Husbands, Wives, Hats, and Long Hair
Memory Verse: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: You should feel the age old struggle of gender roles and then sit with the teachings of God's word in hopes of finding the blessings of true life.
Galatians 5:25
Sermon Sentence: You should feel the age old struggle of gender roles and then sit with the teachings of God's word in hopes of finding the blessings of true life.
Day 1
Read 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Is this not the weirdest passage to try and tackle in 2026 in America? But we have claimed that we believe the whole Bible and that all of its instructions are good and profitable for us. So if that is what we claim, then we should also accept the challenge to sit with a passage like this and attempt to learn from it. For doing that work, the context of this passage is vital. Again, it is my understanding that Paul is attempting to discuss cultural issues through the lens of Biblical understanding. If you read this and try to come up with Paul’s adamant declaration of what women and men should do with their heads in the church, you will struggle. How do we know that Paul is not giving a formula and that other places in the Bible seem to be way more prescriptive? I look at verse 16 and see the freedom given. Paul’s work here is to take the cultural norm (the idea that women wore head coverings in culture) and the fact that the scriptures they followed did not really address the daily practice, and answer a question that was asked of him and show how he arrived at that conclusion while still using the scriptures that seem silent about the specific issue.
Therefore, what is the application for us? It is in the highlight that the cultural norm does have an impact on how we approach life as a follower of Jesus. Culture does not dictate how we live, but it certainly does have a considerate impact. The balance of scripture and cultural behavior is worth considering in light of how Paul works through this issue. I kind of see it like this: Paul is saying that there is a cultural understanding that comes with head coverings for women and certainly there is nothing in the scriptures about that specifically. But here is what the scriptures do say about being male and female. So does the Bible demand that women cover their heads in Paul’s day? No. But it does give a significant consideration for walking through it. If you want to be odd and be that woman (in Paul’s day) that just goes around without a head cover on, go ahead, you have the freedom. But understand that you are going to be odd and it is not because everyone else is odd! The application for our time is way different. You would be odd as a woman coming to church with your head covered in our context. Once again, does that mean wrong? Nope! But certainly odd.
What are the benefits for working out this passage and its meaning?
If you were to summarize what Paul is saying here, how would you do that?
Is there an issue that you think fits the same sort of consideration for our day and time?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Is this not the weirdest passage to try and tackle in 2026 in America? But we have claimed that we believe the whole Bible and that all of its instructions are good and profitable for us. So if that is what we claim, then we should also accept the challenge to sit with a passage like this and attempt to learn from it. For doing that work, the context of this passage is vital. Again, it is my understanding that Paul is attempting to discuss cultural issues through the lens of Biblical understanding. If you read this and try to come up with Paul’s adamant declaration of what women and men should do with their heads in the church, you will struggle. How do we know that Paul is not giving a formula and that other places in the Bible seem to be way more prescriptive? I look at verse 16 and see the freedom given. Paul’s work here is to take the cultural norm (the idea that women wore head coverings in culture) and the fact that the scriptures they followed did not really address the daily practice, and answer a question that was asked of him and show how he arrived at that conclusion while still using the scriptures that seem silent about the specific issue.
Therefore, what is the application for us? It is in the highlight that the cultural norm does have an impact on how we approach life as a follower of Jesus. Culture does not dictate how we live, but it certainly does have a considerate impact. The balance of scripture and cultural behavior is worth considering in light of how Paul works through this issue. I kind of see it like this: Paul is saying that there is a cultural understanding that comes with head coverings for women and certainly there is nothing in the scriptures about that specifically. But here is what the scriptures do say about being male and female. So does the Bible demand that women cover their heads in Paul’s day? No. But it does give a significant consideration for walking through it. If you want to be odd and be that woman (in Paul’s day) that just goes around without a head cover on, go ahead, you have the freedom. But understand that you are going to be odd and it is not because everyone else is odd! The application for our time is way different. You would be odd as a woman coming to church with your head covered in our context. Once again, does that mean wrong? Nope! But certainly odd.
What are the benefits for working out this passage and its meaning?
If you were to summarize what Paul is saying here, how would you do that?
Is there an issue that you think fits the same sort of consideration for our day and time?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Ephesians 5:22-33
Oftentimes, I point back to these passages. For me personally, it is one of my most favorite places to understand marriage and the roles in marriage. This passage is the reason that I think marriage is the absolute best place for discipleship to happen. The ground is the most fertile because of the proximity of the lives that are living together and the amount that is seen from each person. I don’t see that level of revelation in people that I just go to church with, or even that I just go to work with. Marriage is the most exposing and transparent of the relationships we experience. The second part to that is something that I have often repeated, marriage is the only thing that is given the comparison of what Jesus did for the Church. It is the only thing that is given the place of an analogy for salvation. It is also the place that life is supposed to multiply from. It does not seem to get any closer to the heart of God than the idea of life and salvation!
