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Nurturing the Nations Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures

Nurturing the Nations Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures. God’s Maternal Heart. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!.

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Nurturing the Nations Reclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures

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  1. Nurturing the NationsReclaiming the Dignity of Women in Building Healthy Cultures God’s Maternal Heart

  2. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matthew 23:37

  3. Metaphor A metaphor states that the whole of one thing is the same as the whole of another thing God is a mother Simile A simile compares part of one thing to another God is like a mother Metaphor or Simile

  4. John Piper “All things exist to demonstrate something about God’s infinite perfections.”

  5. The Female Body • Was made for a purpose: to compassionate, to nurture and to protect. • The concrete reality of the female body reveals, to all who will see, the abstract nature of God’s compassion, nurture and protection. • A woman’s body is not merely functional; it also has a transcendent purpose of pointing us to the maternal heart of God.

  6. Each Human Being • Was carried inside of a woman, in a womb. • Most received their first nurture at a mother’s breast. • Was held in a mother’s arms.

  7. Three Powerful Similes • Womb-Love – God’s Compassion • Nurturing Breasts – God’s Sufficiency • Mother’s Arms (Sheltering Wings) – God’s Protection

  8. God’s Name “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin….” Exodus 34:6-7

  9. Hebrew - racham • Derived from Hebrew word meaning: to love, to love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, and have compassion. • Translated • Mercy 30 times • Compassion 4 times • Womb 4 times

  10. The King’s Dilemma1 Kings 3:16-28 • What is the setting? • What is the dilemma that Solomon faced? • How did he determine which woman was the real mother? • What did this test reveal?

  11. El Shaddai • The All Sufficient • The Satisfier • The Almighty

  12. God is Like a Nursing Mother • Read: Numbers 11:12; Isaiah 49:13-15; Isaiah 66:10-13 • Questions: • What do these reveal about God? • What do they reveal about a woman?

  13. Hebrew – El Shaddai • Name of God • Shaddai is found 48 times in O.T. • From root shad: breast or bosom • When combined with El – God, it means: • One Who Nourishes • One Who Supplies • One Who Satisfies

  14. Made for RelationshipMaternal Infant Bonding • “Latching” – skin to skin contact • The eyes – soul to soul contact

  15. Beauty and Function Telenomy: a female breast, in beauty and function reveals something of God’s Infinite Perfection

  16. Questions • What does this reveal about women? • What does this reveal about God? • What are the implications of the maternal-infant bond before and after birth for the external environment for the mother?

  17. God is our Refuge and Protector Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

  18. Hebrew - rachaph • Meaning: to brood, to flutter, to move • The concept: • As a hen over her chick to warm and protect • To sit over, cover and cherish • To mature anything with care

  19. SET ONE Psalm 17: 6-9 Psalm 36: 5-9 Psalm 57: 1 Psalm 61: 1-4 Psalm 63: 7-8 Psalm 91: 1-4 SET TWO Ruth 2:11-12 Ruth 3: 9 Isaiah 31: 5 Matthew 23: 37 The Shadow of Thy Wing

  20. Stories

  21. Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple If a man came to me and said, “I am your Christ,” I would ask him to show me his hands. I know my Christ by the love which defines His character–the love that gave him the strength and desire to give His life in exchange for mine. “There is no greater love than this–that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

  22. Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple I have never seen Jesus, but He knew me and loved me even before I was born. He gave me life, and when my own sin threatened that life, He died on the cross to save it, and no mark was left on me. When I see Him, I will know Him by the scars that bear witness to the unfathomable magnitude of His love for me.

  23. Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple I know my mother by the love which defines her character–the love that gave her the strength and desire to offer her life in exchange for mine. “There is no greater love than this–that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

  24. Scars of Love Rebekah Holsapple My mother knew me and loved me even before I was born; she gave me life. When I was a baby, twelve stone steps threatened that life, but she held me so tight and close that every cut and bruise fell on her own body, and no mark was left on me. So mother, if when I get to heaven I don’t recognize you, show me the scars on your arms that bear witness to the unfathomable magnitude of your love for me.

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