1 Corinthians 6, verses 12 through 20.
That's page 955 on the Pew Bible.
Let me encourage you to turn there
if you didn't bring a Bible this morning.
1 Corinthians 6, verses 12 through 20.
Let me read this text for us.
All things are lawful for me.
But not all things are helpful.
All things are lawful for me.
But I will not be dominated by anything.
Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food,
and God will destroy both one and the other.
The body is not meant for sexual immorality,
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
And God raised the Lord,
and will also raise us up by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ
and make them members of a prostitute?
Never.
Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute
becomes one body with her?
For as it is written, the two will become one flesh.
But he who is joined to the Lord
becomes one spirit with him.
Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body.
But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit within you,
whom you have from God?
You are not your own,
for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body.
Let's pray together.
Our Father, how right it is to give you praise.
Lord, all creation praises you.
From the heavenly host down to the most microscopic
plankton in the bottom of the sea.
Lord, all is resounding with your praise.
So as we come before your word this morning, Lord,
we pray that you would free our minds from distraction
and give us clarity by your spirit
to listen to what this passage is saying,
that we might join in the glorifying work
of creation as your image bearers
and as those who have been loved and redeemed by Christ.
We ask this in his name.
Amen.
Let's talk about sex, baby.
Let's talk about you and me.
Let's talk about all the good things
and the bad things that can be.
Let's talk about sex.
So sang Salt-N-Pepa right here on the New Haven Green
just a couple summers ago.
15,000 people.
Let's talk about sex.
But in the church, it seems like sex has been something
we haven't been so apt to talk about.
If you've been watching the farewell season of Downton Abbey,
think of the scene a couple weeks ago
between the butler, Mr. Carson,
and the cook, Mrs. Patmore.
Mr. Carson is about to marry one Mrs. Hughes,
and the anxious Mrs. Hughes has sent her good friend,
Mrs. Patmore, to Mr. Carson to ask on her behalf
if Mr. Carson wants a full marriage
with all that that entails.
And when Mrs. Patmore meets with Mr. Carson
and finally beats around the bush long enough
for him to catch her drift
of what she actually wants to talk about,
they both awkwardly turn away from each other
in their chairs,
speak about the subject in indirect references,
and raise their eyes to the ceiling,
wonderfully embarrassed.
It's a well-played scene.
But despite what many people think,
when the Bible speaks about sex,
and 1 Corinthians 6 is just one of many places,
there is neither the glib casualness of pop music
nor the stiff awkwardness of post-Victorian moralism.
You see, in the Christian view of things,
sex is neither a mere appetite to fulfill,
so long as there are mutually consenting parties,
nor is sex a taboo subject
that should fill us with embarrassment.
Rather, as we'll see in this passage,
the Christian view of sex rooted in the Bible
is full of glory.
A divine gift of a good creator
meant to show forth his kingdom
to be used in the way he intends.
And so, Paul will stay quite bluntly in verse 18.
Flee sexual immorality.
God's vision and purpose for sex
are so good and glorious
that you should run away
if you find yourself tempted to pursue anything
that falls short of it.
Like Joseph in Genesis,
sprinting away from the advances of Potiphar's wife,
flee sexual immorality.
But, of course, ours isn't the first period
in human history
that's experienced more than a bit of confusion
surrounding sex.
When you read a text like 1 Corinthians 6,
I don't know about you,
but it can be strangely comforting
to realize
that we're not the only ones
who've been a bit muddled
when it comes to understanding
what sex is really for.
In many ways,
we still haven't caught up
with the first century
when it comes to muddledness.
And so, there's no reason
for the church today to freak out.
The gospel was the power of God
for salvation then,
and it is still so today.
But for all that,
it does seem that the church in Corinth
was seriously failing
to grasp how the gospel
ought to shape our view of sex.
Verses 15 and 16 imply
that there were Christians in Corinth
who thought it was perfectly acceptable
to visit the local temple prostitutes
and not in order to introduce them to Jesus,
mind you.
But notice this.
They were failing to grasp
how the gospel shapes
our view of sex
because at a deeper level,
they were failing to grasp
what the gospel means
for our bodies.
Eight times in nine verses,
Paul mentions the body.
The whole passage will end,
glorify God in your body.
It's that positive vision
of God's glory
resounding through our bodily life
that Paul leaves ringing in our ears.
Yes,
flee sexual immorality
and do so
because you've been called
to something greater.
Glorify God
in your body.
So what does the gospel
have to say about our bodies
that will help us
think clearly
about God glorifying
sexual expression
and empower us
to live that way?
I think we see four things
in our text here before us.
A four-point sermon this morning,
not a three-point sermon.
Changing things up.
Four points in honor
of the four quarters
of the Super Bowl.
Here we go.