Which is why the absolute and overwhelmingly best way for a marriage to work is before God and both people surrendered to God, reading the Bible together and desiring to grow in that relationship with God and each other. This goes back to our point that we have spent so much time on lately that the gospel is the thing that saves us, but it is also the thing that guides and directs how we live. If you are married, you should find yourself constantly returning to these truths. If you are not married, you should find yourself considering that the very thing you are looking for in what a marriage and a good life looks like, are wrapped up in these truths. Don’t aim at being anything less than a godly spouse. Don’t aim at finding anyone less than someone that desires to be a godly spouse.
If you are married, what can you see in this passage that you should consider in your marriage for today?
If you are not married, what do these passages teach you about what you should be looking for in a spouse?
How have you seen the specifics of the gospel story to be applicable to marriage?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Oftentimes, I point back to these passages. For me personally, it is one of my most favorite places to understand marriage and the roles in marriage. This passage is the reason that I think marriage is the absolute best place for discipleship to happen. The ground is the most fertile because of the proximity of the lives that are living together and the amount that is seen from each person. I don’t see that level of revelation in people that I just go to church with, or even that I just go to work with. Marriage is the most exposing and transparent of the relationships we experience. The second part to that is something that I have often repeated, marriage is the only thing that is given the comparison of what Jesus did for the Church. It is the only thing that is given the place of an analogy for salvation. It is also the place that life is supposed to multiply from. It does not seem to get any closer to the heart of God than the idea of life and salvation!
Which is why the absolute and overwhelmingly best way for a marriage to work is before God and both people surrendered to God, reading the Bible together and desiring to grow in that relationship with God and each other. This goes back to our point that we have spent so much time on lately that the gospel is the thing that saves us, but it is also the thing that guides and directs how we live. If you are married, you should find yourself constantly returning to these truths. If you are not married, you should find yourself considering that the very thing you are looking for in what a marriage and a good life looks like, are wrapped up in these truths. Don’t aim at being anything less than a godly spouse. Don’t aim at finding anyone less than someone that desires to be a godly spouse.
If you are married, what can you see in this passage that you should consider in your marriage for today?
If you are not married, what do these passages teach you about what you should be looking for in a spouse?
How have you seen the specifics of the gospel story to be applicable to marriage?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read Genesis 2
The presentation of the story of humanity being created, could be alluded to and then moved on from. In other words, as Moses was retelling the age old story of how humans came to be, he could say and then there were humans. That would fulfill the need to explain how we got here, if that was the most important thing to consider. That is not what Genesis 2 says. It says way more than that. It goes into all of these pictures and teachings of things about gender and marriage and family and so on. In the grand scheme of things, it may seem not that important, but I think that recent cultural discussions and the legal waters that our modern time has been wading through, shows us the importance of these seemingly minor details. Paul illustrated to us in 1 Corinthians 11 that ours was not the only culture that wrestled with these things. I think it is even fair to say that all cultures and all times have spent a version of time wrestling through the truths of gender, marriage, and family.
These are also some of the passages that seem to be called up the most in the Bible. Paul does it in multiple letters he wrote to make his points. Jesus discussed it. The argument that these things just don’t matter or that the Bible is silent about them, fails incredibly at the amount of times that you see it in the Bible. The Bible’s point is very clear: There is no way to properly tell the story of humanity without the differences of male and female and the move toward marriage as a design by a God that loves us and desires the best for us.
What are the important parts that seem to get the most attention in the creation of humanity?
Why do you think the culture that we live in tends to fight against this?
What do you think is the best way to approach those that disagree with the teachings of the Bible and those views being pushed in the public realm?
How does this become your prayer today?
The presentation of the story of humanity being created, could be alluded to and then moved on from. In other words, as Moses was retelling the age old story of how humans came to be, he could say and then there were humans. That would fulfill the need to explain how we got here, if that was the most important thing to consider. That is not what Genesis 2 says. It says way more than that. It goes into all of these pictures and teachings of things about gender and marriage and family and so on. In the grand scheme of things, it may seem not that important, but I think that recent cultural discussions and the legal waters that our modern time has been wading through, shows us the importance of these seemingly minor details. Paul illustrated to us in 1 Corinthians 11 that ours was not the only culture that wrestled with these things. I think it is even fair to say that all cultures and all times have spent a version of time wrestling through the truths of gender, marriage, and family.
These are also some of the passages that seem to be called up the most in the Bible. Paul does it in multiple letters he wrote to make his points. Jesus discussed it. The argument that these things just don’t matter or that the Bible is silent about them, fails incredibly at the amount of times that you see it in the Bible. The Bible’s point is very clear: There is no way to properly tell the story of humanity without the differences of male and female and the move toward marriage as a design by a God that loves us and desires the best for us.
What are the important parts that seem to get the most attention in the creation of humanity?
Why do you think the culture that we live in tends to fight against this?
What do you think is the best way to approach those that disagree with the teachings of the Bible and those views being pushed in the public realm?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Matthew 20:20-28
While getting ready for the sermon on Sunday, this teaching of Jesus’ just seemed to be appropriate and fitting. Rarely, if ever, are the ideas that are taught here are given in the context of gender roles, because that alone would be a poor application attempt. That is not what Jesus seems to be discussing. What He is discussing is “leadership.”
