Celebrating Women's Inherent Value and Spiritual Family

Devotional

Sermon Summary

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

And please don't miss this. In the verses that follow shortly after verse 20, Scripture helps us to clearly see that Eve, as woman, is presented wholly as Adam's partner and counterpart. Nothing is yet being said of her as...child bearer, because Scripture wants us to know that she is first and foremost valued for herself alone, because she is a creation of God, made in the image of God. [00:04:21]

In fact, before she's even known as Eve, the wife to Adam, or the mom to Cain and Abel, or even the worker who was there to be there with Adam, working and existing in creation, Scripture highlights the fact that her value is because she is a creation, a beautiful, created, precious daughter of God made in His own image. [00:04:50]

And so for all of the women, all of the moms, all of the sisters in Christ today, please hear this and know that you have inherent value because you are God's creation. Amen? That's what matters most, is that you are God's precious daughter. You belong to Jesus. [00:05:13]

We live in a sinful, broken world, where Satan and other competing voices, and even sometimes even our own negative self -talk tries to convince us otherwise that we are what we do. We are who we are married to. We are who our children are, which isn't true. [00:05:45]

God from the very get -go is trying to help all of us see, especially women, the crowning point of His creation, to know that you have value. You are loved. You have worth because you are God's child. It's not about how many child or children you may or may not have, but rather it's whose child you are that matters. [00:06:01]

Family roles matter. Being part of a family matters because we all have a role and a part to play. In fact, there's some pretty pivotal moments that happen all throughout Scripture where the family dynamic is shifting and changing. [00:07:06]

Mary is not speaking. She's not trying to fix things. She's simply just standing there. She realizes her imperfections. She knows that she's not perfect. She's sinful, just like every single one of us. But even in her depletion, in that moment. I can't imagine what it would be like to see your child, who you raised, who you love, who you bore, hanging there on the cross. Mary still had faith. [00:07:51]

She knew that her son, her physical son, was also the fully son of God, and that she had faith in Him. And she clung to the promise, and knew that she was a beautiful daughter of God, and knew this truth. And in the midst of her pain, she's clinging to hope. [00:08:15]

But through this simple act, Jesus is doing more than just arranging for Mary's future care. He's creating a new to fine at all, and that's why he can choose the 시, certainly can have to come unless he's drinking some Rozelle about to do one. And if you're her here to do a lot of the way at the end of the mat. Samekind of family. Not a blood family as we think of our blood relatives, but through his words he's creating a new spiritual family. [00:09:07]

He is literally binding Mary to John in the spiritual sense, and John to Mary as brothers and sisters now through himself, through what Jesus is about to accomplish on the cross. This is amazing because God is creating and reconciling back to himself his family, his creation through the atoning death and resurrection of his beloved son Jesus Christ. [00:09:24]

You see, this is how our God works. He creates family in the most unlikely places, through the most unlikely series and events. He does it through baptism. He does it through the church when he shares the word of God, when the word goes out, when our faith is shared amongst one another, and he does it ultimately through the cross and what Jesus did and accomplished for us. [00:09:49]

And because of Jesus today, all women, all of us, but especially all women, we all have a vital role to play in the life and the body of Christ. And we see Paul picking up on this all throughout the New Testament because Paul is...constantly championing and highlighting and pointing to how important family is and how God is working through relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ as he writes so many letters to the early church and to early believers. [00:10:10]

Timothy, I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and now in your mother Eunice. Now I'm sure it dwells in you as well. Notice here what Paul is celebrating today. He's not celebrating the resume of Lois. He's not highlighting how amazing Eunice's parenting techniques were, but in faith he's helping us to see their sincere living dwelling faith in Christ that they were passing along. [00:10:43]

This is amazing because not only did Lois and Eunice understand that they had ultimate worth and value because they belonged to God as his precious redeemed daughters, but they knew the role that they got to play in the life of Timothy and in all those around him as they were able to pass their faith on to the next generation. [00:11:25]

Our role as God's creatures, as those He has redeemed back to Him, is to pass our faith along to the next generation. This is amazing. What a privilege, what an honor, what a blessing that we get to share Jesus, what He has done for us. We get to share it. We get to pay it forward to those around us. [00:11:46]

But what's incredible is that even before Paul had a chance to tell Timothy himself, his mother and grandmother were already doing the work and laying that foundation, they were, in a way, preaching to Timothy. They were passing the faith on. But they weren't doing it with robes, as we sometimes see, or they weren't doing it from a pulpit. No. Lois and Eunice, they were doing it with lullabies. [00:12:17]

They were passing faith on through memorizing scripture, sharing the stories of who this man Jesus is and was. They were doing it in the way that they corrected and cared for and guided little Timothy as he grew up into a boy and a young man. That is how they passed the faith along. This is the hidden beauty of vocation. [00:12:42]

Mother or not, if you are in the body of Christ, if you are part of the church, the family of God, you are all secondary faith influencers, not only to your children, but to those around you. In fact, what's really cool is the early church, the orthodox early, early, early church championed this idea and often spoke of mother church when referring to the body of Christ. [00:13:07]

