Order and Beauty (1 Corinthians 14:26-40)

[0:00] What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.

[0:13] Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at the most three, should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

[0:24] If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the other should weigh carefully what is said.

[0:35] And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.

[0:50] For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord's people. Women should remain silent in the churches, they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

[1:05] If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Or did the word of God originate with you?

[1:16] Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks that they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.

[1:28] But if anyone ignores it, they will themselves be ignored. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

[1:39] But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. Good afternoon, everyone. Can you hear me okay? Yep, so I'm here to help to unpack this very challenging passage.

[1:55] Let me acknowledge up front that this passage, as you've just heard, contains very hard, difficult words, right? Especially if you're of the fairer sex. I just want to say from the outset, here at PCBC English, your voice matters.

[2:10] And we'll get into what these verses mean, I think, in a moment. And I'll help us to chew through these scriptures with truth and love. Of course, the easy option, if you're any, many other churches, would be just to skip a passage like this, right?

[2:25] This is the too hard basket. But one of the things we do value here at PCBC English is that we don't just hear from my voice, not just your voice, but his voice, all of it, all of scripture is God-breathed and profitable.

[2:39] Even passages like these. So we don't skip the hard bits here. We're going to teach book by book, wherever it takes us. But we certainly can't do this on our own.

[2:50] We need his help. So why don't we pray? Let's ask the Lord to help us. Father, we are weak and you are strong.

[3:02] And you know how anxious some of my thoughts have been too. And so please, Lord, would you help me get out of the way and help your voice be clear, strong, gracious, and kind for everyone here.

[3:17] That we would see the order and beauty of your gospel in Christ. We pray these things in his name. Amen. Amen. Over the past month, cinema goers have faced a real dilemma.

[3:32] And there's two great movies apparently out there at the moment. They released on the same day. And so perhaps you, if you've been wanting to go to the movies, you've had this tough choice.

[3:43] Do I go use my hard-earned cash to see Oppenheimer? Three hours of it? Or do my dollars go to the Barbie movie?

[3:55] All right. So show of hands who's been to the Barbie movie? Okay. Some jumping people as well. Okay. Who's seen Oppenheimer? Oh, wow. Okay.

[4:05] All right. And the same day? No. Okay. All right. Well, I'm not made of money. So I had to pick one movie. So your English pastor picked Barbie.

[4:21] There's me with our favorite character. It is rated M, all right, the movie. So for the sake of those who can't or who won't watch this movie, let me just give you a little summary of Greta Gerwig's movie.

[4:35] It goes something like this. So I'm going to mansplain it. So actually, Barbie and her culturally diverse friends live in a picture-perfect world. And it's called Barbie Land.

[4:46] It's kind of like Hobbiton. So have you seen Lord of the Rings? That's kind of where we all start. And who run the world here? Girls run the world. It's great. A woman's paradise. And there's men there, of course.

[4:57] But, you know, there are people like I'm just Ken and Shang-Chi Ken and all kinds of other Kens. And they're really just Barbie's accessories, though, in this movie, right?

[5:09] But when vanilla Barbie's world is interrupted, one night there's a party and she has this rogue thought of, hey, do you guys ever think about dying? The music stops.

[5:20] And there is this death anxiety that drives her, propels her to go look for answers. Kind of like Frodo Baggins has to leave the Shire, right? And so Barbie goes out to the real world looking for answers.

[5:34] So that's how the story starts. That's all from the trailer, by the way. So you haven't missed out on much. No spoilers. Turn back with me, though, friends, to cosmopolitan Corinth.

[5:46] Okay? So this city, it was no Barbie world. First century AD. But here in the city, there were also a people in search of solutions, weren't they? And we've heard many of their questions over the past few months as we've journeyed through this book.

[6:01] They, too, had questions about boy meets girl. Stay single. Partner up. What do we do, Paul? They, too, as we've heard recently, had questions about spiritual gifts. Are they must-have accessories?

[6:14] Or are they discontinued items? And next month, actually, in the next chapter of Corinthians, get this. There's questions concerning dying as well.

[6:26] All right? Who knew Paul and Barbie could get along so well? And look, Corin's founding pastor, he's a bit of a weird guy. So we'll call him Weird Paulie. This is a movie reference, by the way. Okay?

