s amazing
Empowers on every level of the family
VBS—do we have any “lineage” stories of kids, volunteers?
From Amy: Jenny (last name?) there was a volunteer who grew up not going to church, but her grandma took her to VBS one time as a child. And that experience changed her whole view of God and church and laid the foundation for her to come back to church when in college. And then she started bringing her kids, and volunteered at VBS.
Think about all the kids who have grown up in VBS and are now serving in different ways...on Sunday, mission trips, at their schools, etc.
When we are determined and undeterred by the obstacles that exist in our stories, we can trust that God can use that determination to make an impact and a blessing that goes far beyond us.
Sometimes the obstacles are SO big. They’re real. They can be painful. AND. God can work in the midst of them. How do you let your faith take you through the places when you feel stuck or like your story is over?
What do we do with the “vow” part of the story? She received a blessing and didn’t want to be selfish with it.
As part of my commitment, I’m going to serve, I’m going to follow you. Make it part of our routines, make it such a core part of who we are that our faith pushes through the challenges and sustains us. We see this with Hannah. IT’s all about sacrifice, dedication, giving of oneself.
This is not limited to your offspring...what if we widened our gaze to see a much bigger view of what it means to invest? In the Kingdom of God, we are all siblings. We all belong to each other.
Segue to freedom school
Samuel becomes a pivotal hinge figure for Israel and it starts from a place of impossibility
End with talking about my kids and the adults who are invested in them. Jeff, Soccer coach, Skye and Willie, all these adults who have taken time to know them and say, “these kids might not be my family, but they’re my FAMILY.”
Someone planted in you...who will you plant in?
V.17: “The asking you have asked” more accurate translation. What are you asking of God that could have impact on future generations?
Maya Angelou was abused by her mother’s boyfriend and was mute for 5 years...what changed her was her grandmother telling her over and over “sister, mama don’t care what people say about you. One day, when you and the lord get ready, you’re going to be a preacher.” Speaking truth into her life even when reality said something different.
Anyone can be mama to someone.
Transition to freedom school.
MINDE WRITE UP FREEDOM SCHOOL AND SEND TO ROB
CONFIRM WHAT WE ARE INVITING PEOPLE TO DO FOR FREEDOM SCHOOL (What, time commitment, level of training)
CUT:
Samuel...anointing King David (Chronicles...ancestry of the Levites)
Samuel is the one who recognizes David. Which sets the stage for messianic hope. Samuel takes the kind of faith that his mother has and carries it forward.
• Both are questioned
• Both make choices that seem risky
• Both act out of deep faith and trust in their God.
One concrete action step you can take to invest in our community and in the next generation is to volunteer with Freedom School this summer. There’s a table outside the worship space today, or if you’re online you can find the signup on our website. And what’s great about serving with Freedom School is that you can do something that is a significant investment of time, like volunteering in a classroom, or you can do something more short term, like helping with meals. Eo something that is a significant investment of time, like volunteering in a classroom, or you can do something more short term, like helping with meals. Every single role ma