". . . who is more to you than seven sons"

A letter from the guys at my church to the girls at my church for valentines:

Women Theologians

Ladies,

As men, we can read the passages such as 1Timothy 2:9-15 or Corinthians 14:33-38 and see in them only restrictions on women. We can react and say, “You have to obey this rule and this restriction”. Although there is a reason for these verses, and we must take them very seriously, if this is our attitude we don’t understand these verses. These verses are not there to give us an attitude of “placing restrictions on women”; these verses instead challenge us as men to lead and honor the women around us.

We can look at the scriptures and see God’s heart for women. A Godly woman is described with eloquence and dignity throughout. We have women like Sarah, Ruth, and Esther, and many more who stand out in the history of Israel. We watch and listen as Jesus treats women with honor. They were always near ministering to him, and he to them. Paul walked with the women around him, relying on the gifts that God had given them. And there is so much more, but for times sake, I am barely even touching the surface of how the scripture describes the beauty of women. My point is I don’t believe that the majority of heroes of the faith should be men. As we see these scriptures opened up and obeyed we will see the churches littered with the heroines of the faith. There is no place for any thought that women have less to offer. The Bible screams against this and rebukes any man who contemplates this. It is not God’s heart to put restrictions on women. In the scriptures, He has provided an amazing protection of the beauty and the expressiveness that only a woman can provide. It is God’s heart for a woman to bloom, under the nourishment and protection of His word.

Our pastor has recently been talking about how Mary’s act of anointing Jesus before His death was a powerful and poignant act. In that act, one women out-theologized all the many men that were in the room. If anyone thinks because a women cannot preach or teach, she has less expression of theology they are wrong. Christ made it clear, what this woman had done would be told everywhere the Gospel was preached. By her act she has challenged both men and women over the ages wherever the Gospel has been preached. Jesus had no intention to limit this woman’s expression of theology . . . nor do the scriptures.

As men, God has called us to lead in the church, but we’d be a fool if we thought we were more than what we are, fellow servants in the Lord, co-laborers in the gospel of God’s grace, with no more influence and strength then the women around us. What Mary did was powerful and meaningful. And she out shone the men around her. A woman can express theology and influence the direction of the church in a way that a man could never do. The church cannot be all God has called it to be without the women, co-laboring with the men.

God has called us men to lead, but He has also called us to honor and cherish the women in our lives. Peter tells husbands that if they do not honor and value their wives, their prayers will not be heard. I don’t believe this just applies to a husband and a wife. If we as men do not honor and cherish the women in our church, we are in danger of having our prayers not heard. A woman has a desire to be captivating and God has left her with a means for that desire to be filled. A woman shouldn’t have to force herself on us to show her theological insight. No, instead as men, we should treat women as captivating and valued. We should seek out what their hearts and what their ideas are. We should be in awe of the insight that God has given women.

Sisters, as your brothers, we want to learn how to encourage you to express theology in the fullness of being a woman and to treat you with the eloquence and dignity that the scriptures dictate. We want you to feel valued and cherished. We want to fight for you with our prayers and actions. Not by convention; by loving you like Jesus, laying our lives down, letting our lives point to one who is truly Romantic, your Savior and Lord. May we be stripped away, so that you will see Jesus. Be patient, we still have a lot to learn, but we pursuing to learn more and grow together through God’s stunning grace in becoming men who treat you with honor, and with God’s help we will. He will grant what He commands . . . by grace alone.



May Our Eyes Always Be Upon Jesus
(written by Landon Lewis)
May our eyes always be upon Jesus,
The founder and perfecter of our faith,
So that we may not grow weary or faint
As we attempt each day to run the race.

Do not grant our eyes the chance to wander
Lest we will give in to the temptation
To stop and marvel at our endurance
Or cringe at our lack of motivation.

Direct our eyes to the one who came down
And though tempted to quit, ran for His church
In perfect, perpetual righteousness
And endured the cross to finish the work.

