God's Design for Manhood and Womanhood

Reference

Gen. 1:27

Rules of engagement:

1. Honor the Lord (Jn. 13:35; Col. 4:6)

2. Commit to learning together (listen to understand, not respond)

3. Be respectful of one another

4. Believe the best in one another, not the worst

Sermon Notes

I. Gender is a ____________ Issue

A. Created __________ (Gen. 1:27)

B. __________ and the __________ (Eph. 5:22-25)

II. Embracing Our _____________

A. Men

1. ____________-Focused (Gen. 2:15-17; 1:26-28)

2. ____________ (1 Cor. 16:13-14; Gen. 2:21-22; John 15:13)

3. ____________ (Gen. 2:15-23; 1 Cor. 11:3, 7-10)

4. ________________ (Gen. 3:9; Rom. 5:17)

B. Women

1. __________-Focused (Prov. 14:1; 7:11; 31:27; 1 Tim. 5:14; Tit. 2:3-5)

2. ________________ (Prov. 12:4; 14:1; 31:2-3, 10-12)

3. __________-Giving (Gen. 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:14-15)

4. ____________ (SS. 1:15; 2:10; 4:7; 1 Pet. 3:1-4)

Going Deeper

Proverbs 20:29 says that the glory of young men is their strength and the glory of old men is their gray hair. What does this verse tell us about masculinity?
How does our current culture feel about strong, competent, authoritative men? Why do you think that is? How have men failed to live up to their God-given role? How can Christian men embrace their masculinity in a way that is not “toxic”?
How can men who are physically limited demonstrate masculinity? In what ways was the Apostle Paul “strong”? How did he encourage Timothy to be “strong”? (see Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Timothy 2)
In 1 Corinthians 11:7, the Apostle Paul says that man is the image and glory of God and woman is the glory of man. What do you think he means by that? In what ways are women the “glory of the glories”?
How is beauty “compelling”? How is this different than physical attractiveness? How do the two overlap?
In Eve in Exile, Rebekah Merkle says, “We hear submission and we assume it must mean inferiority, but I think that’s to miss the whole Gospel logic, which is an equal willingly submitting to an equal is glorious.” What does she mean by “Gospel logic”? What divine example do we have of an equal submitting to an equal? How is this glorious? (see Philippians 2:5-11)
If women are designed to be life-givers, how can women who have no children of their own be life-givers within the church? What clues might Paul have for us in Titus 2:3-5?
Some people are born with abnormalities within their chromosomes, genitals, hormones, and/or other sex-defining features – a condition known as “intersex”. Does the existence of such individuals suggest that gender is not binary? How do we reconcile their existence with God’s Word that says humans were created “male and female”? How do we as the church love such individuals well?

Recommended Reading for Further Study: