I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn with me to Titus chapter 2. And we're going to be looking this morning at verses 3, 4, and 5. Titus 2. 3, 4, and 5. It is very common on Mother's Day for pastors to provide a very soft, a very light-hearted, a very encouraging message. And I am... I'm hoping that I don't offend you, but we are in an age where moments of time are very precious. And I only get 45 minutes a week with most of you. Just for the sermon, not for the whole service. But, you know, I preach for about 40-45 minutes a week, and this is about most of that you guys hear me. And I would be remiss not to use this moment to focus on something very serious. There is a disintegration of the family. which is happening in our world, and particularly our nation. And by extension, there's a disintegration of womanhood and motherhood that's happening. And it is imperative now more than ever in the history of our nation that Christian women stand up and exemplify godly virtues. So today I want to offer you a word of encouragement, but hopefully it will come as a challenge to you. A challenge to stem the tide of the disintegration of biblical womanhood. So that being said, let's stand and read the text. It's interesting, this is the same text that our American Heritage troop uses. It's troop 2, 3, 4, 5. The reason for that is it's Titus 2, verses 3, 4, and 5. That's where the number comes from. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine, They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their husbands, that the Word of God may not be reviled. Father in heaven, I thank you for your Word. I thank you for the truth. I thank you for the offense of the Word. For what we see in the offense of the word is our own sinfulness and need to repent. So, Father, if the word today offends us, may we not look to you as the one who needs to change. But, Father, may we look to ourselves as, Lord, we all come into this place today with a need for a closer walk with you. Lord, the believers among us need to draw closer to you in our obedience. And the unbelievers, Lord, need to be called to repentance and faith. And I pray that both will happen during this message. And I pray as always, Lord, that You would keep me from error, that You would glorify Yourself in the preaching of Your truth, and that through the preaching of Your truth, O Lord, Your people would be saved. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. One of the most common objections to the Bible, from both outside and inside the church, is that it is not relevant to the culture in which we live. And if you've ever spent any time evangelizing, if you've ever spent any time talking to unbelievers, that is an inevitable part of the conversation. Well, the Bible just isn't relevant to today. It's just not relevant to me. It's just not relevant to 2015 culture. It's not relevant to modern life or modern America. It's just not relevant. And those who oppose its precepts, say that it was written in an antiquated time and it cannot speak to contemporary issues because they often argue that the adherence to biblical standards put one into stone-age thinking. I don't know if you've ever had that conversation. I sure have. I've been called everything from a Neanderthal to a caveman. And while I don't have the sloping brow, I think, you know, sometimes I may look like one. But one of the most common objections to the Bible's relevancy comes from those who say that it attacks women. The so-called feminist or radical feminist movement claim that the Bible condemns women to a place of servitude, robs them of their rights of equality, and robs them of the ability to be contributing members of society. And though it claims to be focusing on empowering women and expanding rights, it actually does just the opposite. Because while it fights for so-called rights, what it actually does is it disintegrates the concept of womanhood which is presented to us in Scripture. John MacArthur actually said this. This is a quote from one of his sermons. One of the most devastating and debilitating and destructive movements in our day is the feminist movement. It is changing not only the world, but sadly it is changing the church. And as a result, the Word of God is being dishonored. Opponents are having plenty bad to say about us and God, our Savior, is being dishonored and shamed. Radical feminism has brainwashed our culture." End quote. Now, you might say, well that seems a little harsh, a little heavy. But what is it that radical feminism attempts to teach and to propagate? Well, one of the things is that it claims that a woman who seeks a prosperous career outside of the home is to be exalted, and a woman who finds her place as the keeper of the home is to be degradated. I've seen this personally, this isn't something I read in a book, I've seen this personally as my wife being one who lives and makes her job as the keeper of the home is often, we call her the professional domestic engineer, she is often diminished among her peers. Those among her peers who work and make a lot of money or have positions of high authority, those in her family, those among her friends who are in there, will look at her and often degrade what she does, harsh with their language, saying that she has essentially given up her chance at success by relegating herself to the position of wife and mother. Feminism also sees any language of submission