Men are From Where?

Ok, so you've heard it all before, right?  Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars.  And then comes an explanation about differences.  Some of them you might even agree with from time to time.  Interesting how we like to put people, or groups of people, into boxes and categories.  But however you think the labels apply, sometimes the issues that are raised are worth taking a look at, whether you think it applies to your gender in general, or to you in particular.  Since this is a day when many of the women in our congregation are away at a women's retreat, many of the comments today are spoken to men, but the issues clearly apply across gender lines.

One of the great fears that are often ascribed to men, is the fear of not being enough, not being adequate, not measuring up to what it means to be "a man."   There are a couple of issues this raises of course.  One has to do with whether or not we are focused on grace or performance, and all that that implies.  And this is significant and worth exploring.  In parallel to that is the issue of what the "standard" is that we wonder if we are "measuring up" to.  What does it mean to be "a mature man?"  (Or for that matter a mature woman?)  Even when we may have worked out the issue of grace, we may still struggle with reflecting that grace to others if we are not focused on the right picture.

Today Pastor Jon invites us to look at what the standard is . . . the words that actually define what a mature Christian person actually does look like (male or female).  That standard is found in 1 Corinthians 13.  To see how that might apply, take a few moments with the passage, and insert your name in the place of love.  This is the kind of life, the manhood or womanhood that God invites us to mature toward. 

If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library here.  If you prefer, you can also access our livestream version of the entire service here.