Fan Into Flame

So glad you're here. And I have a question for you. Are you offended if I call you ladies?

! That is a southern thing for sure. Ladies? Okay. I always wonder about that. The other thing I want to say, we have some lovely Collins in this room.

So if you cannot see me, do me a favor. Pull your chairs out. Go ahead and move them. Actually, for just a minute, stay at your table and then you can relocate. You can turn around. You're going to be doing some things at your table for a few minutes.

But after that, when I call us back together, feel free to relocate to where you can see. Because the worst thing is trying to see a speaker when there's a column in your face.

So I am thrilled that you're here. Thank you for coming and being a part of this event. I was telling my table, I said, this is my jam. This is my jam here.

First of all, I love events and I love working with teams. But probably the thing that, if it is not at the top of my list, it is at the top two of my list, is teaching women.

And so I'm super, super excited to be able to teach you today and to share with you.

So we're going to be looking at Martha and Jesus and the story of discipleship.

And to get us started, I'm going to have you do something around your tables.

The first thing I want you to do is I want you to, as a group, I want you to talk about what is discipleship to you.

And then the second thing that you're going to do is you're going to read Luke 10, 38 through 42 together.

This is the story that Martha is most famous for.

So you're going to read that together. And based on that passage, I'm going to ask you to paint her portrait.

What do you see in her story? Who is she? Draw a picture of who she is.

And then we'll share some of those things.

So go ahead and take a few minutes around your table and do that.

So what is discipleship to you? And then paint a portrait of Martha.

Well, I would absolutely love for a few of you just to share your portrait of Martha.

Let's hear what you came up with.

Whoever wants to be brave.

She loves Jesus and she wants to serve.

She loves Jesus and she wants to serve.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

What else?

What's your portrait of her?

Say it one more time.

She had the gift of hospitality.

She had the gift of hospitality.

So she's just trying to do what she's gifted to do, right?

Sometimes she gets overwhelmed.

Yeah, sometimes she gets overwhelmed.

Now, I'm sure that never happens to any of us in this room.

Amen.

She is bold and she is honest.

Yeah.

She is hurting.

She is hurting.

I think she has a deep sense of responsibility because it's her house.

Yes.

She has a deep sense of responsibility because it's her house.

She was willing to be corrected.

Yeah.

She was willing to be corrected.

At least we think so because we don't really know the rest of the story.

The whole story.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, one of the reasons I wanted to do that, I wanted to see if anybody, maybe at your table,

somebody said this.

Did anybody put down that she was a disciple of Jesus?

No.

No.

Guess what?

That is not uncommon because often we don't think about Martha as a disciple.

We think of her as a servant.

And, you know, if we do that with Martha, guess what?

We're going to do that with ourselves as well.

So we could go home after that right there.

So instead, let me pray for us and then we'll jump into this passage.

Father God, I praise you and I worship you this day.

And I thank you that you brought us together.

It is an honor and it's a privilege to be able to study your word.

We ask, Lord, that you would speak to our hearts and that you would give us a bigger picture of who Martha is

and what it means to actually be a disciple.

We ask that you would pour out your spirit upon this place and that you would be glorified and honored above all else

and we would walk away from here changed, that we would walk away from here different

because we have been with you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

So, like I said, her story is about discipleship, but we often miss the bigger story because we're so focused on that one part of her story.

And in Luke 10, Martha receives this unexpected visit from Jesus and his entourage.

Now, if it were only Jesus who were showing up at Martha's door, this would not have been that big of a deal.

But we know from the scriptures that any time Jesus traveled, he had a group of people with him.

I mean, just think about it.

He had 12 disciples.

There were women who traveled with him.

And we also know from the Gospels that other disciples traveled with him who were not called the 12.

So, can you imagine opening your door and seeing this crowd of people there?

Well, what's interesting, if you notice in the scripture, is that Jesus didn't knock on her door and say,

Martha, can I come stay with you?

Martha said, would you come stay with us?

Come stay with us.

And so, Jesus is going to do exactly what Martha tells us.

So, when he arrives in Bethany, Martha opens her home to him.

And this likely means, because it's her house, that she's the older sibling.

So, she's the older sibling of Lazarus and Mary.

And she strikes us as this take-charge person, right?

I mean, how many of us can identify with her?

Probably a lot, right?

