Love · Sex · Body
All around us, in our daily interactions with others and in the cultural conversation, we encounter ever-changing and vigorous debates about the nature of the human body, gender identity, and sexuality.
In this series we will take steps toward developing a more-robust theology of the embodied sexuality within the contemporary church. Walking through the four-chapter gospel, we want to understand how our bodies, our sexuality, our relationships, yes, our very selves are affected by God’s creation, the fall into sin, Christ’s redeeming work, and the ultimate restoration of all things.
Through this series we will strive to develop a clear yet nuanced approach to Scripture on God’s purposes for love, the human body and sexuality from Genesis through Revelation, with attention to pertinent issues and questions.
This message explores the fourth and final chapter of this series with restoration in Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah has brought redemption to us through His death, and now His resurrected body is ushering in a new “Now But Not-Yet” kingdom. Pastor Matt discusses how Christ’s resurrection has raised us with new resurrection bodies. In these bodies, we will see the ultimate restoration of all things by God at the end of human history, including in our love, sexuality, and…
This message explores the third chapter with redemption in Jesus Christ. Jesus the eternal Son enters into the fallen cosmos in a real body as Messiah to redeem us, including our love, sexuality, and bodies. Encountering true love of God through Christ helps us find God’s presence, provision, truth, grace, acceptance, and freedom. When we see Jesus’ encounter with people throughout His ministry we see the dignity of redemption for real people with real challenges in real bodies. This redemption…
This message explores the ways in which all of creation has been impacted by the Fall into sin, including our bodies, love, the chance for a more-thoughtful engagement with the questions of singleness and what it means to live for God’s glory in the body as a single Christian. This message will address topics such as: do you need to be married to be fulfilled or ‘complete’?, how do you deal with singleness after divorce or the death of a…
The series continues by looking at the first chapter: Creation. We are made in the image of God. Our bodies are part of our resemblance of God and they are good. Our sexuality reflects God in nature and is intended for God’s glory being seen upon earth, both in our being made for ‘the other’ (relational) and relating to others (intimacy). This leads us into an engagement with the very nature of God as relational and intimate within the Trinity.…
This message will introduce the entire series, engaging with cultural discussion, questions within the church, and the need for an overarching (not simplistic) biblical framework for love, sexuality, and the body. The starting point will be God’s Triune identity and the starting point of God’s definition of love, sexuality, and the body. The roadmap for the series will be shared, providing some insights into the ways in which this is an example of approaching any variety of issues biblically. Text:…
