Double Take

Lydia and Priscilla – they were anything but hidden in the early days of the church. These women were well known among believers. They were students of Paul, and valuable partners with him in fostering the growing church.

For a series about Hidden Women, the story of Junia reveals her as the opposite of that. Her life shows she was determined, bold, fearless and well known through her ministry. Paul refers to her as an apostle, and someone he greatly admired. She was tireless in spreading the gospel, likely by planting churches, and caused enough of a ruckus to be thrown into prison for a time. 

What do we mean by hidden women? There were many women mentioned in the New Testament that were deeply involved in the early church. Even those that are named tend to be easily forgotten. Some because they are mentioned in passing, and some because it’s difficult to find teachings about them if you don’t know where to look.

Paul’s letter to Philemon is his shortest and most personal. It contains no doctrinal statements, no warnings about false teachers, and no mention of apostolic titles. The reason for writing was extraordinary. We look to author Paul Ellis for insight into this quiet voice.

We’ve talked about Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus as part of the group of women following Jesus. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha were also included. So many of the other women remain unnamed, but we choose to remember that they existed and were essential partners of His earthly ministry. Today we focus on three more whose names we know: Joanna, Susanna, and Salome.

Mary was the young woman chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. She must have felt the great weight of this, as much as she could understand at the time. She obviously had a great love for and trust in God.

Jesus engaged with women. He listened to them. He SAW them. Women weren’t part of the Twelve, but they were part of His group and ministered with Him. How Jesus loved and valued women is an example for the church today! For the next few weeks, we focus on the women who followed Jesus. Today we take a second look at Mary Magdalene.

In Part 2, meet Janet Newberry of John 15 Academy; Kyle Winkler, author & host of the Shut Up, Devilpodcast; Andrew Nelson, author & campus pastor at The Grace Church, Lubbock TX; and bible teacher Larry Eiss at E3 with Larry Eiss. So much brilliance and grace in these people! 

https://www.john15academy.com

https://www.kylewinkler.org

https://thegracechurch.org

https://www.larryeiss.com

Today we invite you to meet our first four attendees – and friends - from the convention: Maddy Lawson & Rachel Aasheim, both of New Haven Ministries in Sioux Falls SD; Kevin Anderson of Freedom Counseling Group in Vacaville CA;  and Erick Martin of Echo Tango Marketing in Baton Rouge LA. Enjoy their stories of grace!

https://newhavensf.org

https://www.freedomcounseling.group

https://www.echotango.co

Probably most shocking in Jesus’s choices (besides choosing the man who would betray Him) was that of including a Zealot. Simon the Zealot would likely have rather died (or murdered someone) than to compromise with Rome. But he laid down his devotion to violence to learn the Way— the Way of Jesus.

Nathanael, also referred to as Bartholomew in the gospels, was one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples. Though not much is known about Nathanael’s background or personality, he is seen in the gospels to be an honest, insightful, and faithful servant of Jesus and student of the Old Testament. After the resurrection, Nathanael would go on to be a key leader in the early church.

James, son of Alphaeus (or James the “Less”), who was the second disciple chosen by Jesus. Very little is known of him. It would seem that James was a very humble follower not credited for being outspoken or doing things to draw attention to himself, as there is no mention in scripture of him being any more than an incredibly loyal student/disciple of Jesus. He seemed content with his station as one of the Twelve.

We generally know the names of the apostles. For some of us that is because of The Chosen. But we may not know the details of their lives. Let’s take a deeper look at the lives of what may be considered a few of the lesser-known disciples. We begin with James, the son of Zebedee, also known as James the Great.

If we’re righteous, why don’t we always act righteous? Why do we sometimes want to not act righteous? Because we can still be influenced by other things.

Who does the judging? This goes along with the previous series – that we are not meant to judge, but only to discern with guidance from Holy Spirit. Judgment comes from God to us as discernment. We receive God’s words, His thoughts, His decision. We don’t make the judgment, we receive His. We are always the receiver.

We have been taught, for as long as I can remember, that at some point we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Wait, I’m confused. If God, in Christ, has made us righteous, what are we being judged for at the seat of Christ?