So, she strikes us as this take-charge person, which is typical behavior of a firstborn, right?

That's usually how they think.

So, she kicks into hostess mode, and she begins to prepare this meal for Jesus and his disciples.

And Luke's description of the incident strikes every chord within us as women.

Here she is.

There is a lot of work to do, and she finds herself alone.

How many times do we find ourselves in that situation?

So, her sister Mary is nowhere to be found.

I'm the youngest of four sisters.

Trust me, I understand this story on a deep level.

I really do.

I would probably have been the Mary.

But her sister is nowhere to be found until she realizes that Mary is actually with Jesus.

And she is hanging out with him, or as Luke tells us, that she is sitting at the Lord's feet, listening to his teaching.

So, Martha, I think, tolerates this until she can't.

I imagine her in the kitchen thinking, well, I'll just bang some pots and pans, and maybe that'll get Mary's attention.

And then she'll come in and help.

And no matter what she was doing in that kitchen, nothing was working.

And so, like I said, she tolerated until she couldn't.

And then she goes out to confront.

Now, I don't know if it struck anybody else, but it struck me as interesting that she doesn't confront Mary.

Who does she confront?

Jesus, absolutely.

So, in a moment of frustration, she says to him, and I picture this.

I don't know that this is what happened, but I picture her walking into that room.

Not walking, marching.

Marching into that room, hands on hips, and saying to Jesus,

Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?

Tell her, then, to help me.

In a moment of frustration, what she's doing is she is spewing accusation and critical words that are directed at Jesus.

There we go.

The room comes to a screeching halt is the way I see this happening.

Now, we don't know this.

Luke doesn't say that.

But I'm pretty sure if somebody walked into a room where there are a lot of people,

and that one person is getting in the face of Jesus,

that everything stops.

Everything comes to a halt.

And I also imagine that every eye that was before fixed on Jesus,

now gets fixed on her.

So, there she stands,

as every eye in the room is looking at her.

Can you imagine how she felt?

Sure, you can.

You have been Martha.

I mean, which one of us hasn't done what Martha did,

allowed our frustration to get the better of us?

And say something that we wish we could take back immediately?

And felt ourselves go beet red from shame and embarrassment.

If you haven't had that experience, praise God for you.

I've had it more than once.

But there she stands.

And she probably, as she's looking at these people who are with Jesus,

she sees this shock and disbelief on their face.

And here's why, that I make this conclusion.

Who speaks to Jesus like this?

Well, I'll tell you who speaks to Jesus this way.

Someone who has a deep personal relationship with him.

Someone who believes that he can take it and he will not leave her.

That's who she is.

We think that Jesus is mad at her.

I don't think so, and I'm going to show you why.

So after she talks to Jesus this way,

we know that Jesus says to her something.

And he uses two words to compel her to look at him.

Because I would almost guess that she's looking at everybody looking at her.

And then all of a sudden he says,

Martha, Martha.

Now, I don't know how you hear him say to her,

Martha, Martha.

But it's probably a reflection of how you think he would speak to you.

If you think he's disappointed in you,

you're going to hear disappointment in his voice.

If you think he loves you,

you're going to hear love in his voice.

So whatever it is,

whatever tone he used with her,

I believe at that point she looks straight at him.

And the question that we have to ask is,

what did she see?

What did she see in his eyes?

Did she see condemnation?

Did she see disapproval?

Did she see judgment?

Did she see shame?

Well, we know from Scripture that the answer to that is no.

That is not what she saw.

But how many times do we as Christ followers think that that's how Jesus is looking at us?

You're falling short, therefore.

But the reason that we know that Jesus did not look at her that way

is he knew that he was going to the cross.

And he knew that he would die and take her judgment and her condemnation.

He didn't have to judge and condemn her in that moment

because he was going to take it for her.

So he wasn't going to look at her that way.

So I think when she looks at his,

into his eyes,

what she sees is the love of a master

who's willing to teach

a rebellious and frustrated disciple.

So give her a break, right?

Because Jesus did.

So Jesus,

and here's the point,

Jesus now has Martha

right where he wants her.

Because where has she been up to this point?

In the kitchen or whatever it would have been at that time.

She's in there serving him

and now she is at the place that he's always wanted her to be.

She is right there with him.

And he doesn't treat her as she should have been treated.

Instead, he treats her like a disciple who needs to be taught.