Because they knew how important it was for everybody to grasp that biological children or not, we're all called to a spiritual parenthood of sorts. We all have a role to play in each other's lives. We see this in how Lois and Eunice lived out their faith, lived out their life for the sake of Timothy and those around them. [00:13:30]

And what's incredible about Scripture, Scripture? when it comes to specifically Lois and Eunice who we're looking at closely today, is that if you go into scripture and look, there's no miracles attached to what Lois and Eunice were doing in their lives. You know, they didn't have any spectacular visions, epiphanies, or prophecies from God that they gave to everybody else around them. No, Lois and Eunice, they did the grunt work, the ordinary, faithful, everyday work of being there. [00:13:51]

And that's what shaped Timothy as a future pastor, an evangelist, one who shared Christ. And that ripple effect carried on and on and on because this is how God works. He hides his strength in weakness. His glory, perhaps, is hidden in the diaper changing and the dishwashing that takes place. [00:14:20]

God hides himself through those ordinary mundane things that we maybe think aren't important, but they're actually huge. God uses...your simple acts of love and grace and kindness to be a blessing, of ultimately pointing to him, to those around you. He hides himself in the everyday activities that we so often think aren't a big deal. [00:14:55]

Mothers, women, sisters in Christ, you may wonder at time if what you are doing matters. You might wonder to yourself if what you're doing is actually enough. You might be led to believe in doubt sometimes, that your children, your students, perhaps even those you're mentoring are even listening to you. You might even be led to think that your mistakes outweigh your faithfulness. [00:15:18]

But know this, God is not measuring success the way the world does, and thank you God for that, that he does not measure success the way the world does. Rather, God is at work in the small things. The Bible stories that we share at the table, at the kitchen table, our faith shared in conversations as we're going to and from work and school and maybe sports afterwards, right? [00:15:47]

Faith is shared through the prayers, whisper it at night when you...You don't know that your kids are praying for them on your knees. You know, and God works in ways, especially when we're offering forgiveness and love and grace, when tempers are flaring, and we are pushed to our bounds and our limits, and like we feel like we're going to break. God is working through all of that. [00:16:09]

The faith of Lois and Eunice didn't save Timothy. Jesus saved Timothy. Amen? But Paul makes a good distinction here. He says, hey, Timothy, from childhood, you've been acquainted with the sacred writings. Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Paul was always helping Timothy and us to see and keep the main thing the main thing. [00:16:29]

Because we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Right? The key is God's word. What Jesus has done for us. The key is not our family traditions that we pass on. That are good. That are worthy of celebrating and champion. It's not maybe our memories that we want to pass on. But rather, it's the truth of God's word which works faith by pointing to Jesus Christ crucified and risen and alive in us. [00:16:51]

You are not defined by your past or your pain. You are not defined by what you have done or failed to do, but rather you are defined by who Jesus says you are. Amen? You are defined by who Jesus says you are. And this happens through your baptism into the actual death and resurrection of Jesus himself. [00:18:52]

You are now his. You've been rescued back. You are the church, the bride of Christ himself. You were worth dying for, women. Do you know that? It's literally what Jesus did as he gave his life for you. You are that beautiful. You are that precious. And because of that, the old is gone. The new has come. [00:19:15]

Keep passing on the faith. Keep going in that amazing work that God has called you to. Keep praying. Keep teaching. Keep mentoring. Keep cheering on. Keep loving. Keep serving, because ultimately that's what God in Christ Jesus did for you. You are following the example of Jesus when you do this. [00:19:51]

Even if your children are grown and gone, you still have a role to play. Even if the people around you, maybe your husband or your children, don't listen to you as well as you want, know that God is using you. He's working through you. Even if you feel like you're a failure, remember this, God is using you. [00:20:08]

His words never return back to him empty, but God's word used and spoken through you will always come back to him and accomplish the purpose that which God determines. Amen? So cling to that. And if you're thinking to yourself, well, I don't have kids right now, don't think that you are without a role. We are the body of Christ. Amen? We all are family. We have a role to play. [00:20:25]

We are all called to help raise up the next generation as we all pass our faith along to those around us. We get to do this in how we cheer each other on, how we nurture one another, how we teach the word, and we walk with one another in humility and grace and forgiveness and kindness. [00:20:48]

I love what Paul said in one of the verses that you heard today. He said, faith that dwelt in Lois and Eunice dwelt. I love that. Not visited, not just showed up on holidays when it was convenient or easy, but it lived there through the struggle, through the trial, lived there. Dwelling is a constant and consistent thing, and we know this because this is what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. [00:21:05]

Jesus took on flesh and made his what among us? His dwelling among us. Jesus came and tabernacled, dwelt consistently, and now through a baptism, the Holy Spirit is that guarantee that lives and resides and dwells in us consistently so that we would know we are his creation, and we have a role to play. That's an amazing thing to think about. [00:21:30]

Ask a question about this sermon