[6:37] Weird Paul. He's been patiently, over and over again, every chapter, telling them the gospel. Okay? Whatever issue comes their way that he's been saying the gospel and applying it to their lives.

[6:51] Remember, at the start of the book, don't follow people, right? Chapter 3, verse 4. He tells them, just like God saved you in Christ, follow him first. Not your group leader. Not some celebrity preacher.

[7:03] Not your boyfriend or girlfriend. God first. And then when he says to the people of Corinth, flee sexual immorality. He goes back to the gospel.

[7:14] If Jesus has bought you with his blood, you are not your own. Your body is not your own. You belong to him, body and soul. So the gospel, therefore, means we say no to self-centered ways of sexually expressing ourselves.

[7:28] And yes, to celebrating God's design, the way God fulfills our deepest longings. And when it came to questions about spiritual gifts, certain ones, again, Paul first counsels from the cross, does he not?

[7:44] How did chapter 12 start? Remember, he grounds everything that was discussed in the last few weeks with this claim. Jesus is Lord. And you are Christ's body if you believe that together.

[8:01] And his love in you, it's patient. It's kind. It doesn't envy gifts. It doesn't brag about them. Right? Remember, Jesus, this is the gospel.

[8:12] He deflated himself. So don't get puffed up about what you have or don't have. And so when it comes to prophecy and tongues, we explained this in much detail last week.

[8:23] So feel free to look back on that sermon if you need to. We heard Paul's wisdom, didn't we? Chapter 14, verse 1, it says, be earnest. Next slide, please.

[8:34] Be earnest, right? Zealous for the spiritual gifts. And if you keep looking at the next verses, actually he says, especially prophecy. Because prophecy edifies everyone instead of tongues, which doesn't edify everyone.

[8:50] In love, we value different kinds of gifts. And yet when we're all together, we're going to value testable prophecies over untranslated tongues. All right?

[9:01] One edifies everyone. The other will alienate people. Because why? Why? Verse 25. The mission field is our aim, right? Clear words of Christ.

[9:13] It's something that is characteristic of a mature, grown-up church. Clear words of Christ is what will help convince the outsider, the visitor, that God is really among you.

[9:26] So that's the theme of last week, right? We need to edify everyone. That's how we use our gifts. And I'm so grateful for all of you when you use your gifts, when we use our gifts in this way. And so really this section that we just heard read by Eden is where Paul draws the argument to a close.

[9:44] And so today we're going to hear two more instructions on how we be a supernatural church as we worship together. And so two points. Our first point is that in order to edify everyone, firstly, there needs to be an order to our gathered worship.

[10:00] To edify everyone well, there's got to be, firstly, an order for how we worship together. Listen again to Paul, verse 26 in your Bibles. What then shall we say, brothers and sisters?

[10:15] When you come together, everyone has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the building up of the church.

[10:28] Notice in your Bibles, right? Paul lists several things the church in Corinth were bringing, right, to the earliest church gatherings. Now, they probably didn't have a church building back then.

[10:39] You want to actually imagine house church, right? Meeting in people's homes, right? Maybe sitting more in a circle or just, you know, just wherever there was space. And everyone, people taking turns to bring different things to the table.

[10:53] So, more like a potluck rather than a performance. That was what church was like for Corinth. And you notice the different things they brought to the table, didn't they, right? One has a hymn or a worship song.

[11:05] Another brings a lesson. Someone might have a revelation. Look, these are not exhaustive, okay? These are the only things that church did back then. And these are not mutually exclusive things either, right?

[11:18] I mean, if you think about it, if you kind of combine some of these words together, some of our best songs, they teach, don't they? They instruct. And actually, maybe for tongues to work properly, there needs to be a translation.

[11:33] So, tongues and interpretation. Probably, you know, maybe one person might be able to do both to various skill levels. And of course, some of the best sermons I've heard from others, is they taught so well, but they revealed their hearts as well.

[11:49] Do you see? Now, look, Christians, they've come up with different principles when it comes to our public worship, right? And so, just summarizing a lot of arguments over the years about how we worship together.

[12:01] And on one side, one extreme, perhaps, some would say, we only do what God prescribes when we worship, okay? That anything goes side. And so, it's in this context that Paul advises them, look, I want to regulate your worship a little bit.

[12:17] I want to suggest some things that will keep things a little bit more in control so that you can worship God, okay, in a more orderly way. And so, we see some advice, don't we, right?