We may use the word correction,

but if we put it in the context of discipleship,

discipleship does involve correction.

But at the same time,

discipleship is that God recognizes

we need to be taught

because we don't fully understand

what it means to walk with Jesus.

And so we are always learning.

And he says to her,

Martha, Martha,

you're anxious and troubled about many things,

but only one thing is needed.

So anytime you see God using repetition in the Bible,

we know to pay attention to that, right?

And so when he uses somebody's name twice,

it's as if God is saying,

I need you to pay attention

because what I'm getting ready to say to you

is very important.

And so Jesus says,

Martha, Martha.

And just as Martha's rant at Jesus

revealed a close relationship

between her and Jesus,

the fact that he repeats her name twice like that

reveals that he has an intimate knowledge

of who she is.

He knows her.

He sees her.

He understands her.

And what she needed in that moment

was she needed to be pulled out of that world

that she was living in.

And we know that world, right?

Anxious, busy, distracted.

So he teaches her that there is a better way

by explaining to her what is happening.

And that's how Jesus works with us.

He doesn't say,

okay, I want you to go read this Bible verse

and fix yourself.

No, he says,

let me explain to you what's going on here

in your own heart,

in your own mind,

in your own life.

Let me help you.

So he says,

you're anxious and troubled about many things.

Now, troubled means disquieted.

In other words,

she has lost her sense of peace.

So she's disquieted.

And I'm pretty sure we all understand

what that feeling looks like.

Trust me,

planning a women's event,

there are lots of opportunities

to be disquieted.

The other thing that he says to her

is you are anxious.

And when you're anxious,

you're distracted.

And when we're distracted,

we're being drawn away from Jesus.

All right?

So the next time you feel distracted,

recognize,

wait a minute,

this is all designed to draw me away from him.

And what I actually need to do

is to go to him.

Isn't it a good thing

that she walked out of that kitchen

and marched into that room?

Because she put herself right where

she could actually hear from him.

Now, this is where Scripture gets interesting.

I love God's Word.

So at the beginning of Luke 10,

Jesus sends out 72 disciples

into the towns

that he would soon visit.

And interestingly,

he gives them a set of guidelines

of what to do once he gets there.

So in Luke 10, 5 through 7,

and this is right before our story of Martha

here at the end of Luke 10,

this is what Jesus says.

When you enter a house,

first say,

peace to this house.

If a man of peace is there,

your peace will rest on him.

If not,

it will return to you.

Stay in the house,

eating and drinking,

whatever they give you.

And right after this,

Jesus shows up

at Martha's house.

He extends peace to Martha,

but she can't receive it.

And

Jesus actually had a lesser demand

of Martha

than she had of herself.

Because I see it this way

all the time.

He could take

how many loaves of bread

and how many fish

and feed 15,000?

Martha,

this is not a big deal

for Jesus.

All right.

I mean,

I think based on this

Luke 10,

5 through 7 passage,

I think this is what

Jesus is saying.

I'm happy with whatever

you put before me.

PB and J

works for me.

So,

sadly,

instead of enjoying

being with Jesus,

she is easily drawn away.

And we have to ask

the question,

why?

I mean,

we always attribute it

to the fact that

she has so many people

at her house.

But that's not

what's going on here.

The reason that

she's drawn away

from Jesus

is because of

expectations.

Cultural expectations,

gender expectations,

and misguided

or perceived

expectations.

Culturally,

hospitality was a

high value

in her culture.

So,

if you were opening

your home

and sharing a

communal meal

with someone,

it had great

significance.

It was an invitation

to share life

and do fellowship

together.

So,

there's a cultural

expectation of her.

There's a gender

expectation.

She defined herself,

if not primarily,

almost always.

As a woman,

I have got to be

a good hostess.

In her culture,

that was what

they valued.

And so,

she has this

gender expectation.

And then,

she has this

misguided

or this perceived

expectation of

herself.

And her perception

of this,

is what she believed

about Jesus

is what he expected

from her.

what she perceived

about Jesus

is what he expected

from her.

So,

Martha's complaint

about Mary

was that she

wasn't fulfilling

this cultural,

this gender,

and this perceived

expectation.

Tell her

to help me.

Tell her to get

in that kitchen

and do women's work.

How'd you like

that southern

slang there?

But Jesus

says to Martha,

only one thing

is needed

or one thing

is necessary.

