Its Time To Put Women In Their Place!

ITS TIME TO PUT WOMEN IN THEIR PLACE, ROMANS 16:1-16

JOKE--- Two fellas are fishing in a boat under a bridge. One looks up and sees a funeral procession starting across the bridge. He stands up, takes off his cap, and bows his head.

The procession crosses the bridge and the man puts on his cap, picks up his rod and reel, and continues fishing.

The other guy says, "That was touching. I didn’t know you had it in you."

The first guy responds, "Well, I guess it was the thing to do - after all, I was married to her for 40 years."

INTRO--- When I was growing up we watched family sitcoms like ?Ozzie and Harriet,? ?Leave it to Beaver,? or ?My Three Sons.? When my wife was growing up it was ?The Brady Bunch? and ?The Cosbys.? Back then, Gender roles were pretty clear, and parents were pretty much in charge of the home.

Now when you turn on the Tube there is a new genre of family sitcoms that turn the family on its head. Do you know what the highest rated family show is right now? It is not Ozzie and Harriet, nope! It is Ozzie Osbourne! His show, also starring his wife Sharon and kids Kelly and Jack, is now the most successful show in MTV?s 21-year history. You remember Ozzie, the guy who bit the head off a live bat while drunk on stage. Yup this is the same guy who was the lead singer for the band Black Sabbath in the late 70?s before leaving to make his own records with names like ?Diary of a Madman,? and ?Speak of the Devil.? Isn?t it amazing that with a history like that, he has become a role model for the all-American family?

PRAYER

TRANS--- Let me say that I would not want to face the pressure of being a woman in today?s world. First, the supermodels starve themselves in order to get into their clothes making just about all women feel like the Pillsbury Dough Girl. Next the movie stars with their own professional makeup artists, plastic surgeons, and costume designers make you feel like you have no value unless you look absolutely perfect.

Ladies just let me say at the start, the Bible is full of words of encouragement which show how God values women. The world may put you down, but God lifts you up. The world may expect the impossible, but God comes to you with grace and a heart that accepts you for who you are. You are important to God in many ways. There are 3 things we need to learn to accept and appreciate about a women?s place in God?s plan:

I. WE MUST ACCEPT THAT IN GOD?S PLAN, WOMAN?S PLACE IS IN THE HOME.

A. Now don?t go crazy on me here, it?s not what you think, I certainly don?t mean to say that a woman?s only place is in the home, but, it is her first and best place.

1. You see, God created the home as a place where we are nurtured, loved and encouraged because God is all about relationships.

a. Friends, it is in the home that we learn to live with other people in important ways.

1) We learn to forgive other people when they are wrong.

2) We learn to extend grace when they are difficult.

3) We learn not to set unrealistic expectations on others.

b. In the home, we learn that love is more than a feeling; it is a deep and abiding commitment that overcomes feelings.

2. That is why a woman?s place is in the home, because she is to be not only the giver but also the recipient of these divine gifts expressed through human agents ? namely her family.

ILLUSTRATION---I know that I cannot imagine what I would be like if it were not for my wife helping me to see the importance of responding in different ways. I would be uncouth and unmannered. I would be filing for bankruptcy. I would be wearing dirty clothes and eating fast food off of paper plates. She is what makes my life work, and she is what makes my life enjoyable. She brings a quality into my life that I would not have otherwise. I am a different person because of her. We have been married almost a year and already I appreciate her more. This year I realized I should have listened to her more. You see, Her place is in our home. She works outside the home too, but she is at her best when she is at home. And because she is there, I am at my best at home.

3. Those who believe that only what happens outside the home is important have missed God?s greatest calling.