[12:28] He says, if there's a language people don't get, okay, whatever the language, human or angelic, please keep it to two or three max, okay? One by one, please.

[12:40] And yes, let's leave time for translation, please, right? And friends, right? If you have a whole speech prepared, and you brought it along with you, and you're just willing to just rock it out, it's going to take a long time, but we can't translate it for everyone, please.

[12:58] Verse 28, keep it to yourself, all right? Tell it to Jesus later on. Who would have thought? God is sometimes pleased when we keep things in order, right?

[13:11] When we are not self-seeking, when we choose our songs carefully. I think God is pleased when I preach, not for a mythical group of people, but for you.

[13:22] I think God is pleased when our songs are chosen carefully for the people here. Friends, as we regulate our worship by God's word together, I think Christ can be exalted better.

[13:38] I think the spirit can move more freely, ironically, when everything edifies everyone. And this all boils down to this wonderful principle we see at the end of the section.

[13:50] For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord's people. He is a God of peace. I wonder if you've ever meditated on that truth about our Lord before.

[14:06] Weapons down. War over. Is that not what you want in life? Friend, our Lord is a God who offers us peace.

[14:19] Not peace that the world gives, but eternal peace. So church, maybe our worship needs to be a foretaste of that so that people lost without Christ can know that Jesus is their peace.

[14:37] Maybe as we pray, as we announce, as we weave our time together, that is the moment, those are the moments where God can show his peace to a dying world, to dying souls, perhaps even here among us today.

[14:55] Maybe you have some suggestion on how to edify everyone in everything. I want you to be bold and actually tell us. We're a nearly four-year-old church plant congregation.

[15:10] Our worship together is not sealed in stone. We'll always prioritize a few things, of course. We're going to pray. We're going to praise God. We're going to preach and prophesy in a way that edifies everyone, but you can bless us by telling us how we can do that better.

[15:27] Surely, give your feedback. Share your ideas. You can tell us, maybe you've been from a different church background. In our church, we used to do this. Wow. We could get a bit of that.

[15:40] And so, can I encourage you, though, to please contribute yourselves as well? So, not just your feedback, but actually your service. You notice, actually, at the start of this passage, right?

[15:51] When you come together, each one has a hymn, a word of instruction, and so on. Each one. You have something to offer. Your gift could be used here to bless so many people.

[16:06] I don't know. Perhaps your gift isn't even listed here in Paul's letters, but it matters. Maybe your gift is to summarize God's word in a way that children can understand. Maybe your gift is to change slides on cue, and it magnifies the preaching and the prayers and the praises here.

[16:26] And friends, our gathered worship cannot exist without each of your gifts, can it? So bring what you have to offer. Don't be a passenger. Come and ask me, or ask Julianne, or one of our worship leaders, is what could I offer our God and King?

[16:43] How can I help contribute to the God of order and peace among us? So let's bring order and peace to our worship services. And that's our first point, right?

[16:53] Just as relevant for the Corinth church in 50 AD as it is for PCBC English in 23 AD. But of course, the trickier point comes next, doesn't it?

[17:05] In the next few verses. And here, I think Paul says that in order to edify everyone, we don't just need an order for gathered worship. We also need a restriction when weighing prophecies.

[17:18] A restriction when weighing prophecies. I think that's what verses 34 to 38 talk about. So on these next few verses, let me share some of my conversation partners.

[17:29] I have three books. Please come and relieve me of them if you want to dig deeper as we'll just kind of skim across the surface. So really helpful. Kathy Keller, Jesus, Justice and Gender Roles.

[17:42] I also really appreciated Claire Smith. This is God's good design. She talks more than just Corinthians. Talks about everything. And then I threw in a guy for good measure. This is John Carson and he goes through the three chapters we've been going through in a lot of depth in detail.

[18:00] He parses every single Greek word. So please, so each of these books, yeah, if you're interested, you can dig deeper as well. But as Claire Smith wrote herself, she says it this way, I don't know about you but as a new Christian, the first time I read verses 34 to 38, the first time I heard this passage, I couldn't believe my ears.

[18:23] And to be honest, I'm not sure it was only the first time. What was your reaction? When it came on the screen. Do we even dare to hear them again?

[18:34] Is this just cannon fodder for every single reason why Christians are stupid? Let's listen in to these verses again. I'll read them again. It says here, women should remain silent in the churches.