In the Greek,

it actually says,

one thing

is of necessity.

So,

we need to hear

this message

that Jesus

is saying to us

as women,

there is one thing

that is needed.

And when we get

the order straight,

the other things

will fall in place.

The one thing

that is needed

is to be with him

and to learn to him

and not be defined

by the expectations.

Boy,

if we can do that,

hallelujah.

Right?

You see,

Martha's lesser mistake

was rebuking Jesus.

Her bigger mistake

was being drawn

away from him.

And I think

we can all

understand that.

How many times

have we been so busy

that we don't get

to spend time

with Jesus

and then later

we're like,

I wish I hadn't

left this rod

be in my time

with you.

So,

Jesus goes on

and he says,

Mary has chosen

a good portion

which will not

be taken from her.

Now,

he is not saying

to Martha,

you need to be

like Mary.

God didn't create

Martha to be Mary

and he didn't create

Mary to be Martha.

What he is saying

to her is,

you need to be

with me.

That's the one thing.

Not be like your sister.

Be with me.

And so,

Luke ends this story

without telling us

anything about

Martha's response.

I mean,

it's just done.

And we have to realize

that that's intentional

because the Spirit of God

is inspiring him

to write.

It's intentional.

It's not an accident.

It's intentional

because this is

only a small part

of Martha's story.

She has a much

bigger story.

And we have to ask

the question,

well,

what does he want us

to understand from this?

And this is at the heart

of what I believe

women's discipleship

is to be about.

We are to disciple

women as disciples

first and roles

second.

We are to disciple

women as disciples

first and roles

second.

Jesus is teaching

Martha to prioritize

discipleship over

everything else.

Even the traditional

role that she has

in her culture

and the way that

she proves her value

and her worth

to other people,

to God,

and especially

to herself.

discipleship.

Right?

These things

may be important.

I'm not saying

they aren't important.

But they must

bow the knee

to discipleship

because being with

Jesus and learning

from him

is what we are

called to do.

Martha is a disciple.

You,

if you know Jesus,

you are a disciple.

So Mary is sitting

at the feet of Jesus

and listening to

what he's teaching.

And Jesus says

that she's chosen

a good portion.

Well,

isn't that an

interesting phrase,

a good portion?

Because he understands

if you choose

the good portion

first,

the other portions

will fall into place.

But it's when

we choose

the other portions

and we neglect

the good portion

that we end up

like Martha

in the kitchen

frustrated.

But Jesus says

this is not going

to be taken from her

because any amount

of time that we

spend with him

is an investment

in who we are.

And he has promised

it won't be taken

from you.

In fact,

it's going to bear

fruit in your life.

And so Jesus

is teaching Martha

to shift her priorities

and to sit with him

and to listen.

He is inviting her

to be a disciple.

Now the next time

that we see Martha

and Jesus together

is in John 11.

And in John 11,

it's the story

of Lazarus dying.

If you remember

that story,

John tells us,

and he's the one

who finishes the story

of Martha,

it's not Luke,

but John tells us

in John 11.5

that Jesus loved Martha

and her sister

and Lazarus.

But isn't it interesting

that he is specifically

telling us

Jesus loved Martha

because what he is seeing

is telling about

their relationship.

So when Lazarus

becomes ill,

Mary and Martha

send to Jesus

and say,

the one you love

is sick.

Come heal him.

And of course,

if you've read the story,

then you know

that Jesus delayed

two days,

which meant

by the time

he actually got

to Bethany,

Lazarus had died.

And when Martha

hears that Jesus

has actually made

it to Bethany,

she takes off

and she goes out

to meet him.

And the first thing

that she says to him,

and again,

you see the intimacy

of the relationship

in this comment.

Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother

would not have died.

But then she says this,

but I know

that even now

God will give you

whatever you ask.

Now the rest

of the story

tells us

that she was not

expecting Jesus

to raise Lazarus

from the dead.

That's not what

she's thinking

at this point.

So don't misunderstand

her words.

The point that John

is making

you that is this,

that in the midst

of crisis,

Martha's impressing

him with her faith.

But even,

but I know

that even now,

God will give you

whatever you want.

In other words,

she's saying,

Jesus,

I believe in you

even though this

bad thing has happened.

Well,

that sounds like

a disciple,

right?

And the other thing

that this tells us

is we don't see

any shame.

