Potentially Controversial Sermon Series Ahead

Hello Church Family and Friends,

For some time I’ve been working on a sermon series that I’m pretty excited about, and also pretty nervous about.   Before I say more, let me start by saying that over the years we have had several families dealing with loved ones who struggle with gender and sexuality issues.  

Because of the sensitivity of this issue and the privacy concerns involved, not everyone divulges these struggles with me.  But this I know: it is very important that people find the church to be a place of truth and a place of love and compassion.  

The teaching for the next several weeks is entitled: “The Truth about Our Bodies” and it will involve a whole lot more than theology which touches on gender and sexuality.  A biblical theology of the body helps us deal with the subject of death, sickness, disease, malformity, infertility and the like.  While I’m currently still writing and working on these teachings, here are some of titles of what’s coming:

• Created for Glory – Broken by Sin (understanding how it is that we can be created by God and yet broken from the beginning)
• Redeemed for Godliness  - Resurrected for Glory (how the good news is not just for our spiritual self but also for our physical self)
• Wholistic Identity or Split Identity? (Is there such thing as a true self that does not include our body)
• Binary By Design?  (Is non-binary a real thing or is it an idea born in rebellion to our creator)
• The Plight and Hope for the Broken (The salvation hope we all need and God provides)
• Resurrection:  Your Body’s Future

For the structure and design of this series I have leaned heavily on a book by Sam Allberry entitled What God Has to Say About Our Bodies.  Sam is a single, celibate, pastor who by his own admission claims that for as far back as he can remember has only know same-sex attraction.  The following youtube link is combination of a sermon/personal story that I found very compelling.  It's 45 minutes long but worth your time.  I would encourage you to listen to it either in advance of this coming Sunday or soon following.  

Also I’d like to ask those of you who do social media to please consider sharing this Sunday’s message.  And if you are not going to be at Trinity or online this Sunday, please listen or watch after the fact as this message is vital to the whole series.  

On another note, soon coming will be a section on our website and church app called Pastor’s Blog (we may call it something better soon).  But I will use this to post what I think are worthwhile resources that I believe will help men and women living for Christ in our culture.  It should be ready soon…

Sincerely,