Men and women, let's work together

Carolyn Custis James, a theologian who has championed scholarship on the word ezer, has some winsome things to say about The Blessed Alliance between men and women. Click here.

Lesson 5: Transparency and Restoration in Community

This week's lie:

“If I admit I’ve done something wrong, people will think I’m not a Christian.” That’s the lie. Don’t believe it!

Here is the truth:

“We need fellowship and accountability in Christian community to stay right with God.”

Have you ever felt like your slip was showing, in a figurative sense? That is, people all around you are aware of something about you that you're not aware of? Sort of like the woman who exits the ladies' room with a piece of toilet paper stuck to her heel, trailing behind her?

In my house, PMS stands for "Petty Menstrual Syndrome." I can get incredibly stressed out right before that time of the month, but I always attribute my angst and short fuse to "too much to do," "too many people who need help," or "the blues." This last month the husband called my bluff. He told me all would be well in about two days. And he was exactly right! On my own, I never realized how much the "monthly curse" affects me emotionally. I needed someone else to help clarify the truth, to give me a new perspective. To help me to know that all would be well.

We all need that! In fact, it might surprise you to know that the Bible was written to be received in community, not just for the individual. God so often speaks to us as His collective body, but we're so tuned in to our individualistic American culture that we're tuned out to the beauty of what He wants to accomplish in us as His church, His bride.

Don't miss this week's lesson--my prayer is that you will walk away extremely relieved that you can a) get real about where you're at and be transparent with other believers and b) walking through life with "folks" or "community" can help protect you and help all of us to experience God's love in ways we never dreamed possible. See you Thursday!

James 5:13-16

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Complimentary, my dear sisters

This week we discovered the power of loving those other female image-bearers of God, the other ezers walking around, mingling with us, working and worshipping with us.

I've felt a little blue this week at times, mostly because it is February (blech) and because I have a whole lot of work to accomplish in the next few weeks and not a lot of breathing space. But I'm telling you, this sharing positive compliments thing works--not just when you receive a compliment, but when you give one.

It happened to me Friday morning when I got on my exercise bike at the YMCA and met a young woman named Christina. One thing led to another, and instead of reading the Family Circle in my hands, I enjoyed a conversation with my new friend. Finally, after sharing some life details--and faith details--I told her about our grand experiment and how we are supposed to go around literally complimenting people. She was a bit taken back when I told her I wanted to compliment her on her resolve to try to get in shape, and that this was her 4th workout in the last few weeks. I even got a chance to encourage her about God's love for her. I talked a bit about forgiveness. And all that was just intertwined with talk about kids and husbands, jobs and health, working out and losing weight.

No big deal. Except it was a big deal to me, because I'm usually quite lonely when I'm at the Y. It feels like I'm the odd woman out, with no friends to speak of, and it gets old. Go figure that it was our grand experiment that even prompted me to say hi to Christina in the first place. I tried to offer her a little compliment, and I was the one who walked away feeling blessed.

Funny--and amazing--how setting our minds on Christ and encouraging others does our hearts a world of good. And how about you? What's your story on this week's assignment?

Phillippians 4:8-9, The Message

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

The Experiment!

Thursday evening was such a blessing to me personally. What a joy to spend time with all of you! Let's remember this weeks' experiment. Try and pass out as many compliments and words of encouragement that you possibly can! Also, remember the homework assignments and the journaling. May God lead us on this journey as we help one another to be transformed into the image of God! Let's be ready to report back on Thursday night as we see what God is doing.

A quote on loving your sister

Join us tonight as Pastor Carla teaches on loving your sisters. To get us thinking about it, and the wonder of God's image displayed and reflected through each of his 'ezers, here's a quote from the late author and apologist CS Lewis:

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations . . . You have never talked to a mere mortal . . . Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses."

As promised...

Here are the (correct) answer keys for lessons 1 and 2. Once again, so very sorry for the ridiculous state of the answer key in the book - entirely my fault! But this should get us all on the same page.

Lesson 1: who you are, liberating, God's image, rule, subdue, vice regents, God, others, cast the mold, Eve, life-giver, 'ezer, helper, battle, solitude, community.

Lesson 2: Church, men, women, beautiful relationship, Christ, the Church, world, men, women, very best, noble character, assertive, talents, abilities, respect, love, respecting, servant, servant leader, union, profound mystery, half, half, full, single, married, motherhood, obedience, community, sexual, equal, feminine, choice, circumstance, honest, desires, actively, accountable.

Can't wait to see you all there tomorrow night!

Quote from Carolyn Custis James

Hi ladies: In anticipation of our lesson on The Blessed Alliance between men and women, here's a quote from an author who has taught me multitudes about what it means to be an ezer.

"We've made marriage and motherhood the be-all and end-all, but being a wife and mother isn't God's highest calling," she said. Marriage and motherhood is a divine calling, but to be God's image-bearer is our highest calling."

