Yeah, sex can be very focused on others as objects. It's very concerning. I'm also concerned, though, about fellow Christians who hide behind their faith even as they participate in highly damaging behavior towards others. So, yeah, the fight is from within and from without.
Certainly our work with victims of the Tsunami requires us to have congregations which love abundantly while we communicate truth clearly. Perhaps it is like a painting. Grace and love are the picture which draws us close. Then we begin to appreciate the boundaries placed by the frame.
In my own church, I rarely preach about couples that live together. It is a matter reserved for membership class, discipleship, or counseling. But at that point, they've experienced our loving embrace fully enough to receive well the teachings of scripture.
Your posts always “hit home” and stir up memories. When I was part of THAT denomination, we had a myriad of discussion sessions leading up to the unfortunate decisions they made about human sexuality. At one, a teenager, a youth leader in her congregation, and respected enough to be invited to a meeting like that, said, “ I don’t know what the Bible says, but what I see on TV has taught me…”. Yes, knowing the Word is so important. It may have been at that same meeting a pastor said, “My job is help people be happy and people are happy when we affirm their sexuality.” There’s that pastoral care without truth. Thanks for speaking the truth.
Great encouragement to present God's Truth while genuinely caring for those in need, but to also be open to, even to seek, God's direction in real and direct ways.
Yeah, sex can be very focused on others as objects. It's very concerning. I'm also concerned, though, about fellow Christians who hide behind their faith even as they participate in highly damaging behavior towards others. So, yeah, the fight is from within and from without.
Certainly our work with victims of the Tsunami requires us to have congregations which love abundantly while we communicate truth clearly. Perhaps it is like a painting. Grace and love are the picture which draws us close. Then we begin to appreciate the boundaries placed by the frame.
In my own church, I rarely preach about couples that live together. It is a matter reserved for membership class, discipleship, or counseling. But at that point, they've experienced our loving embrace fully enough to receive well the teachings of scripture.
Your posts always “hit home” and stir up memories. When I was part of THAT denomination, we had a myriad of discussion sessions leading up to the unfortunate decisions they made about human sexuality. At one, a teenager, a youth leader in her congregation, and respected enough to be invited to a meeting like that, said, “ I don’t know what the Bible says, but what I see on TV has taught me…”. Yes, knowing the Word is so important. It may have been at that same meeting a pastor said, “My job is help people be happy and people are happy when we affirm their sexuality.” There’s that pastoral care without truth. Thanks for speaking the truth.
Great encouragement to present God's Truth while genuinely caring for those in need, but to also be open to, even to seek, God's direction in real and direct ways.