We don't see

any condemnation here.

Martha and Jesus

are okay,

right?

And what happened

in Luke 10

does not define her.

It was forgotten.

And in a moment

of crisis,

we see her true character.

And is it not true

that in a moment

of crisis,

we see ours?

And so,

we see that she's

a woman of great faith.

And Jesus treats her

as that.

Because what happens

from here on out,

this is,

this is,

again,

I'm always saying

this is so interesting.

But this is where

it gets interesting.

In the midst of grief,

one of the saddest

experiences of her life,

he teaches her.

And he says to her,

your brother will

rise again.

And Martha answered,

I know he will rise again

in the resurrection

of the last day.

Faith statement

right there.

I know

there's this plan.

He will rise again.

And Jesus said to her,

the thing that he had

not said to anyone else,

at least recorded

in scripture,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

He who believes in me

will live even though

he dies.

And whoever lives

and believes in me

will never die.

Do you believe this?

And then,

she makes a statement

that very few people

make before the cross.

She says to him,

I believe that you

are the Christ,

the Son of God

who is coming

to the world.

Martha

is not just a servant.

She is a disciple

of Christ.

So after talking

with Martha,

Jesus spends time

with Mary.

And Mary says

the same thing,

if you had been here,

my brother would not

have died.

But this reaction

to Mary is different.

His reaction to Mary

is different.

He doesn't talk to her

about the resurrection.

Why?

Because she didn't

need that.

What Mary needed

in that moment

was comfort.

His presence.

And so,

he asks,

where is Lazarus buried?

And then he weeps.

He weeps with Mary

because that's what

Mary needs.

He knows us so well.

We think he can't

understand what

we're going through

or what we feel.

He's like,

I understand you

better than you

understand yourself.

So he weeps

with Martha.

You know,

the same question,

two different responses.

Weeps with Martha.

Teaches Martha

as a disciple,

here's what you need

to understand.

Do you believe this?

And once again,

we see him inviting

Martha to come

and spend time with him

and to listen

and to learn

because that is

what a disciple does.

And so he uses

discipleship,

believe it or not,

to reframe

the loss

of her beloved brother

in the way

that she thinks

about death.

And at that moment,

Martha needed that.

She didn't need

what Mary needed.

But what did she need?

What was he actually

offering her?

And for all the thinkers

in the room,

this is where you might

want to say hallelujah

because you'll get it.

She needed theology

to encourage her faith.

She needed something

that she could hold on to.

And Jesus gave her that.

She needed a new way

to think about death.

And I don't know

if you've lost anyone.

I've lost two sisters

and both of my parents

at this point.

And when you walk

through that type of loss,

you begin to think

about death

and you begin

to think about

what does this mean,

Jesus?

How are you involved

in this?

And so that's

what's happening here.

And he was reminding her,

Martha,

because you're a disciple,

right now,

you feel incredibly insecure.

But I am here

to tell you

that your identity

is safe

and your security

is safe

because you're mine.

You don't have

to be with Lazarus

for you to be safe.

So as the story continues,

Jesus, we know,

goes and he stands

in front of the tomb

where Lazarus is buried

and he tells the people

to remove the stone

because he's getting ready

to raise Lazarus.

And Martha says

that he has been

in there for days

and there's going

to be a bad odor.

Now, I'm not,

I don't know a whole lot

of the King James

version of the Bible,

but this is my favorite

verse in the King James.

He's stinking.

I mean, there you go.

The next time

you're having a bad day,

you can say to Jesus,

he stinketh.

But Jesus says

back to her,

Martha,

did I not tell you

that if you believed

you would see

the glory of God?

He isn't discounting

her grief.

He isn't rebuking her

for lack of faith.

He's discipling her

in the midst of it.

Here's what you need

to understand.

Do you believe this?

And once again,

there is no response

for Martha.

John doesn't tell us

what she says

at that point.

Instead, he tells us

that Jesus raised

Lazarus.

But what we know

because of the conversation

is where is she?

Right there with Jesus,

right by his side,

where he's wanted her

all along.

We have one more story

of Martha in John 12.

And it's at a dinner

that was being given

in honor of Jesus.

And John finishes

Martha's story

with two words.

Just two.

Six days before

the Passover,

Jesus arrived at Bethany

where Lazarus lived,

whom Jesus had raised

from the dead.