First,
glorify God
in your body
because your body
has a God-given purpose.
We see this in verses 12 through 14.
Explicitly at the end of verse 13.
The body is not meant
for sexual immorality
but for the Lord.
The body has a meaning.
Now the passage begins
with Paul quoting
some slogans
that some of the Corinthians
would have bandied about.
The first slogan
sort of marked off
in quotation marks there
was,
all things are lawful for me.
In other words,
you can hear the Corinthians
thinking,
we're not under the law anymore,
we're under grace.
So that means we have the right
to do all things,
right?
But Paul immediately
begins to sort of
pick apart
and deconstruct
their slogan-based
moral thinking.
All things are lawful
for me,
you say,
but not all things
are helpful,
are they?
And certainly
not all things
are liberating.
Some things
will make you
their slave.
They will dominate you.
The next slogan
goes something like this,
food is meant
for the stomach
and the stomach
for food.
Now in the Greek
manuscripts
of the New Testament,
there wasn't
any punctuation.
So we have to
actually decide
based on the context
and the language itself
where these slogans
kind of begin
and end
in the text.
And many commentators
think that the next line,
and God will destroy
both one and the other,
actually ought to be
included in the
quotation marks too.
And I actually think
they're right.
And so the Corinthian
slogan really runs
something like this,
food is for the stomach
and the stomach
for food,
and in the end
it doesn't really matter
because God's going
to do away
with all this
bodily material stuff
anyway.
So you see then
the underlying idea
that they had.
What we do
with our bodies
doesn't really matter.
If you're hungry,
you should eat.
If you're lustful,
you should have sex.
It's just a bodily appetite.
It doesn't really matter.
After all,
what God really cares about
are our souls
and all this bodily stuff
is going to go away
someday
anyhow.
And in many ways
we can think similarly
today,
can't we?
It's just sex.
What's the big deal?
Does God really care
what I do
with my body?
I mean,
we love each other.
And here's where
the gospel comes in.
In light of what God
has done in Christ,
friend,
your body
is not
meaningless.
It's not just
a collection
of atoms
and energy
with no purpose
and no future.
Your body
has a meaning.
It's actually
meant for something.
And not just
something,
but more specifically
someone.
Just who exactly?
The Lord.
The body
is not meant
for sexual immorality,
but for the Lord.
That is
the Lord Jesus.
And then Paul
goes one step further.
And the Lord
for the body.
In other words,
your body
was created
for the Lord
to serve him,
worship him,
love him.
And the Lord
came for you,
body and all.
Think about
the central message
of the Bible.
In the beginning,
God created humanity,
right?
Bodily.
And then
after the fall
had introduced
death and decay
and disordered desire
into the world,
when the fullness
of time had come,
Jesus in the incarnation
took on a human
body
to show
that God's
redeeming purposes
included our whole selves,
bodies included.
And in verse 14,
Paul goes on
and points
to the resurrection.
Just as God
raised the Lord Jesus
in the body,
he will raise us
to body and all.
And so despite
the Corinthian
slogan,
God
won't
simply destroy
one and the other.
He will raise
them up.
So it seems
your body,
Christian,
has a glorious
future.
From creation
to redemption
to resurrection,
our good God
has a purpose
for our bodies.
One writer
tells the story
of a student
friend of his
who never bothered
to buy a screwdriver.
Instead,
he just kept
a couple of
knives around,
a big one
and a small one.
The big knife
for the big screws,
the small knife
for the small screws,
and they could
pretty much
get the job done
when needed.
Sounds like
a classic
graduate student.
Except over time,
the knives
became bent
and dull,
losing their
usefulness
as knives.
And one day
when turning
a particularly
stubborn screw,
the knife blade
snapped
in three pieces,
cutting his
friend's hand
quite badly
in the process.
Knives are made
with a purpose.
There's a right way
to use them.
In this text,
Paul's trying
to get us
to see
what it means
to use the human
body in the right way
for the right purpose.
And that is a purpose
that comes from God,
the God who made us,
who took on flesh
to redeem us
and will one day
raise us in glory.
And when we face
temptation,
and when we need
to flee
sexual immorality,
whether it's
the temptation
to view pornography
on the internet,
whether it's
the temptation
to sleep
with your boyfriend
or girlfriend,
whether it's
the temptation
to have an affair
outside of your marriage,
whatever it is,
in the moment
of temptation,
it will do you,
friends,
much good
to speak this
very truth
to your hearts.
It's not
what I'm
meant for.
These things
are not
what I'm
meant for.
I am the Lord's,
the Lord is mine,
and I have a purpose
and a future
that makes the
fleeting pleasure
of this temptation
look no more
desirable in comparison
than lima beans
to a third grader.
I hated lima beans
as a kid.
I actually tried
feeding them
to my dog
under the table.
