What We Believe About Sexuality (110123)

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Soul Winning Saturday this coming Saturday, November 4.

This Saturday is also Time Change Weekend. We “fall back” an hour.

Starting Point Connection Group will continue this Sunday, November 5

Thank you for your prayers while we were gone!

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Message

The Current State of Our Country and of Our World

One recent news article stated...

...support for Jews has been hard to find. In the crowds, meanwhile, Hamas is cheered and "occupation" is condemned.

https://afn.net/politics-govt/2023/11/01/kill-the-jews-campus-crazies-escape-criticism-by-white-house/

However, God’s Word states:

Genesis 12:1–3 KJV 1900

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson

We should certainly be in prayer for our elected officials and this should never be more apparent than right now.

Regarding House Speaker Mike Johnson, one article stated:

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki railed against Johnson as

"basically a Christian fundamentalist"

with

"political ideology that should scare us"

on her MSNBC program recently.

Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jen Rubin called Johnson

"a religious nut – and by that I mean he subscribes to all of the extreme Christian nationalist views."

Psaki was fired up over Johnson's reliance on the Word of God to help shape his beliefs – and how he intends to lead as House Speaker.

When that question was posed to Johnson last week by a reporter, he answered with:

"Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview."

Psaki's somewhat sarcastic response?

"The Bible doesn't just inform his worldview. It is his worldview."

https://afn.net/politics-govt/2023/10/31/assessment-criticism-of-johnson-s-worldview-reveals-left-s-disdain-for-truth/

We should be thankful for what Daniel said...

Daniel 2:20–21 (KJV 1900)

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: For wisdom and might are his:

And he changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, And knowledge to them that know understanding:

And...

Romans 13:1 KJV 1900

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

We should be thankful that God placed Representative Johnson in this position. And, we need to pray for him - and other government leaders who are seeking to live out God’s Word in their lives!

Also, we should not be surprised at the world’s - not just the Left’s - rejection of the truth of God’s Word!

2 Timothy 3:1–7 KJV 1900

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

And...

2 Timothy 4:2–4 KJV 1900

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Which leads me into one other Current Event...

One recent news article had this headline:

Study: Christianity's future in America is 'uncertain'

George Barna and researchers at Arizona Christian University's Cultural Research Center recently surveyed 400 children between the ages of 8-12 years old and found...

...that only 3% of respondents fully believe the seven cornerstones of a biblical worldview.

69% acknowledge that "God exists and is the all-knowing, all powerful, perfect creator and ruler of the universe."

36% agree that "as a sinner, the only solution is to acknowledge your sins and ask God to forgive you through Jesus Christ."

Only 25% say they "trust the Bible because it is completely true and personally relevant" to their life.

"The fact that increasing numbers of millennials and Gen Z don't have a biblical worldview speaks to a very uncertain future for Christianity in this country,"

According to decades of George Barna's research, kids begin to form their worldview between the ages of 15 and 18 months. By the time they are 13 years old, their worldview is pretty much set.

"At the age of 13 and 12 and 11, our kids' ministries need to be doing more than just teaching stories about Noah and the ark and David and Goliath,"

"As important as those stories are, we need to use those stories to teach more fundamental truths about who God is."

https://afn.net/culture/2023/10/31/study-christianity-s-future-in-america-is-uncertain/

This morning, in my Bible class, I asked a simple question: Why should we read the Bible?

I received a lot of answers:

Because we’ve been commanded to.

To learn how we are to live.

Etc.

While those are good reasons for reading God’s Word, we should be reading God’s Word, first and foremost, so that we might know God!

2 Peter 3:18 (KJV 1900)

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Paul wrote...

Philippians 3:10 (KJV 1900)

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

To the church in Corinth he wrote...

2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV 1900)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Why is this so important?

I recently preached a message based upon Isaiah 26:3-4 (two of my favorite verses).

Isaiah 26:3 KJV 1900

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee.

This perfect peace is completely dependent upon Thou - upon God - and our realization of that peace is dependent upon how well we know Thou!

We are living in a crazy world right now! If we are going to maintain our sanity, we need to know Him!

Turn to and read 1 Samuel 17:32-50.

What made the difference between young David and the rest of the Israelite army - including his own brothers?

David knew the Lord God!

What we believe about Human Sexuality.

Why is this important?

Covenant Marriage: Building Communication & Intimacy Introduction

In our contemporary sex-saturated society, it is tragic that so few Christians have a clear picture of the biblical perspective on sexuality. Some in our society have taken a gift of God—sexuality—and made it a god. They worship at the altar of sex. Time, energy, and effort are expended in trying to find sexual fulfillment. Such idolatry never brings satisfaction. It is the Christian who knows God—the author of sex—and who discovers the proper role of sexual fulfillment within a marriage who will find true sexual satisfaction.

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

Genesis 1:26–28 KJV 1900

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Turn to and read Genesis 2:18-25; 4:1-2.

Simply put, God has designed that the most intimate, human relationship, that of sex between a man and a woman, be reserved for the bounds of marriage.