in marriage between husband and wife to be tantamount to indentured servitude, and seeks to demonstrate that men are too foolish and too immature to really be the heads of the household. If you don't believe this is true, watch any modern television program. The father is the idiot, the wife is the wise one, and the children outsmart them both regularly. And that is the way television presents the family. The father's an idiot, the mother's a genius, and the children are even smarter than her. Feminism claims that abortion should be legal because of the reproductive rights of women, and that childbearing is really a burden, not a blessing. Just listen to the quote of our Commander-in-Chief. He said that he didn't want his daughters, if they ever made a mistake, to be punished with a baby. Because essentially a baby is a punishment. To understand the philosophy of this movement, it's important to understand the goals of its leadership. And so I spent some time this week just reading, and it was not fun. It was like getting down in the dirt. I spent some time reading feminist literature. The things I do for y'all. It's what radical feminists teach about the family and marriage. Robin Morgan, a key radical feminist member of the American women's movement, said this, quote, we can destroy the inequalities between men and women, or I'm sorry, we can't destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy marriage, end quote. Sheila Cronin, the leader of the organization called NOW, the National Organization of Women, said this, since marriage constitutes slavery for women, stop right there and just think about that. Since marriage constitutes slavery for women, it is clear that the women's movement must concentrate on attacking this institution. Freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage. End quote. Now this is not some, well I'm not going to say she's not a nut, this is not some nut on the fringe, this is one of the leaders of now. Linda Gordon said, the nuclear family must be destroyed. Dr. Mary Jo Bane, who is a professor at Wellesley College, said, in order to raise children with equality, we must take them away from families and communally raise them. Sounds a lot like it takes a village, maybe. Vivian Gornick, University of Illinois said this, being a housewife is an illegitimate profession. It's an illegitimate profession, she says, because the choice to serve and be protected and plan towards being a family maker is a choice that should not be. The heart of radical feminism is to change that, end quote. That that shouldn't be. And of course, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, said, the most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill it. Seeing the attitude about marriage gives us better understanding of the desire to redefine marriage in our culture. You hear that right now. What's the big push? Redefine marriage. Why? Because once it is redefined, it can be reduced. And once it can be reduced, it can be erased. That's the goal. To erase the concept of marriage. And consider how many young people you know in your own life that have no intention of being married. Time Magazine ran an article in 2014 entitled, Why 25% of Millennials, that's the generation coming up, will never get married. That was the title of the article, 25%. The Huffington Post said, sorry, again, I spent some time in the dirt this week. Ten reasons it's totally fine to never get married. This is the quote. Ten reasons it's totally fine. Now, there's one thing I must mention before reading these. If you have been God-gifted to singleness, you do not have a desire for a relationship with another person, a desire for sexual intimacy, a desire for that relationship. And God has given you that gift of singleness. God bless you. That's a blessing from God. Most of us have not been given that gift. And when Paul talks about it, he talks about it as a gift. Most of us have not been given that gift. If you have a desire for that relationship, then you need to seek out that relationship. You don't need to be living with multiple people and doing multiple things. That's the danger. But here's the thing, what it says, ten reasons why it's totally fine to never get married. Number six, getting married can put your friendships at risk. This is a quote from one woman in the article. She says, Ever since I got married, my friends have treated me like I contracted a communicable disease. The dinner invites stopped, the late night phone calls stopped, and when I started hearing of hot rooftop parties in which I had not been invited. Of course, I changed a little too. Without an incentive to manhunt, I was less interested in going to parties and bars. This is the quote. It's getting in the way of my social life. I don't want to get married. Number seven, marriage can lead to the risky habit of relying on one another or another individual for every emotional need. That's a reason not to get married because you don't want to rely on someone else to meet your emotional needs. It's not like we were created for relationships. He said sarcastically in case no one caught it. Number eight, these days a happy marriage requires a serious commitment of time and energy that can be hard to maintain. These days? This is new. Marriage hasn't always taken a lot of responsibility and a lot of time to make it work. Jack, you've been married a long time. Hasn't it always taken? Is it just