I got in really
big trouble
for that.
But seriously,
though,
isn't it true
that sometimes
we give in
to sexual sin
just because
we think
we don't
deserve better?
We think
we're failures,
we think
we're valueless,
purposeless,
meaningless,
and so we just
give in.
Friends,
it's not
what you're
meant for.
You are the
Lord's,
and if you
are His,
one day
in the resurrection,
you will
radiate with
a beauty
that if we
could see it
now in this
life,
we would be
tempted to
fall down
and to
worship you
as a God.
The psalm
we read earlier,
Psalm 16,
was all about
God not
abandoning our
souls and even
our bodies
to the grave,
but rescuing
them for glory,
to be in
communion with
Him where
there is
pleasure
forevermore.
That's what
you're meant
for.
So glorify
God in
your body
because your
body is full
of God-given
purpose.
It's meant
for the
Lord.
And that
leads right
into our
next point.
If our
bodies are
for the
Lord and
the Lord
for our
bodies,
then that
means that
we won't
just share
a future
union with
Him,
but that
even now
we have
a present
union with
Him as
well.
And so the
second point,
verses 15
through 17,
glorify God
in your
body because
your body
is a
member of
Christ.
Paul begins
with a rhetorical
question,
do you not
know?
This is
something they
should know.
Do you not
know that
your bodies
are members
of Christ?
Now when we
hear the word
member today,
we think of
voluntary
association in
a social group
or a political
party or a
mailing list,
what have
you?
But when
Paul uses
the word,
the image
is much
more intimate
and much
more graphic
than that.
It literally
means a
body part.
You are
the limbs
and organs
of Christ
is how one
commentator
tries to
capture the
phrase.
Paul will
use this
metaphor again
in chapter
12 to talk
about unity
and honor
in the
church family.
But here,
Paul is making
a point about
sex.
Now,
in the
Corinthian
context,
the particular
issue was
sex with
temple
prostitutes,
as we
mentioned
earlier.
And of
course,
there are
all sorts
of things
that are
wrong with
prostitution.
Paul gets
that,
we get
that.
But,
the point
that Paul
wants to
highlight here
is specifically
related to
the meaning
of sex
itself.
And that
meaning is
found in
the one
little phrase
in our
passage,
one
flesh.
You see,
friends,
the biblical
view of
sex is
that it
exists for
more than
mere pleasure
on the
one hand,
and for
more than
mere
procreation
on the
other.
Ultimately,
sex is
an expression
and declaration
and embodiment
of a whole
life union
with another
person.
sex is
a way
of saying
to another
person,
I'm committing
my whole
life to
you,
not just
physically,
but in
every way,
socially and
spiritually,
emotionally and
financially and
so on.
As Paul quotes
Genesis to
say,
the two will
become one
flesh.
But there's
another step
in the line
of Paul's
thinking that
we have to
see.
This one
flesh,
whole life
union that
sex is
meant to
signify and
communicate
is itself
meant to
be a
reflection,
a picture
of something.
Of what?
of the
deep,
intimate
union
that Christ
has with
believers.
Verse 17,
he who is
joined to
the Lord
becomes one
spirit with
him.
That is
inseparably,
personally
united.
United in
such a way
that the
union between
a husband and
a wife can
only be a
reflection.
Paul will
say as much
again in
Ephesians 5.
Again,
in speaking of
marriage and
sex,
he'll quote
Genesis 2,
24.
A man shall
leave his
father and
mother and
hold fast to
his wife and
the two shall
become one
flesh.
And then
Paul says,
this mystery
is profound
and I'm
saying that it
refers to
Christ and
the church.
In other
words,
marriage and
sex are
meant to
point beyond
themselves to
a much greater
reality.
to the
unbreakable
union between
Christ and
the church.
So you
see,
this is why
the biblical
sex ethic
is what it
is.
In
redemption,
God unites
himself with
that which is
radically different
than himself.
Us,
fallen and
finite human
beings.
And that
union is
forged wholly,
intimately,
and permanently.
And so in
the Bible,
human marriage
is a display
and picture
of that
redeeming love
of God.
Marriage is
the union
between two
people who
are different,
male and
female,
and who
give themselves
to one
another wholly,
intimately,
and permanently,
as long as
they both
shall live,
the old
vows say.
So why is
sex with a
prostitute so
unthinkable in
light of the
gospel?
Why is any
sex outside of
marriage so
out of place
in light of
the gospel?
Because only in
marriage does
sex say
what it's
supposed to
say.
That there is a
God who loves
us,
and has given
himself wholly
for us,
and will
never,
ever forsake
us.
If you want
to dive deeper
into the
biblical vision
for sex and
sexuality and
gender,
friends,
let me encourage
you to come
to this Sunday
school class
happening at
nine o'clock
on Sundays.
