The following is a transcription, graciously provided by Paul Barth, of my sermon some years back on head coverings for women during public worship. You can listen to the original audio here, which was an installment in a series on the distinctives of the Presbyterian Reformed Church.
Part of the practice that our presbytery has adopted is that in the public worship of God, women have their heads covered. The passage, naturally, that we go to is one that is not exactly easy to understand. I myself for many years read it and struggled with it. But I do think that the position that we have come to as a presbytery is the right one, as far as we think God has given us light. And we would like to set that before you humbly, for your prayerful consideration. We are not holding it forth as a “term of communion” that is a requirement to be a member in good standing of the church. We have not seen fit to go that far, as we also recognize that it is a challenging passage. And many other godly believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have seen things differently than we have. Nevertheless we set forth this position.
Now, the way we are going to go about things is, first, simply to read through the passage in 1 Corinthians 11 with comment, noticing the structure of the argument that the Apostle outlines, and then we will close with answers to several objections. The thesis here is that in the public worship of God women ought to worship God with their heads covered.
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Read the rest here. The photo above is my mother as a baby, being held by her mother. Looking lovely in their Sunday best!
A beautiful picture of the godly fair sex…a wonderful heritage. O for a return to holy beauty!