As our eyes behold your Son’s bloody stripes
May we rest in His race and perfect time
Because it is His hands that will carry us
And His legs that have crossed the finish line.

May God cultivate and bring your heart to full bloom,
Your brothers

The Dignity of Women

Where are the men, in these days, who believe in women? Who believe in their strength and influence? Who are willing to stand in honor of the women around them? Where are the men who believe in the dignity of women? Where are the men who believe God at His word, when the scriptures give them such high honor? Below is a quote written by a man, during a war, declaring that the women were there hope. What is said here about women should not be something that is uncommon. It should be an attitude that we as men regularly portray. I want to challenge the men to believe God's word.



For the rest of this sermon go to: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=914081731428

1 Timothy 2:10

10but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women

I think it is important to realize that Paul here is fighting against the oppression of women, they have a valued role in the church that only they can fill. Paul knows that there is a strength and power that God has given women. This strength is being striped away from them, when we don't believe. It is like stripping the pedals off a flower and telling it that it must be a tree to have worth. Don't underestimate the power of a flower and don't underestimate a woman who is godly, she has the strength to capture hearts and to change the world. God is very clear that He intends a woman to have strength and dignity and influence. When we try to do this in our own wisdom we hinder the beauty that God has given women. In walking in our own wisdom we oppress women, instead of trusting in a God who loves us and cares for us and knows us best.God turns the strength and wisdom of this world over and destroys it with something far greater and more beautiful. He is an amazing God. And His dreams for us or so much bigger than our own. He is truly worthy of our trust.

Luke 8:2,3

Luke 8:2,3

2and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Luke 2:36-38

Luke 2:36-38

36And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Mark 15:40-41

Mark 15:40,41

40There were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses, and Salome. 41When He was in Galilee, they used to follow Him and minister to Him; and there were many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Matthew 27:55,56

Matthew 27:55,56

55Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. 56Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

2 Timothy 1:5

2 Timothy 1:5

5For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

Philippians 4:3

Philippians 4:3

3Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Romans 16:6

Romans 16:6

6Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

Romans 16:1, Phoebe

Romans 16:1

1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

The word servant just means servant. It could possibly be referring to her as a deaconess and there were deaconesses from what I understand in the early church, but they never taught or had authority over a man. Also the role of deacon was primarily to provide for the poor, a role that we know the women were involved in.

Romans 16:1

Romans 16:1

1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Acts 18:26

Acts 18:26

26and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

This teaching was not done in the assembly. Apollos was "taken aside". This was within the context of a home or a personal setting. A woman in her personal dealings with men should speak truth into their lives. The gospel and sound doctrine should permeate their lives and affect others. Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." This is very different to what is talked about in 1 Timothy 2.

Acts 18:26

Acts 18:26

26and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Acts 16:13-15

13And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. 14A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15And when she and (A)her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

Acts 9:36

Acts 9:36

36Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.

Nehemiah 7:67

Nehemiah 7:67

67besides their male and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers.

Titus 2:1-5

Titus 2:1-5

1But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. 3Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. 6Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; 7in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, 8sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

3Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.


Women are commanded to stand up for God’s word and teach other women. Women should not shrink back from this command or allow the culture to rob them from standing up for these issues. The Bible commands them to teach other women to be women and if they do not they are in sin. This should be common, women teaching other women about what it means to be a women and how to honor men in the church and to be wives and mothers. Likewise, men are to disciple other men and teach them what it means to be a man. There needs to be mothers and fathers in the church.

Proverbs 31:27

Proverbs 31:27

7She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

She is diligent and faithful. She builds her home.

Proverbs 31:25,26

Proverbs 31:25,26

25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

This woman is knowledgeable, wise, gives good council and instruction. I believe that in all that a woman does she should always be presenting the gospel and the character of God in both deeds and word. She may not be able to teach or have authority over a man, but that is not excuse for her not to teach through her life and in the times that are appropriate for her to speak, her words should fall sweetly and speak of the depth of God. If others are not learning from a woman, she is not walking in the fullness that God has for her.