HOLTS SUMMIT—Sandee Hedger brought power from the Psalms to the Women of the Word conference Jan. 28-29 here at Union Hill Baptist Church.
Hedger, a noted women’s ministry speaker throughout Missouri and wife of Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Partnership Missions Specialist Rick Hedger, focused her teaching on three Psalms—87, 133, and 101. These gems from God were intended to get the women thinking about the theme of the conference, which was how to be more biblical in their walk, their relationships, and their families. In the middle session Jan. 29, she taught on how relationships in the American church right now are “an absolute catastrophe” and are in need of somehow being directed toward the standard of Psalm 133.
With most churches on a plateau or declining, “that does not match up with the Gospel,” she said. We need to move away from our “self-induced death” and get to a place where we are ever increasing and advancing.
“When we are all screwed up in the body of Christ we are failing in the mission of God,” she said.
She then told a few stories about family cats. Some are sneaky, she said. You never see their attacks coming. That is like how the enemy attacks us.
“Victims are being left on the doormat over here in everyone of our churches in America,” she said.
A more literal translation of Psalm 133:1, she said, would be “how beautiful and sweet it is for kindred to sit down and inhabit, to keep house, as a unit.” The precious oil, perfume, of that status would then help us represent God to the world. This can be applied in our time to the body of Christ endeavoring to go to the unreached people groups, once our conflict begins to lessen.
The goal is to persevere to experience the blessing of God in our churches. In Hebrews 10, we are called to provoke in the positive sense, to encourage, and to nudge one another to love and good deeds.
“It requires us to get over ourselves,” Hedger said.
Earlier Hedger taught on “all my springs of joy are in you,” which is Psalm 87:7, challenging the women to have satisfying relationships with Christ. She later taught Psalm 101 in the context of women being blessed to strengthen families.
In between her messages she talked about how the shirking of personal responsibility in American culture is becoming problematic.
“We can talk about it with broad strokes, about needing to address issues of unity, and we can agree upon it, give mental ascent to that, but yet I never bend my knee before the Father—what do You want to do with me, what am I responsible for in this?” she said. “And whatever you ask me to do, my answer is yes. And if that just means that I shut my mouth from sowing discord, then I shut my mouth from sowing discord. If that means I give up my rights in certain situations, I give up my rights.
“We wonder why the Gospel is not having an impact on society and on culture, because we’ve not allowed it to have an impact on our lives as the bride of Christ yet.”
A total of 141 women registered for the conference.
ALLEN PALMERI / Associate Editor