Within some Christian churches today, there is an impasse on the appropriate roles for women. Interpretation of Pauline injunctions in 1 Timothy 2:9-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-38 vary. Reading the same passages of Scriptures, some conclude that the injunctions forbidding women to speak and exercise authority in the church are normative, universally binding for all times. Others believe that those injunctions are historical, limited to time and place. Whichever perspective one takes has theological, ethical, and liturgical implications for the way women are perceived and how a church conducts its ministry. Bearing in mind the sensitiveness surrounding this issue, this thesis argues that preaching about women from the Bible affirms God’s call and gifts to women, and effectuates a change in perspective on the roles for women in the church today. This thesis is the culmination of the researcher’s case study on an examination of God’s call and gifts to women in the Bible. It sought to harmonise St Paul’s injunctions about women, with other voices of Scripture. The study involved the preparation and presentation of two sermons from passages in the Old and New Testaments. Four sermon development strategies were incorporated. Prior to each sermon, the Parish Project Group (PPG) discussed with the preacher, the aims and objectives of the sermon and the preaching pericope. For each sermon, a pre and post sermon questionnaire were filled out by congregants to assess any change in perspective, on women in the church. The results show that both female and male respondents, had a change in their views concerning women speaking and leading in the church.