these days? I don't mean to call you out, but we already know. These days, it takes a lot of energy, really. Number 10 is the best. There's a good alternative to marriage. It's called civil unions and domestic partnerships. That's their reasoning. That what you need to do is just legally contract a relationship, but don't get married. It's foolishness, it's dangerous, but this is the goal. Don't think that what's going on right now in the Supreme Court of our land has only got to do with men and women and women and women. It's got to do with the destruction of an institution. that is as old as man himself. And there is a desire to break down the institution because within the family is where the state has its greatest opponent. So that's what the feminists teach about marriage and family. What do they teach about men? Oh, this was fun. What do they teach about us? Did you know there's such a thing called the feminist dictionary? Spend some time with that. That's fun. The Feminist Dictionary describes male. This is what is beside male in the Feminist Dictionary. Represents a variant of or deviation from the category of female. The first males were mutants. The male sex represents a degeneration and deformity of the female. What's this thinking, though? Evolutionary biology, right? The idea that we all come from a single cell, and that we've evolved, and females are first, not men, as the Bible teaches, and that man is the deviation, the mutation of the female. What is man, according to the dictionary, the feminist dictionary? An obsolete life form. A contradictory baby man. That's what it says. They have something in the dictionary called testosterone poisoning. I want you to hear this. This is interesting. Testosterone poisoning. Until now, this is a quote, until now it has been thought that the level of testosterone in men is normal simply because they have it. But if you consider how abnormal their behavior is, then you're led to the hypothesis that almost all men are suffering from testosterone poisoning." End quote. Marilyn French in the book, The War Against Women, said the media treat male assaults on women like rape, beating, and murder of wives and female lovers or male incest with children as individual aberration, obscuring the fact that all male violence toward women is part of a concerted campaign." What does that say? She's saying all men are essentially predators. And all men violate women. That's what men do. In fact, in her novel, The Women's Room, A character states all men are rapists and that's all they are. So the desire of this movement, and the reason why I say this is so important, the reason why I spent some time with this, is because this has influenced you. You might not think it has, but it has. It has influenced every one of you. Because it has so influenced you that you moderate your lives around these people's ideas rather than the Bible. And we see it all the time. We're afraid to speak the truth. We're afraid to comment about the truth. We're afraid to comment about the differentiation between the roles of men and women in the household, in the world, and the things that God has called us to. We're afraid to do that because we might offend someone. Well, they are not afraid of offending God. And they have and continue to do so. So let's just say what it is. It's ungodly paganism. It's a modern form of Gnosticism, which was an ancient heresy, which was dealt with by the early church, which tried to raise the female pagan goddess up as the one of whom needs to be worshipped. Actually, in Gnosticism, it was knowledge, but it was the female who was the highest form. I remember sharing the gospel with that lady in Kmart and her telling me, well, my goddess would never send anyone to hell. I said, you're right. She wouldn't because she doesn't exist. You're worshiping a false god. I agree with you. Now, having said all that, and I'm not backpedaling in any way, I do want to say this. Not everything that's ever been said in regard to feminism is incorrect. Not everything that's ever been done in regard to women's issues has been incorrect. This is one of those times where we have to be safe in saying that there are some things that are positive. But the vast majority of the movement seeks to undermine God's intention of the family. That's my point for you this morning. We have replaced biblical womanhood with a secularized understanding of trying to not equate the sexes, but to blur all lines of familial responsibility in the world. That's what we've done. They argue for equality. What's actually happening is an erasure of any distinctions. And if you don't think that there's a distinction between men and women, you're not married. There's a distinction between men and women. There are natural differences between men and women. And it's not testosterone poisoning. It was funny. Well, this stuff is out of vogue in modern culture. You say this stuff. I can say this to you because we are in this church and you all know me and we've been talking about the relationship of the family for a long time here. But you say this stuff in the world, you will get trounced. I mean, you will get pounced. People will just step all over you. And some of you may be offended that I'm speaking anything about feminism at all in any way, but keep in mind what my job is. My job is not to tell you what you want to hear. My job is to tell you what the Bible says, and when the culture disagrees with Scripture, we must disagree with the culture. I've had many conversations about the subject of biblical roles of men and women in the church, and many times those conversations have been fruitful, but I have had conversations that were not fruitful. I've been, as I said, called a sexist, a bigot, a Cro-Magnon man, a Neanderthal, anything you can think of. I remember even one particular conversation where a woman, I was talking to her about what the Apostle Paul says about the role of men and women and distinction of leadership in the church, and she says, well, Paul didn't like women. There was a response, Paul just don't like women. Not only is that statement erroneous, it also speaks to the very heart of what that person believed about the Bible. Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired and errant Word of God? If so, those are not the words of Paul, those are the words of God. And thus, if you have a problem with it, your problem isn't with Paul and it ain't with me. Your problem is with your Creator. 2 Timothy 3.16, All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That's what the Scripture is. It's God's Word. Yes, it was given to us through the vehicle of Paul and Peter and the others. But it is given to us from the Holy Spirit of God. And to do life as the Creator of life, intend to do life, is the best way to do life. Let me say that again. To do life as the creator of life, intended life, is the best way to do life. It's a very simple quote, but it's hopefully profound. So having said all that as an introduction, now we can get to the sermon. Let's look at the text. We're in Titus chapter 2. This is one of three books that are called pastoral epistles. And what that means, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, deal specifically with how the church is supposed to function, how leadership in the church is supposed to function, the role of the pastor and leader within the church. and the deacons as well. Titus contains a listing of those requirements in chapter 1, what the elders are supposed to be, the leaders of the church. Then in chapter 2, and this is Paul writing to Titus, Paul begins to talk about what Titus needs to be teaching within the church. He says that he needs to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. That's in verse 1. He says, but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Then he goes on to give a list of the attributes that need to be taught to the various groups in the church. Particularly, he focuses on the behavior of older men and older women, and how those influences will affect the next generation of the church. That is such a hugely important deal, that we need to understand the concept of the multi-generational church. Because here's the problem that I see in the church world today. You have churches of very old people, you have churches of very young people, and there is no bleed over. There is no multi-generational church. You either have the really old church, where the old people gather to congregate, or the very young church, where the young people gather to congregate. They don't look the same, they don't act the same, and there's no interrelation between the two. And even churches, a lot of them have two services. Why is there two services? So we can have an old service for the old people and a young service for the young people. We have the contemporary service for the old young people and the traditional service. Who do you think goes to each? One is designed to reach a certain demographic, the other is designed to reach another demographic, and there's no connection in the church. There's no connection where the older teach the younger, and it's destroying the church. We've got a bunch of immature, 20-year-old, skinny, jeans-wearing pastors who have no one to teach them how to be men. And we have a lot of older men who have no one to teach. And the same thing is for the women. We don't have multi-generational churches and it's killing the church. That's important. I need to take a breath. And that's there. The older generation teaching the younger is part of the model of the biblically functioning church. We ought to hear the coos and the haas and the little kids in here, but we should also see white hair in here. I'm getting a little... It's coming to my face first, I don't know why, but you should see that throughout the church. The multi-generational model is what will keep the church moving forward. And Paul's talking about that here in this passage. Now, we're going to move now to verses 3-5 because that's the focus. And we're going to break down this passage by first recognizing a common thread in this chapter. The common thread is the word Sophron. Sophron is in Greek, in the English, it is translated self-controlled in the ESV. In the NASV, it's translated sensible. So if you have one of those two translations. It appears in verse 2, older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled. You see that word self-controlled there. Again, it's sensible in the NAS. And in verse 12, it comes up again, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and live, how? Self-controlled. And the literal meaning of this is to be of a sound mind. to live with a sound mind, a sound understanding. This is important because it establishes for us the focus of what Titus is to be teaching his people. He's supposed to be teaching the church how to be sound