I decide who is and isn’t …

I remember watching Pretender growing up, there was this guy – Kyle – raised to be a sociopath, he was taught this mantra: “I decide who lives or dies.” And he did just that. It seems like these days, that’s true, not of life and death, but of men and women. About a week ago, […]

Sermon Decoding, Some Final Thoughts

I wanted to take a moment to consider that this whole message is a separation – not only of that of men and women, but of the culture of the Bible and our own culture, the principle from the command, the meaning from the context. Consider how a bit of the passage was reviewed, talked […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 8

So a couple of questions to ask yourself as you try to think so what does this look like for me? Have we bought into the idea that if the roles aren’t equivalent that it means that people aren’t equal? Are we believing in some way the culture story or the Biblical story that’s shaping […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 7

And so in Jesus we see both sides. And in the book ‘Meaning of Marriage’ Kathy Keller puts it this way and this is great: “In Jesus we see all the authoritarianism of authority laid to rest, and all the humility of submission glorified.” We all get to play the Jesus role. Whether it’s in […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 6

Which is to say that it’s not a cookie cutter. There’s no kind of one size fit’s all, it must look like this – it’s gonna depend, it’s gonna depend on culture and time but also on particular people and their relationship. (Anecdote from the speaker’s marriage.) But that looks different for other couples, not […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 5

And so there’s this responsibility that’s given first to Adam. But it’s more than just for Adam to take care of an to cultivate the Earth. and because of that calling it’s not good for him to be alone. It actually requires men and women, male and female together to do that. And so this […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 4

So when, what are the principles that come out from and for those relationships? 2nd Principle – God made men and women equal –  “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” (vs 11); Paul is drawing here on Genesis, the first couple of chapters of the […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 3

The theological frame work about the relationship between man and woman, we’re not going to get it right unless we understand how he himself relates to himself. Because to look and see the relationship between Christ and God, between God the Son and God the Father, it tells us what this must mean and what […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 2

Head covering – wearing one, not wearing one, sent all sorts of signals as a culture. Men – head covered said something about your status – Augustus, lead worship, cover your head as a sign of your status, upper-class. upper-class Corinthian men seemed to be covering their heads. It dishonors Christ to exalt themselves above […]

Sermon Decoding – Part 1

When one is in the market for a new church, using a church’s website is a valuable tool in which you can learn everything you need to know. Some churches are kind enough to link you directly to the denomination to which they belong, or give you massive PDF files telling you their creeds, statement […]