When you read that word, an idea popped into your mind. That is what words do, they come loaded with understanding. To read a word that doesn’t have an understanding with it is to not understand. Think about what you imagine when you hear the word “ruler.” It is the one who rules. But to rule, what does that look like or mean? The way that we interpret that leans heavily off of what we have seen, experienced, been taught by. You can hear the contrast in the way that Jesus uses that word here, but in order to soak in what Jesus is saying, you really have to do the work of sitting and unpacking what you were thinking and what you have experienced. The anchor, the real crux that holds it altogether, is that common Bible trick of giving us a source to draw from: Jesus. In this passage, He refers to Himself as the “Son of Man,” calling up the imagery of the passage in Daniel that would be about the Great Cloud Rider that was coming in conquering ideas of complete authority and rule. That is the image that Jesus takes and then turns upside down and applies His actions of service. This would have been so backwards as an application of the famous and expected phrase of “Son of Man.” It would also be so backwards and unexpected as an explanation of what a “ruler” was. Just like it is to us at this moment, it would have seemed backwards. It must mean that as humans, across all times and cultures, the way that we are, that we think we should be, doesn’t really look the way it should.
How does this teach you what the idea of leading, ruling, and serving looks like?
Why do you think that Jesus emphasizes this teaching in this specific moment after the discussion being had by the mother in this story?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
While getting ready for the sermon on Sunday, this teaching of Jesus’ just seemed to be appropriate and fitting. Rarely, if ever, are the ideas that are taught here are given in the context of gender roles, because that alone would be a poor application attempt. That is not what Jesus seems to be discussing. What He is discussing is “leadership.”
When you read that word, an idea popped into your mind. That is what words do, they come loaded with understanding. To read a word that doesn’t have an understanding with it is to not understand. Think about what you imagine when you hear the word “ruler.” It is the one who rules. But to rule, what does that look like or mean? The way that we interpret that leans heavily off of what we have seen, experienced, been taught by. You can hear the contrast in the way that Jesus uses that word here, but in order to soak in what Jesus is saying, you really have to do the work of sitting and unpacking what you were thinking and what you have experienced. The anchor, the real crux that holds it altogether, is that common Bible trick of giving us a source to draw from: Jesus. In this passage, He refers to Himself as the “Son of Man,” calling up the imagery of the passage in Daniel that would be about the Great Cloud Rider that was coming in conquering ideas of complete authority and rule. That is the image that Jesus takes and then turns upside down and applies His actions of service. This would have been so backwards as an application of the famous and expected phrase of “Son of Man.” It would also be so backwards and unexpected as an explanation of what a “ruler” was. Just like it is to us at this moment, it would have seemed backwards. It must mean that as humans, across all times and cultures, the way that we are, that we think we should be, doesn’t really look the way it should.
How does this teach you what the idea of leading, ruling, and serving looks like?
Why do you think that Jesus emphasizes this teaching in this specific moment after the discussion being had by the mother in this story?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read 1 Timothy 2
You may have an opinion about the roles of men and women and what that could and should look like in society. You may even have an opinion about ministry and who can do what and who can’t do another thing. No matter your opinion, this verse is a struggle. That is what I have learned over the years. Everyone is uncomfortable when Paul starts to discuss gender roles and the church. He was, most likely, unmarried at the moment that he said these things. Which surely made it so much more awkward. He was also not technically affiliated with a church, a specific local congregation that he had to sit with and work through the “what ifs” and “how comes.” So he said it. It was recorded here. It has been preserved through the years. And each and every time society shifts or changes, there it is. Just staring us in the face and challenging every single side of the argument.
It is the Bible that we claim is valuable and good for us. Good for correction. Good for encouragement. Good for teaching and forming. So, with that in mind, and without an opinion being given here, sit with this text. Fight the urge to Google it. I am not saying don’t ever look anything up and search for the understanding, I am only saying this time, read it and sit with it. Maybe read it again and again. Find the value in the words that are there. Find the meaning in meditation. Soon, you can go study this, but for now, read it again.
What do you think that Paul is trying to say?
What is the part that you are struggling with?
Why do you think that you are struggling with this part?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
You may have an opinion about the roles of men and women and what that could and should look like in society. You may even have an opinion about ministry and who can do what and who can’t do another thing. No matter your opinion, this verse is a struggle. That is what I have learned over the years. Everyone is uncomfortable when Paul starts to discuss gender roles and the church. He was, most likely, unmarried at the moment that he said these things. Which surely made it so much more awkward. He was also not technically affiliated with a church, a specific local congregation that he had to sit with and work through the “what ifs” and “how comes.” So he said it. It was recorded here. It has been preserved through the years. And each and every time society shifts or changes, there it is. Just staring us in the face and challenging every single side of the argument.
It is the Bible that we claim is valuable and good for us. Good for correction. Good for encouragement. Good for teaching and forming. So, with that in mind, and without an opinion being given here, sit with this text. Fight the urge to Google it. I am not saying don’t ever look anything up and search for the understanding, I am only saying this time, read it and sit with it. Maybe read it again and again. Find the value in the words that are there. Find the meaning in meditation. Soon, you can go study this, but for now, read it again.
What do you think that Paul is trying to say?
What is the part that you are struggling with?
Why do you think that you are struggling with this part?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
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