Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The charge is frequently made in our culture that the Bible is consistently sexist because it was written by patriarchs living in a patriarchal society.  As one letter to the editor expressed it in the USA Today issue of September 23, 2008, “…if women cannot be trusted to rule over men in a measly household or storefront church, why should they be trusted to lead millions of men in the White House?”

The sermons and Care Groups will address these questions this month to see what God has to say about the relationship between men and women in the family and the church.  Ultimately the issue is not who can lead but what does it mean to be a woman or a man?

Are homes merely “measly households” or has God created marriage and the home as a reflection of Christ and His bride?  If so, then the family is a more significant institution than the government.  The children born in the family are of more value than the entire government.  To view it this way is to see that government exists to protect the life of every child and person.  To make the government of higher value than the family is to invert God’s order and open up our nation to the kind of totalitarian regimes we have seen in the U.S.S.R. and other dictatorships that view its citizens as existing for the state.

Likewise the church cannot be dismissed as meaningless as the letter to the editor expresses it.  The church is to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and the bride of Christ.

These are just a few of the issues we will address this month of November, 2009.  Please participate and think this through together as the people of God.

We praise God for the women of New Life in Christ Church as they are indeed the “heart of the church”!  May the Lord deepen our love for Him as we consider His word to recover Biblical maleness and femaleness for another generation

Faithfully yours,

Pastor Doug

November 2009