Lip synch coordinator and canoeologist Rita Newton continued today’s theme of being a strong leader in the girls Bible class this morning:
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Women of Strength
Are you strong enough to be a leader within the church?
There ARE restrictions on what women can do in the public worship service and what roles we can fill.
I Timothy 3:1-10: “It is a trustworthy statement: if any MAN aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work HE desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the HUSBAND of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. HE must be one who manages HIS own household well, keeping HIS children under control with all dignity (but if a MAN does not know how to manage HIS own household, how will HE take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that HE will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And HE must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that HE will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Deacons likewise must be MEN of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. These MEN must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.”
I Timothy 2:12-14: “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain QUIET. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
Why do some women have difficulties with the idea of submission within the church? Cultural emphasis on significance through power. How does society define status? “I could never go to your church. If my girls want to be ministers, they can be.” “I don’t want to make the communion bread, I want to pass it.”
So…are we saying that women should never find success in a job? Ecclesiastes 2:11 – “Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.”
Are there Biblical examples of women who had jobs outside the home? Yes: the virtuous woman and Lydia
Is a woman’s role within the church unimportant? NO. Is it not glamorous? Seriously? What group in your congregation is the most easily influenced? The young kids. Who normally teaches this group? Women. Unimportant? Certainly NOT. Did Paul consider women unimportant? In Romans 16:1-16 Paul points out great women: Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’s mother, Julia, and Nereus’s sister.
Strength is SHOWN through sacrifice. Strength is GROWN through sacrifice. Esther (Hadassah) was a home sick hero who showed strength through her sacrifice and service. We must certainly show strength through our service. It is worth the cost to sacrifice and serve!