minded. Now, it's particularly important when we look at this passage, because when you see in verse 4, it says that older women are to train the younger women. Look at verse 4. It says, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. That word train is the same root Greek word as the word self-control. So what we're seeing there in the context in verse 4 is that this word train is ultimately that they are to teach them to be self-controlled or sensible. Sophronizo is the word there. It means to make of a sound mind, to discipline, to correct, to teach, to be sober. Quite literally what is being said is that older women ought to put the younger women in their right mind. Set them straight. That's a modern vernacular. In a loving way. Let me correct that. But the idea is that the older women are to bring wisdom into this relationship and pass that wisdom along. to the younger women. The job of the older generation is to come alongside the younger generation of the women, teach them godliness, train them what it means to be a woman of self-control. That's what the older generation is supposed to be doing with the younger generation. Now, I want to kind of speak into your lives, ladies. This doesn't just mean sharing your favorite recipe. Not that there's anything wrong with sharing a recipe. I love most of your food. All of your food. I say all of your food. I love to eat. I'm just saying I haven't eaten something from all of you, I don't think. But most of you that I have eaten from, I've enjoyed it very much. Sharing recipes is not bad. But sharing recipes, more to it than that. It's teaching responsibility to the younger generation. It's teaching how to be a wife, teaching how to be a mother, teaching how to be a friend, teaching how to be a godly witness, teaching how to be an example to others. That is the role of the older women to the younger women in the church. It says, in verse 3, older women, likewise, because it says older men, and by the way, Father's Day, come on back and you'll hear the rest. Because that's what we're going to deal with on Father's Day. We'll just deal with the rest of this to speak to the fathers. But to mothers, he says, older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to much wine. What we see is that women who are to be examples, excuse me, women, the women who is to be the example is first to behave as an example. The word reverent means having an attitude which is becoming of holiness. This would mean that she would avoid common sinful activities such as slander and drunkenness. Such a one would not be considered a godly person. If you knew a person who was a slanderer, would they be an example of godliness to you? No. I mean, the answer is simple, right? If you knew a person that every time you got on the phone with them, they wanted to talk about somebody else, and they wanted to down someone else, and they wanted to speak ill of someone else, if you knew that that person was always doing that, would you ever go to that person for godly wisdom? No! You would not go to that person for godly wisdom. You would not go to that person for counsel. Because you know they have not been trusted with the secrets of others, they cannot be trusted with your secrets. So what does this speak to? Really this is for all of us, but what does it speak to older women? It speaks to how you behave. Because everyone watches, and everyone knows. And if you are a gossip, if you are a slanderer, you are not secret. Because that kind of stuff doesn't stay secret long. And the idea of being addicted to much wine, this goes far beyond just alcoholism. But you could say a person who's addicted to any form of worldliness that would entrap their behavior. So what is the older woman supposed to be first? An example that younger women can look up to so that when they have that need to go to someone, they don't have to look very far. So now you're getting into meddling. Yep. Because this is the real deal. Older women, you are... My wife needs you. The younger women in this church need you to be that example. They need someone to go to. And it falls to you. I can't give my wife everything another woman can give her in every area. I can give her all I can as a husband, but you have something I can't give. You have the wisdom of a wife and a mother that I don't have and will never have. And she needs you to be that example to her. And it goes on to say they are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. I find it interesting that the godly women are to train the next generation to love their husbands and children. Seems like that would be a natural thing. And it is for a while. Most of us, when we get married, we're very giddy. And for the first couple years of marriage, it's really like that exciting time. And it's like year three comes along and things start to set in. And you realize, I'm going to be waking up next to this person forever. And things start to get real. And that's when real love happens. Because people get married out of all kinds of reasons all the time that aren't love. Love is the commitment. that stands next to the hospital bed while that person is dying and you're there every moment with them. Love is the commitment that when that person has that debilitating disease that you're with them every moment and you're there and you're standing next to them and you never walk away. Love is the commitment that when both of you are going hungry