Dear Church Family,
On May 7 of this year, I started a series entitled, “A Different Gospel?” These sermons have focused on a contemporary movement within many American churches commonly labeled, Progressive Christianity. Although their worship, language, and other religious expressions appear Christian, this movement is a radical departure from Historic Christianity. Over the past several weeks, we have examined a number of differences in beliefs between Historical and Progressive Christians, including the gospel, the Bible, and the person of Jesus.
This Sunday, June 11, we will tackle the topic of sexuality. In the past decade, this has become the litmus test for churches and denominations. Progressive Christians have affirmed LGBT+ choices and lifestyles as morally acceptable and permissible. Historic Christians have claimed that sex is designed by God to be within the context of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman. On Sunday, we will examine five Progressive Christian arguments for affirming LGBT sexual relationships and the Historical Christian response to those arguments.
The warning I have for you is this: in this sermon, I will be using such terms as, “homosexual,” “prostitution,” “bisexual,” “adultery,” “sexual immorality,” and other words found in verses and passages dealing with this topic. I will be careful in my language, even avoiding some descriptions in the Bible which might be considered PG-13. However, I would caution parents that if you’re uncomfortable with your child hearing the terms mentioned above, you may want to find other arrangements for them on Sunday. If your child(ren) is in 5th grade or younger, please take advantage of our wonderful Kids and Preschool programming.
As well, for parents of children who are in 6th grade or older, I would highly encourage you to have your child in worship on Sunday. This is a topic they currently face and will continue to face in increasing measure throughout their lives. It is more important than ever that young Christians understand the what and why of their beliefs on sexuality.
Finally, I want to thank my wonderful church family for your words of encouragement and support as we’ve tackled this controversial topic. I have so appreciated your emails, texts, conversations, and prayers. I am truly blessed to serve a church body who is committed to standing on God’s word regardless of the pressures from our culture. Thank you for your desire to run hard after the Lord, no matter the cost. Please continue to pray for me and our church as we seek to be faithful to the gospel and our city.
Your Pastor,
Kevin