I will honestly tell you, the feedback on The Man Series had been far better than I expected. I was hoping that we could help the men in our community see how to follow Jesus in an honestly masculine way, and that we could help the women see how to help the men in their lives to do that. I knew it would ruffle some feathers (honestly, God's Word will always ruffle someone's feathers), and it has, but for the most part, folks have heard what God was saying. I'm hearing from folks, both men and women, that they are seeing their relationship with God in a whole different light. Guys don't have to be wimps to follow Jesus. Turns out, that's part of the Good News, too!!
Ladies, I want to remind you that the day is coming when you get your own series, too. Don't feel left out!! We're going to talk specifically about the female way of following Christ starting on Aug. 23 (right after school starts up again), and I'm just as fired up about that series as I am about this one.
Okay, that being said, I am glad to hear from folks that they are learning a different way of thinking about being a man, and connecting to the idea of gaining a relationship with God without losing your manliness. It is a part of what we are doing as a church family, helping each other to follow Jesus. We all need help, and when we can look at what the Bible says and see the truth of it, not just what we've heard from others but the real truth, we all benefit. God loves men for being men, and He doesn't expect them to become eunuchs or effeminate in order to follow Him.
Now, it gets REALLY exciting!! I did say it: Sunday will be rated PG-13, parental discretion is advised. We will be talking about sex according to God's Word. For some folks, it will be the first time they've heard about sex from a Biblical point of view, and it's going to blow their minds. Some of you have heard it before, but we're going to talk about it again (and again, and again...) because the world talks about it ALL THE TIME!!! and they don't get it right very often. God created sex, and God's people need to have the freedom to talk about what God has created without feeling dirty, awkward or sinful. We need to learn how to talk about it from a healthy, godly perspective. That's the goal of Sunday, to start the conversation.
So, invite your friends, put the kids in the Children's Ministry, and get ready to laugh and learn about God's gift of sex!
Strategic, focused, full of faith and willing to make a mess if necessary. Roof Crashers are people like the four guys in the 2nd chapter of Mark who bring their friend to Jesus through the roof of a house.
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About Me
- Bill McCready
- Here's what people call me: I'm the Lead Pastor of LifePoint Church of Carson Valley, NV, a group of people who are learning to be roof crashers. Here's what I do: I lead our church family as we serve God, serve our community and serve each other. I'm also a husband, dad, occasional football coach, and big fan of food, comedy and sports (in no particular order).
Posts
Blogs I Read
Books I Love For Leaders
- Work Of Heart - Reggie McNeil
- Breaking the Discipleship Code - David Putman
- Breaking the Missional Code - David Putman
- Courageous Leadership - Bill Hybels
- Good To Great - Jim Collins
- Chasing Daylight - Erwin McManus
- It - Craig Groeschel
- The Emotionally Healthy Church - Peter Scazzero
- Holy Discontent - Bill Hybels
- Leading With A Limp - Dan Allender
- 5 Dysfunctions of a Team - Pat Lencioni
Books I Need To Finish...
- Killing Cockroaches - Tony Morgan
- Mad Church Disease - Anne Jackson
- Scouting The Divine - Margaret Feinberg
- The Gospel According To Starbucks - Len Sweet
- They Like Jesus, They Just Don't Like The Church - Dan Kimball
7 comments:
Did you plan for the sex sermon to be on Father's Day originally? I find it to be a clever idea.
Actually, no, the original idea was to start the Man Series with the sex message...on Mother's Day. Circumstances led us to change the plan, and it work out that Father's Day was the next best alternative.
Sometimes clever is disguised as prudent. :)
Do you honestly feel this is appropriate now that he Youth is no longer having Sunday School upstairs? They will now be attending the morning service. I can possibly see it Ok with the high schoolers, but the Junior highers?
That's a great question! Honestly, since I have a Junior Higher in my own home, I'm positive this is a good idea. The kids are hearing about sex from their friends at elementary school, so if we as parents haven't talked to them by Junior High, we're not even first in line. Not only that, the school district has the 'boys in one room, girls in another' talk with them in 6th grade.
Here's what really put me over the edge with this: when my son came home after that day at school, he was mad - AT ME! He said he didn't want to hear 'that stuff' from anyone else first. So parents, TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT SEX!! Then, when it comes up at school, or from a biblical perspective at church, it won't be such a surprise.
Lastly, if it's in the Bible, and you have been encouraging your Junior Highers to read their Bible, all they are going to get on Sunday is an explanation of what they've already seen. Not the dirty jokes or inappropriate content of TV, Movies, Music, or lunch time conversations at school. I think it will be okay.
Thanks for the question!
I am with you on this one completely, Bill. I know that kids today are hearing about sex at an earlier and earlier age. I'm glad to know that my kids heard about it from their parents first, before they heard about it from their friends. They were able to come to us and ask questions, rather than just believe ll that they were hearing. I think this knowledge makes them better, stronger people. Here's my thinking, we take the time to teach our children to carry with them the armour of God and Jesus in their hearts, so why not protect them with God's word about sex, before they hear the often corrupted versions from their peers. Let's set our kids up for success and give them the strength and knowledge to hold up against the tons of misinformation they are exposed to at school. Thanks for giving us a forum to discuss this. And thank you for being willing to risk it and talk about this obviously touchy subject. Keep on doing the good work you are doing. Eric and I are in this with you for the long haul!
Stacy brings up a good point: Kids need to hear this from parents first! If you don't want you kids to hear anything at all about sex from anyone else before you talk to them, then as I said last Sunday, this is PG-13 - Parental Guidance. If you don't want your child to hear about this, don't bring them to the service.
Another option would be to talk to them before Sunday, or even use what I say Sunday as a launch point for what you want to say. I promise, it will all be biblical, and it will all be appropriate for the Junior Highers as well as adults. There will be plenty of God's wisdom to go around.
And as always, feel free to pray for me as I finish preparing to share this important message. Thanks!
Kids today are immersed in a "sex soaked world", whether it is through what they see on television, or access on the internet, or what they pick up from their peers. Our culture has become an X-rated culture. No child or young person living in America can escape its effects. It is high time that the church take the offensive and start shaping kids & youth through biblical teaching that equips them to deal with today's cultural pressures. Otherwise the world will "misshape" them through it's distorted messages about sex. I think it is awesome that FBC is tackling this challenging subject rather than shying away from it. Better for people to hear a PG-13 sermon that communicates God's ideals regarding sex, than to leave it to the world to teach its X-rated view unchallenged.
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