[18:48] They're not allowed to speak but must be in submission as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home. For it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

[19:02] So two questions that come up immediately for many of us. One, do these verses even belong in the Bible? All right, serious question. Actually, there are respected evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ scholars who argue no.

[19:19] Okay? This is the argument perhaps. Just summarizing it. No, these were not part of Paul's original letter but additional thoughts that some later, grumpier writer put in.

[19:31] Thankfully, there is good research out there and some of you know I am doing a PhD so I do the hard digging so you don't have to. And I am not convinced that just marks on the edge of a couple of manuscripts is decisive proof that these words were originally cut out.

[19:47] So I think from what we can see this seems to be part of Paul's original flow of thought. This is Paul's own words through the Holy Spirit.

[19:59] Another question then comes up. Are all women being addressed here? As we have seen in chapter 11, actually here we are translated women and the Greek word is gini which means either woman or wife depending on context.

[20:15] So for the wise among you there is no easy way out. But I actually lean towards personally wives. I think it is more awkward then to go ask their own men or husbands at home so what is going on there.

[20:29] So perhaps it is a husband-wife issue that Paul is thinking about. But then we have to add into the fact that actually this is Corinth. first century and first century Corinth you've got intergenerational families and so you've got maybe grandfathers and other men in the house that could be heads of the house back in those days.

[20:49] So it's a bit tricky. So for now I think this passage probably let's stick with women wives in particular. but we still have to deal with the text don't we?

[21:03] I think if we listen carefully to the text so please keep reading it in front of you I think we can rule a few interpretations out. The first interpretation I think we can rule out is this.

[21:14] I think Paul cannot be saying women should never speak in church. He can't from context. Actually some of our more conservative brothers and sisters perhaps in different churches you've been a part of would hold this for you.

[21:27] So in a worship service like this no female voices and so only the men speak. But actually I think even from the context as we heard in previous weeks there's prophecy.

[21:39] prophecy right? And we heard actually from chapter 11 that women are prophesying they're praying it's a gender inclusive gift. The Bible says let everything that is breath praise the Lord.

[21:51] I think that includes men and women even publicly. So I personally think we're on safe ground to welcome both his and her voices in our worship services. We've not tripped over here.

[22:04] Let's also rule out this interpretation women should never learn or be disciples. because that's clearly not what the Bible teaches. Right? It's clearly not what the Lord Jesus did when he welcomed disciples men and women to follow him.

[22:22] Right? Women like Mary and Martha sitting at his feet learning the way of the master. And I personally think it can't be saying women should never teach.

[22:34] So actually the word teach isn't even used here. I think that's a different category for me. We see other passages Titus 2 older women teaching the younger. We see in non-worship contexts women like Priscilla and Aquila coming alongside a smart preacher like Apollos and saying hey you got something wrong mate.

[22:55] Let me help you out. Here are some things I think these verses could be saying. One possibility Paul could be addressing some kind of interrupting behavior that was happening in the Corinthian church.

[23:12] Some of you who reads mission biographies here? Or biographies of missionaries? Yep. One person Eden. Yeah it must be from my family. Come on. Anyone? They're so good.

[23:24] Okay. I loved one of them. This was Gladys Aylward's biography. Okay. She was a missionary who went to inland China. No mission agency would take her and so she just said I'm just going to go myself.

[23:35] You know stuff for you old white men trying to tell me where not to go. I'm just going to go. Thank you Lord because actually she managed to start an orphanage really had an important ministry to stop foot binding which is a terrible practice in inland China.

[23:51] For a time when the women started coming to Christ she reports this in her biography they got so excited about worshiping together they couldn't stop talking. They couldn't stop talking during the service they just started talking and interjecting throughout and thus demonstrating the wisdom she said of 1 Corinthians 14.33-35.

[24:13] So that's one possibility. There's a bit of disruptive behavior going on. Kind of like how I know some of us we can't keep our phones in our pockets and we're just texting through the service right? Interrupting interrupting interrupting.

[24:25] Maybe something like that just in a much older form. I think the hardest point though that makes me not fully convinced is what do you then make of verse 34?

[24:36] Right? Because Paul's reason is that they must be in submission as the law says. Hang on. As the law says. That doesn't seem to be quite an argument just about interrupting people.