Exodus 20:14 KJV 1900

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:17 (KJV 1900)

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife...

Hebrews 13:4 KJV 1900

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

This Biblical truth, while foundational to our Biblical worldview, is not a part of the vast majority of individual’s worldviews (even some professing Christians)!

Consider House Speaker, Representative Mike Johnson:

One article noted that:

One of the most fascinating attacks on Johnson is the media’s obsession with his covenant marriage to his wife of 25 years, Kelly.

https://afn.net/opinion/suzanne-bowdey/2023/11/01/mike-johnson-s-worst-scandal-is-staying-married-media-decides/

Consider what one secular news article wrote about Representative Johnson’s views of marriage:

(This is what the world thinks about the Biblical truths of marriage.)

...women cannot be trusted with the decision of who to be in a sexual relationship with. If women are allowed freedom of choice in their romantic endeavors, incel thinking posits, they'll be too preoccupied with "sleeping around" to settle down. And that women's gallivanting about leaves men, especially "beta males," lonely and frustrated. So women have to be locked down for the good of "society," by which they mean men. Or really, just those men who fear they can't get a wife without coercion.

https://www.salon.com/2023/10/30/sexual-anarchy-new-speaker-mike-johnson-showcases-the-incel-ization-of-the-modern/

In a book that I am currently reading, Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents - and What They Mean for America’s Future:

Note: The author, Jean Marie Twenge is an American secular psychologist who, by her own admission loves statistics and researching generational differences.

...a simple question: Was it OK to have sex before marriage? Most Boomers said yes in the 1970s, while their Silent elder siblings and Greatest generation parents said no.

Boomers were the first generation to mount a significant challenge to the centuries-old rule that sex should wait until marriage and instead argued that it was a choice up to the individual.

The change was swift:

In a nationwide survey, 85% of U.S. adults said that premarital sex was wrong in 1967,

which plummeted to 37% in 1979.

The sexual revolution was mostly a battle between young Boomers and their Greatest generation parents, and the Boomers won.

Twenge, Jean M.. Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future (p. 89). Atria Books. Kindle Edition.

While the author sees this as a battle between young and old, I see it as a battle between God’s Word and man’s thoughts!

Let’s take this a step further and ask this simple question:

Why?

Before I answer that question, I would like to add another aspect of our statement of faith:

We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.

Why are these truths so important? What are these truths built upon?

The most intimate relationship - spiritually - that an individual can have is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

This relationship is pictured - humanly speaking - in the most intimate, physical relationship that can be enjoyed be two people - that of marriage!

In fact,

The marriage relationship is so significant that God chose it as a picture of His relationship with His people.

In the Old Testament:

Isaiah 54:5 KJV 1900

For thy Maker is thine husband; The Lord of hosts is his name; And thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

In the New Testament:

2 Corinthians 11:2 KJV 1900

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

We see this even more dramatically in Ephesians chapter 5.

Turn to and read Ephesians 5:22-33.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is eternal - it can never be broken or termination.

The marriage relationship is ‘til death do us part.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is to be exclusive. We are to have no other god’s before Him.

Matthew 6:24 KJV 1900

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The marriage relationship should be exclusive.

While more could be said, this will suffice for this evening.

As we close, allow me to ask:

Married couples, are we setting a Biblical example of marriage before our children - and the children of this church?

Are we helping our children develop this type of relationship with Jesus Christ so that they will form a more complete understanding of the marriage relationship between a man and a woman?

Are we teaching our children that the marriage relationship is not simply a matter of “Do it this way” but instead that marriage is a picture which God can use as a testimony to the world of His love?

Are we teaching our children a list of “Do’s and Don’t’s” or are we teaching them to know their God? Are we teaching them the “Who” behind the “What?”

We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.

This is based upon the truth that the physical relationship - the sexual relationship between a man and woman - is reserved for marriage and that marriage is between one man and one woman for a lifetime.

We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempts to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.

President Biden’s Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, was asked, by US Representative Mary Miller, “How many genders are there?”

The Secretary refused to answer the question and merely replied, “I won’t be answering your question. You can continue your line of questioning.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/education-secretary-cardona-number-of-genders

Genesis 1:27 KJV 1900

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 5:2 KJV 1900

Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Jesus wrapped up all of this in His statements in Mark chapter 10:

Mark 10:2–9 KJV 1900

And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

To close:

In keeping with our beliefs regarding human sexuality as expressed in this statement of faith and in keeping with our purpose as expressed in Article II, we have the following practical policies:

All people are welcome to attend our regular worship services.

John 3:16 KJV 1900

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Those who attend may not display behavior that is indicative of the sinful behaviors listed in (R) (i) of this section in church services, at church functions, and on the church grounds.

Church representatives are not to display overt disrespect for those who are involved in the sinful behaviors listed in (R) (i) of this section.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

The pastor of the church will preach consistently against all forms of sinful behaviors as listed in (R) (i) of this section as well as other sinful behaviors.

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