Sermon Notes 2.5.17

1)  Dogs in Heaven?

·  Ephesians 5:27a That he might present it to himself a glorious church,not havingspot

2)  Should women have short hair?

·  1 Corinthians 11:5-6 5But every woman who prays or prophesieswith her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.6For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.

3)  Hard Teaching

·  John 6:53-55 Jesus said to them,“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the fleshof the Son of Manand drink his blood,you have no life in you.54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

·  60-61 On hearing it, many of his disciplessaid, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them,“Does this offend you?

·  6:66 From this time many of his disciplesturned back and no longer followed him.

Other hard teachings

·  Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered,“If you want to be perfect,go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,and you will have treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me.”

·  Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

·  Matthew 8:21-22 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him,“Follow me,and let the dead bury their own dead.”

·  Luke Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves andtakeuptheircrossdaily and follow me.

·  1 Peter 1:16 foritis written: “Beholy, becauseIamholy.”

·  1 Timothy 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

·  Ephesians 6:5-6 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respectand fear, and with sincerity of heart,just as you would obey Christ.6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ,doing the will of God from your heart.

The Bait of Satan Offense = Gk. skandalon = bait stick

·  Mt. 24:10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

·  Luke 17:1 Jesus Warns of Offenses - Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

·  2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.25Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil,who has taken them captive to do his will.

Some answers

·  Romans 16:1-2 I commendto you our sister Phoebe, a deaconof the church in Cenchreae.2I ask you to receive her in the Lordin a way worthy of his peopleand to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

·  Deacon = Gk. Diakonos

·  Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is theremaleandfemale, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

·  Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said,“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

·  Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

·  Philippians 3:9 and be found in him,nothaving arighteousnessof my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—therighteousnessthat comes from God on the basis of faith

women in ancient Rome were valued mainly as wives and mothers. Although some were allowed more freedom than others, there was always a limit, even for the daughter of an emperor.
Not much information exists about Roman women in the first century. Women were not allowed to be active in politics, so nobody wrote about them. Neither were they taught how to write, so they could not tell their own stories.
Legal rights
We do know a little, however. Unlike society in ancient Egypt, Rome did not regard women as equal to men before the law. They received only a basic education, if any at all, and were subject to the authority of a man. Traditionally, this was their father before marriage. At that point, authority switched to their husband, who also had the legal rights over their children.
However, by the first century AD women had much more freedom to manage their own business and financial affairs. Unless she had married "in manu" (in her husband’s control, which conferred the bride and all her property onto the groom and his family) a woman could own, inherit and dispose of property.
Traditionally, these women, who had married "sine manu" (meaning she was without her husband’s control but still under the control of her pater familias), had been obliged to keep a guardian, or ´tutela,´ until they died. By the time ofAugustus, however, women with three children (and freedwomen with four) became legally independent, a status known as "sui iuris."
A woman’s work
In reality, the degree of freedom a woman enjoyed depended largely on her wealth and social status. A few women ran their own businesses – one woman was a lamp-maker – or had careers as midwives, hairdressers or doctors, but these were rare.
On the other hand, femaleslaveswere common and filled a huge variety of roles, from ladies’ maids to farm workers, and evengladiators.
Wealthy widows, subject to no man’s authority, were independent. Other wealthy women chose to become priestesses, of which the most important were the Vestal Virgins.
Influence, not power
However wealthy they were, because they could not vote or stand for office, women had no formal role in public life. In reality, wives or close relatives of prominent men could have political influence behind the scenes and exert real, albeit informal, power.
In public, though, women were expected to play their traditional role in the household. They were responsible for spinning and weaving yarn and making clothes. These were usually made from wool or linen, although wealthy women (whose servants made their clothes) often dressed in expensive, imported fabrics, like Chinese silk or Indian cotton.
Women were expected to be the dignified wife and the good mother and, while these rules could be bent, they couldn’t be broken.