you take your last piece of food and you give it to her because she's more precious than you. That's that love that some people never get to experience. And that's the love that the older women are to be teaching the younger women. Love for your husband and love for your children. How do you love your children? What's the number one way that we love our children? Discipline. We don't often think of it that way. But really it is. Discipline is one of the ways that we love our children. We love our children by demonstrating to them that we care about how they behave, and we discipline them in love. I love these people who say, I love my child too much to spank them. No, you love yourself too much to spank them. Because it hurts you to spank your children. It does. It hurts me more than it hurts Hope normally. And don't you think I don't spank her? She's hard-headed. But I do spank her. But it hurts me more than it hurts her. And the person who says, well, I love the person too much to spank them. No, you don't. You love yourself too much to discipline the child. Because you don't want the feeling that is associated with disciplining the child. The older mother, the older woman comes along with a loving rebuke to the younger woman to discipline your child. And the younger women, let me talk to you for a minute. If an older woman comes to you with a loving rebuke, If it is a loving rebuke and not just meddling, because there is opportunity for meddling in this, but if there's an opportunity for a loving rebuke, receive it with the attitude in which it's given. That's hard to do. It's hard to be rebuked. It's hard to be rebuked, but we need it. We all need it. And loving your husbands. I'm going to give you a secret. I'm going to teach you a secret. This is very simple. Do you know how men show, how men receive love? Does anyone know? I don't know what, somebody said something. Respect. You're right. The way that women and men receive love is different. The Bible tells husbands love your wives. Do you know the Bible never says wives love your husbands? Never. But on several points it says wives respect your husbands. Do you know why? Because that is the way a man receives love from his wife. when he knows she appreciates what he does, when she knows that she appreciates everything that he gives to her, when he knows that she knows she is protected, and she respects that protection and that care, that's the way he receives love, and it encourages him, and that's why the Bible says, Husbands, love your wives. Why? Because that's not natural for us. Loving from a man's sake is not as natural as it is from a woman's sake as far as emotional love. So we're commanded to do that which is not natural for us. So what is the woman commanded to do? Respect. Because that's what the man needs. And I say, you sure sound like a caveman. No, I sound like the Apostle Paul. Because if you go to Ephesians 5, that's what he says. Wives, see to it that you respect your husbands. So the older women train the younger women. to love their husbands and children. And then he gives us four categories of other ways that they can demonstrate self-control. One is purity. We see this in the end of verse three. They teach what is good, and so train the young woman to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, submissive to their husbands, that the Word of God may not be reviled." So we see four things. We see purity, working at home, kindness, and submission to husbands. And I could spend a whole sermon on each one of these, but I just want to give a very quick mention. When it talks about purity, it's talking about modesty. chasteness. Purity is a punchline today. Purity is so out of vogue with our modern culture that our eyes absorb so much impurity every day that it's become so common that we don't even recognize it when it happens. turn on the television, you see all kinds of impure things coming into our eyes, and anyone who says anything different, that young ladies should not behave or dress this way, are called prudish, behind the times, and we've replaced any sense of modesty with our Lady Gagas and our Britney Spears, and the people whose careers are based on immodesty, and our little girls, we give them the little shorts with the writings right over their rear end, so that that's what people look at when they walk by, and we put them on five-year-olds! And it's a shame. We don't do that. But the world does. And the older generation needs to be teaching the younger generations about what it means to be pure. Purity and behavior. You say, you sound like such an old, antiquated idea. It's biblical. And it's important. My daughter and I know. She comes out, should I wear this? No. And not because she's an immodest young girl, but sometimes she'll have something on she doesn't even realize. I say, no, that is not what you need to wear in front of young men. Go back and let's do it again. Purity. You can't say enough about it, but we got to move on. Working at home. That one's offensive to a lot of people, because it indicates a priority of responsibility for the woman to be the home. Literally, it means guardians of the household. It's not necessarily forbidding a woman to work outside the home, but it is a reminder of the responsibility of the wife within the home. The domain of the wife is the home. She is the keeper and guardian of the household. Does that mean that husbands don't do dishes? No. But