-Carolyn Custis James, interviewed in The Grand Rapids Press

The Buzz....

Ladies,
It's been fun hearing different ones of you talking about being 'Ezers. God is taking and molding each one of us into the women He intended us to be. These last few days I have found myself thinking more and more over last Thursday's lesson and if we truly believed that we were 'Ezers -- that it would change how we live our lives. The God of all the Universe created women as, as Suzie said, "the crown jewel" of all of creation. You are NOT an afterthought. Isn't that encouraging. Let us live up to the full potential that God has put into each and every one of us.

Remember to be in prayer for Diann. She will be having prayer on Wednesday.

See you Thursday.

Carla

We came, we saw, we learned to be ezers

What a wonderful first study! Thank you for your participation, and if for any reason you were not able to be there, we welcome you for next week, when we will look at The Blessed Alliance God has created between men and women, whether we are married or single.

Thought you might enjoy these fun shots of your fearless leaders. Blessings!

Be there or be square

Less than 24 hours until our study. Let's just say we're excited. And we've got childcare now, so come one, come all...as long as you're female. (Pastor Chuck said tonight he might want to poke his head in the door to view the sea of estrogen.) Actually, the estrogen part is my commentary.

Did I mention there will be brownies and cookies?

Smile.

time change, meeting details

Wow. About 60 of you are registered, and we're anticipating the powerful first lesson at this Thursday's first study! Please note that the time has been changed to 6:30pm-8:30 pm (not 6 pm-8pm as the posters say). We've adjusted the time so you can grab some dinner before coming. Don't worry if you don't yet have a booklet: we'll be printing more in time for Thursday's meeting for a cost of $5.

See you there!

Lie #1: I am an afterthought

Biblestudy lesson one will deal with this insidious lie we sometimes believe. We feel the power of this lie when:

• we are passed over for a promotion at work
• our husband or children don't notice or appreciate all we're doing for them
• we're left out of a gathering of friends
• not invited to participate in a certain ministry
• single and lonely, wishing to be married
• married and lonely, wishing to be single
• our opinions are not respected like of those of others around us
• it seems like Adam was more important to God than Eve

Let me jump in right here and slam the lie while revealing the primary truth to be discovered in lesson one. You are not an afterthought! The truth is:

"You are a daughter of Eve, the crown of creation and an “ezer” – or a strong helper, warrior, and rescuer."

To find out more, be sure to read Genesis 1 and 2 and come to the study with your heart open to explore the liberating power of God's truth.

Two principles you'll get before we're done:

a) I'm fully made in God's image. (Genesis 1:26)

b) I am an ezer, not an afterthought.

"It is not good for man to be alone; I will make an EZER (Hebrew word) suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18)

The word powerful doesn't begin to describe how the truth of this lesson has changed my life, especially in the least few years. We simply can't wait to share it with all of you!

And by the way, what are your reasons for joining this study? Please comment below! We'd love to hear from you.

Welcome to our study!

For about eight months now, we've been planning, writing, and preparing. Let me paint you the picture: four women in the church conference room, heads together, questions and answer flying around the room like wildfire. We've prayed, we've laughed, we've cried, and we've asked God to help us craft a study that will go to the core of our identity as daughters of the King. To be honest, we're excited!

We were led to identify six common, but debilitating lies we as women believe--then to counter every one of them with powerful truth from God's Word. I don't want to make any empty promises, but I don't see how you can apply the truth of this study and not be challenged to grow closer to Christ and to go deeper in your Christian walk, no matter where you are on the journey.

For those of you are curious, here's a quick preview. You'll enjoy a fun introductory vignette from Diann to lead into our content for the evening. Pastor Carla and Suzanne will present teaching that gets real on every biblical truth we can claim as God's daughters and how we can defeat the lies we hold on to. To wrap up, Jamie will offer a thought-provoking application that helps us to not just hear the truth, but to creatively put it into practice in the week ahead.

We'll focus on these key areas:

• living our identity as women made in God's image and as ezers (daughters of Eve)
• embracing God's indispensable Blessed Alliance between men and women (whether single or married)
• loving your sisters in Christ
• addressing the lie of Christian perfection
• discovering God's plan for restoration in community
• exploring transformational living that changes the world for Christ

No matter who you are, you're certain to learn something new in this unique study, and to be challenged to live out of the freedom we find in God's Word. We'd like you to:

1. mark your calendar
2. commit to six weeks of lessons
3. sign up in the church lobby and pick up your book for $5
4. bring a friend who could use encouragement on her spiritual journey
5. pray for God's blessing on the study

Let's go deeper together and uncover everything God wants to show us as His precious daughters. And don't forget to follow the blog for updates and stories of God's movement in our midst. See you on February 4!