[24:49] A second possibility and so please weigh this up for yourselves with the scriptures. Paul could be addressing some specific group of women in Corinth at the time.

[25:00] Alright? So remember the context in Corinth they were former pagans. They used to hang out at the temple of Artemis. Alright? And maybe they were bringing in wrong worship ideas from that temple.

[25:12] It sounds good. Alright? Maybe it explains all the issues. These are just hey stop it you know you ex-Artemis worshippers. Alright? But to prove this actually you really need to understand to know the culture and reach into facts and I think assumptions that not all of us had.

[25:31] Right? And so for me I'm personally finding it harder to be convinced that it was just this specific situation. Well what's going on there?

[25:43] This is my take and please see if it lines up with the scriptures in front of you. I think Paul verse 37 he's writing an instruction from the Lord. and he says I have no objections to women praying and prophesying in a gender appropriate way.

[25:59] We've covered that in chapter 11. Alright? Do it in an honourable way. However I personally think what Paul's saying here is that women are to remain quiet while the others verse 29 alright are weighing carefully prophecies that are being shared.

[26:18] You see I'm just reading it from the context that's just before. Alright? So imagine the scene right? There's a group of people they're sharing prophecies and we need to check with the truths of scripture okay?

[26:31] What's true and what's not? I think it's in this context right? When there's testing and weighing for the good of the whole church going on that wives and daughters are asked to hold fire on their opinions.

[26:44] If they do want to learn about these evaluations they can go home and talk about it in that context. By submitting in this way it takes strength to do that remember sisters in Christ we help maintain order and peace during our worship services and we honor and we reflect the shape of God's good design all the way back in the first book of the law right?

[27:12] Genesis chapter 2 God made man and woman in his own image he made man and then a woman as a helper a support by his side so whatever prophecy looked like for them and what it looks like for us today it's not always a straight line remember when we weigh and examine these what I personally think is that what Paul is saying is that how we do it should reflect not just how our culture would do it but how we were made and designed male and female and I get it perhaps among the sisters here perhaps you're now thinking if this is what Paul means surely it's past as used by date you know we have female prime ministers and police officers and politicians but I'm not sure I wish we could say it but I'm not sure we can just say that it's in the use expired category because

[28:13] Paul didn't give cultural reasons for these commands right he gave law reasons transcultural reasons creation reasons but now the harder question is look this is not Corinth this is PCBC English what on earth are we meant to do with these verses here for us how do we apply these words right and my hunch is that we're not going to be able to draw direct line applications to our church services anytime soon right we don't have an open mic time where people just share their thoughts freely what we might call prophecy that we could weigh and test it's kind of like the offside rule who watches football or soccer someone yep okay who can explain the offside rule this is a very common test kind of okay go Isaac maybe you need a woman to explain that one to you that was pretty look

[29:15] I can try and explain it you can try and explain it look but the point is you only need the offside rule when you're actually trying to score a goal right and near there so if your team's really bad like Switzerland right at Eden Park you don't need to worry about the offside rule okay right because they never scored a goal okay you only need it if you're in a certain context and so maybe this restriction is kind of like the offside rule in a sense right it's only if we ever did something very similar that we would have to try and weigh things up in a honorable way like this and yet I think the broader principle of order and worship is just as relevant right and the broader principles of men and women partnering together and honoring one another in their own distinct ways I think is important too perhaps even outside of the church service maybe in other contexts church meetings small groups maybe you and I have observed that time to time it is possible for wives and daughters to maybe question or challenge in ways that maybe just makes you feel a bit embarrassed for the relationship that they're in maybe it lacks a bit of humility but on the flip side that is not and I need to be strong here that is not a free pass for men to be jerks either right because I myself have been rightly rebuked when I have spoken in ways that are out of turn that have not loved our sisters but I do think ladies I think these passages do mean that in some way when we gather we ought to speak and relate in ways that honor our husbands and brothers in the same way that we honor our husband in Jesus Christ and yes I get it this is not a

[31:07] Barbie land that we live in perhaps outside even this space you and I will be most likely ridiculed made fun of criticized for wanting to uphold in some way our equality in Christ and yet our distinctiveness as men and women in the gospel and look if there's evidence of just sinful sexism okay abuse if there's evidence of stuff like this here in Christian organizations and spaces you're a part of brothers we need to call it out we need to say that it's wrong do you really want to sit back and just surf away while our sisters and daughters are being torn apart that is not loving and look if one day for example false prophets come among us they look nice and friendly