Here, a dinner was given

in Jesus' honor.

Martha served.

So her story

has come full circle,

right?

We're back where we started.

But everything

has changed.

You don't see her anxious.

You don't see her distracted.

You see a sense

of peace in her.

And the reason for that

is because she prioritized

discipleship

even over her grief.

And so again,

the question for us is

how is this connected to us?

And why is this important

for us personally?

Does it have any bearing

on our lives today?

Well,

I think the point

is this.

Jesus,

the same does,

comes at his feet,

learn from him

and recognize

that our identity

is first and foremost

as a disciple of Christ.

And as we think

about women's discipleship

here at Trinity,

honestly,

I don't have a grand vision

to give you today.

I wish I did.

I don't.

But here's what I know.

What I know is this.

We are called

to disciple women

as disciples of Christ first

and based on their roles second.

There's an order to this.

We are called

to encourage one another

to come and sit

at the feet of Jesus

and to listen

and to learn from him.

We're called

in this ministry

to encourage

one another

to define yourself

based on who you are

not what you do.

Here's the thing.

Identity is never based

on how others see us

but it's always based

on how we see ourselves

through the eyes of Jesus

and the gospel.

And we may think

everybody else

is telling us

who we are.

No.

We're telling us

who we are.

So,

in this ministry

I hope and pray

that we will be able

to encourage one another

and say

don't allow your life

and your responsibilities

distract you from Jesus.

Trust that he will

make a way for all.

Trust that if you

prioritize the good portion

he gives you enough

in that good portion

to do all the other things.

there will be enough

for your family

your career

your education

and your blank

whatever that blank is.

Right?

If you come

and you learn from me

Jesus says

it will not be taken

from you.

It will grow

and it will transform you

into the person

that I created you

to be all along.

You know what?

Jesus never told

Martha to stop serving.

He just put it

in a perspective

that if you want

to be the best servant

you can be

I have to be your priority.

Well,

we know

based on Romans 8 29

that God has a plan

for every one

of our lives

and that plan is

for those God foreknew

he also predestined

to be conformed

to the image

of his son

that he might be

the firstborn

among many

brothers and sisters.

So God's goal

for each one of us

in this room

is to make us

like Jesus

and the only way

that we can be made

like Jesus

is to spend time

with Jesus.

It's not complicated

and yet it is.

Again,

when I think about

women's discipleship

here's where

I'm going to encourage us.

Together,

as sisters in Christ

as disciples of Jesus

we want to help

each other

recognize that

our first and foremost

identity

is as his disciple.

We want to be women

who live and work

and serve

from that identity

rather than

all these expectations

that other people

have for us

or that we have

for ourselves

whether it's cultural

gender or misguided.

We want to be women

who are free

from this idea

of perfection.

It is a lie.

None of us in here

will ever be perfect.

We don't need to be perfect.

We have a perfect savior

who is perfecting us.

So we need to be women

who are free

of ideas of perfection

released to be

redemptive works

in progress

because that is

who we are.

And we need to be women

who know and believe

that just like Martha

it can be said of us

Jesus loved

Debbie.

Jesus loved Selena.

Jesus loved Erica.

Jesus loved Jamie.

Jesus loved Shirley.

Jesus loved Mona.

I could go around

this room

and say these things

to you

because I know

they're true.

Jesus loves you.

Now here's the thing

about women's discipleship

at Trinity.

We will never

do it perfectly.

It may look

one way one day

and it may look

a different way

the next day

and I hope so

because I hope

that's because God

is leading not me.

Leading me

as I lead you.

but the direction

that we're going

is there.

We want to encourage

each other

first and foremost

as disciples of Jesus

and I promise you

there will be room

to equip you

to be better leaders,

better moms,

better wives.

Those things

are important.

Just as Jesus

does not invalidate

serving,

he does not

invalidate those things.

He just says

okay let's make sure

that we have

our order correct.

So my question

for you today

is will you

come along?

Will you come along

with what,

not what Pamela Hall

says,

but will you come along

with what scripture

says?

And would you help

me build

a women's discipleship

ministry

where someday

people will say

they love Jesus

because they knew

he loved them?

Would that not

be the greatest?

I think so too.

Okay.

So shifting gears

a little bit,

I'm going to give you

some time at your table

to do some discussion

and then I'll bring us

back together

in a little bit.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.