what it does mean is that God has specifically equipped women for the task of nurturing children and maintaining the household economics. God has created us with particular giftings and particular abilities. And so the woman has this nurturing ability, the ability to be at home with the children and to work for their good. We've become so convinced that everybody needs two incomes. We've become so convinced that everybody has to make as much money as possible to pursue the American dream. And what has happened as a result? Our children have been raised by society rather than by the family. You say, well, this is hitting me pretty close to home. I'm not trying to come down on anybody individually. I'm coming down on us all as a group. Whose responsibility is it to raise the children? Mom and dad. But we farm this responsibility out to others. People say that women who decide to be homemakers have given up a chance at success. I say this, God has created you and he's given you the ability to find so much success at home. Don't let the world lie to you and tell you you have to be something else to be successful. Kindness is the third one. You know what the word kindness means here? Beautiful in behavior. Beautiful in behavior. So much of what the world sees as beauty is aesthetic. Outside. What's on the outside. That's where pure beauty and true beauty is. But beauty is not a pretty face. Beauty is not a slim waistline. True beauty is found in godly behavior. And thus kindness means beautiful in behavior. Truly kind people show forth their inner beauty by how they treat others, and we need to teach the young women and young girls of our lives how to seek that type of beauty. That they would not try to win someone to be in their life by their exterior, but they would seek the one who would care about their interior. And finally, submission to husbands. If working at home is offensive, this is the nuclear bomb of offense. Because it says that a wife should be submissive to their husband. Men have a specific role in the home. You know what the role of the husband is? I've taught on this many times. I'll give you the quick rundown. It's the three Ps. Protector, provider, pastor of the home. Protector. Somebody comes to our house to break in, guess what I don't do? Hide behind my wife and say, please protect me. I stand ready to die for my wife. I stand ready to die for my Children because that's my job, not hers. Her job is to grab them and run, and my job is to give her as much time as she can. Protect the home. Provide for the home. A man who does not provide for his home is worse than an unbeliever, so says the Apostle Paul. And protect, provide, and pastor to spiritually lead the home. Men, your wives should not have to drag your rear end out of bed on Sunday morning and get you to church. Now, I've gone a long time. But having said all that, Let me finish with this. With every generation of Christian women, there is a generation beneath you who is in need of you. As we come together on Mother's Day, we come together as a day to celebrate womanhood. We come as a day to celebrate godly womanhood, biblical womanhood. We see in our nation a disintegration of that. The only thing that will stem the tide of this disintegration is if biblical, Christian, godly women will stand up and turn the tide. And it begins with us. We cannot expect the world to act like the church. But the church should certainly not act like the world. We must seek biblical relationships. We must seek godly behavior. And we must seek to stem the tide of the disintegration of biblical womanhood and manhood. And on Father's Day we'll deal more with the role of the man. God has given us the institution of family. He's given us marriage to represent what Christ has done in the cross. Because the cross represents Christ as our husband and we as his bride. So every man in here stands as a representative of Christ and every woman stands as a representative of the church. Christ gave himself in love for the church, and the church is to be submissive to the Lord, her Christ. So that's the example, and that's the picture that we have in marriage. And how, even in marriage, God gives us a picture of His blessed gospel. So as we close today, let us consider that blessed picture. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I thank you for your Word. I thank you for the picture that marriage gives us of the relationship between Christ and His Church. I pray, O Lord, that we would all have a spirit of repentance this morning. If we have a need in our family to change a dynamic, I pray for repentance. I pray for every older woman in this church, that she would seek to be an example of godliness and purity to the younger women of this church, that we would see in this church an example of multi-generational faith, where the older in the faith take the younger under their wing, love them, care for them, lift them up and guide them and direct them. Not as so to be lording over them, but so as to speak wisdom and love into their lives. And I pray, O Lord, as we look forward to the week to come, that you would, even now, begin to change our hearts towards one another, that we might be excited about ministering to one another, as you have called us to do, older to younger. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let's stand together, and we're going to sing. If you have a need for prayer, I encourage you to come.