[32:08] I want to join a church I want to make some new friends but they start to draw maybe our sisters away into some kind of false teaching brothers are we going to stand back and just let them be torn apart like wolves as Paul himself says guys be watchful stand firm in the faith act like men and men the only way to act like men in the gospel is if you stop looking to misguided men for your sanctification for your discipleship stop turning to men like Andrew Tate Chenille Lau for your gender cues they are mistaken the only one man that matters is Jesus Christ he is the ultimate God ultimate man take your cues from his gentle and lowly heart no one else not your pastor not your group leader not Thor not any fantasy as we sum up in Christ we want to be God's gathered people we worship together not in a fantasy world right we worship together as broken people don't we and so in this context in Christ we want to reflect order when we gather together and yes that includes restricting some contributions so that we can better reflect

[33:45] God's good desire in Christ we are outposts not of some fictional universe but of God's glorious kingdom and this is why in closing verse 39 to 40 Paul says therefore brothers and sisters be eager to prophesy don't forbid speaking in tongues but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way my last use of pink and orange is deliberate in the original language the word decently it's quite beautiful actually it's kind of like well dressed like a bride for her wedding day and the word orderly in order is sometimes used to describe a rank of soldiers or priests ready for service in other words friends our church when it's supernatural our worship when it's supernatural is going to be complimentary free it's going to be order and beauty it's going to strengthen our sisters and honour our brothers and so in this way be zealous for gifts that build up everyone like prophecy don't forbid tongues right feel free to use your heart languages but be sensitive and strong let's translate things let's weigh things up fairly and honourably let's be a church that is both gentle and bold feminine and masculine truthful and loving firm and faithful in Christ we can be a church like that friends and I want to suggest two ways perhaps that I pray

[35:25] I hope our church will become order and beauty in Christ firstly my prayer is that we become much more gracious with each other on the topic of spiritual gifts if you are more of a gifts have expired kind of person please I want to encourage you treat your more caro brothers and sisters with honour and if you are more charismatic if you like more sway if you pray in a way that is more different to the people who just sit in their seats look I want to encourage you you don't have to despise your less extroverted brothers and sisters they're not second rate citizens of heaven either remember right those guys whoever your opponents are whoever your other team are they're on the same team they love Jesus like you do those people who you argue about write angry letters about perhaps they are parts of the body you and

[36:35] I need desperately to grow God's kingdom did you know Pentecostal churches are the only growing denomination in most countries now and did you know that actually more conservative churches are the ones holding the line against sexual idolatry that is being pushed to many countries now don't other the other don't gossip about them actually gossip really is the evil twin of prophecy don't do it don't misrepresent each other learn from each other sit down and pray together ask them what they believe and why let love guide you closer together in one spirit we need that here at PCVC so please let's be gracious with each other especially on topics like spiritual gifts and finally second thought from me when it comes to men and women my prayer is that we will grow into a church that honors and empowers both for ministry for mission for service

[37:43] God may have designed us differently praise God for that he may give us different opportunities and avenues to serve thank you Lord but both sides are needed to edify everyone I'm so pleased that we have someone like Irene as an intern we've been praying for years that we would be starting to train up people praise God for that I would love one day for our church to be mature enough to see hey we have sisters here who are volunteering hours and hours of their time as treasurers and secretaries and department leaders could we even support them a bit more maybe even pay them is that too sacrilegious imagine friends imagine the impact of really well trained theologically trained seminary trained women gifted prophesying praying encouraging teaching the next generation and imagine that partnership with brothers who are ready to preach

[38:52] Christ till they die does that sound like a make believe world to you maybe but our God is not make believe he has risen from the dead he is building his supernatural church he's given us all supernatural gifts and so can I encourage all of us let us use them to proclaim Jesus as Lord so that our world will taste and see that there is a beauty beyond Barbie and there is a kingdom beyond Ken let's pray father we thank you we thank you for your kingdom come we pray and plead for your will to be done among us here at PCBC would you break our hearts for what breaks yours we want to name some of the sins among us sins of pride arrogance not listening to brothers and sisters among us and we want to ask that you would transform our hearts and lives so that we can reflect the order and beauty that we see most clearly in the gospel we thank you in

[40:18] Jesus name Amen