Greg and
others will be
unpacking this
over the next
few months.
But if what
Paul is saying
about sex here
is true,
that it's
ultimately a
sign,
a display of
the much
greater union
believers have
with Christ,
if that's
true,
then it means
something very
practical for
those of us
who are
single.
Our culture
tells us that
it's impossible
to be a
fulfilled,
flourishing human
person apart
from active
sexual expression.
In other
words,
if I'm not
having sex,
I'm fundamentally
missing out.
Missing out not
just on having
a good time,
but on being a
whole human
person,
right?
But in light
of the gospel,
you see the
single person
who is in
Christ,
the single
person who is
in Christ
already enjoys
what sex is
ultimately about.
God's
love.
It's like a
tourist standing
atop the great
wall of China
with the green
hills rolling
off in every
direction,
but staring
nose down,
face buried
in his or her
Rick Steve's
guidebook,
looking at a
picture of the
thing.
when it stands
right there
beneath their
feet,
if they just
lift their
gaze and
take it in.
Sex is a
glorious picture,
yes,
but it is still
a picture,
and you don't
need the picture
to enjoy the
thing itself.
Will you miss
out if you're
not having
sex?
No.
You don't
need sex to
be a whole
human person,
which is to
say sex is
not God
and never
can be.
And do you
want to know
what will help
you flee
sexual immorality?
Grow in
your intimacy
with the
thing itself,
with Christ
himself.
Why did he
give us the
scriptures?
So that we
could hear his
words again
and again,
and like
lovers we
could relish
every word
and know his
voice and
know his
presence.
Why did
Jesus give us
the Lord's
Supper?
So that we
could touch
and taste
and hold
something bodily
that would
speak powerfully
to our hearts
of what he's
done for us.
In the Old
Testament,
sharing a
meal was a
way to do
covenant renewal,
to renew the
promises and
intimacy of a
relationship.
And here at
this meal,
the Lord,
as it were,
renews his
covenant with
all who've
placed their
trust in him,
who've been
joined to him,
as verse 17
says,
through faith.
So here then,
friends,
is our second
point.
Glorify God in
your body,
because your
body is a
member of
Christ.
And the
third part
follows right
from it.
again,
our intimate
union with
Christ means
that we're
not just
inseparably
connected to
him,
but in a
mysterious way,
it means that
by the Holy
Spirit,
God dwells
in us.
In verses
18 and 19,
then we have
the third
point.
Glorify God
in your body,
because your
body is a
temple of the
Holy Spirit.
Now,
everyone agrees,
if you look
down,
that verse
18 is a
tricky verse.
On the
surface,
Paul seems to
be saying
that sexual
sins are
somehow worse
than other
sins.
But you know,
the rest of
the New
Testament proves
that that
can't be what
Paul is saying
here.
Just last
week,
we saw that
sexual
immorality
and greed
and reviling
and so on
are all
equally out
of place
in God's
kingdom.
So what
is Paul
saying?
Well,
if you look
at the
footnote
in the
ESV
there,
we could
legitimately
read the
first part
of the
verse to
simply be
saying,
every sin
a person
commits is
outside the
body.
And that
sounds a
lot like
some of
the
Corinthian
slogans
that Paul
was dismantling
earlier in
the passage.
In other
words,
what we do
in our
bodies
isn't
really that
spiritually
significant.
And many
commentators
have thought
just that,
that Paul
is quoting
and combating
here,
yet another
Corinthian
slogan.
But,
if that's
not the
case,
if the
ESV has
rendered the
verse properly
and many
translations do
it the same
way,
if this
isn't a
Corinthian
slogan,
then it would
seem that
Paul is not
saying that
sexual immorality
is worse
than other
sins,
sins.
But he
is saying
that it
has its
own sort
of seriousness.
It has
its own
particular
sort
of gravity.
Sex is
powerful.
Signifies the
whole life
union with
another
person.
Signifies the
redeeming union
of Christ
with his
church.
And it
does all
this through
a very
intimate and
vulnerable use
of our
God-given
bodies.
Perhaps this
verse is
simply Paul
being a
realist.
Sex is a
great and
powerful gift
and precisely
for that
reason,
its misuse
can bring
great harm.
A fire in
a fireplace
brings great
warmth and
joy to a
home.
But a
house on
fire brings
great sadness
and loss.
But in the
next verse,
Paul turns
toward the
positive.
Again with a
rhetorical,
do you not
know?
Do you not
know that your
body is a
temple of the
Holy Spirit?
Back in
chapter 3,
Paul called
the Corinthians
a temple of
the Holy Spirit
corporately,
as a church
together,
but now he
means it very
much personally.
Every individual
who believes in
Christ receives
the indwelling
presence of the
Holy Spirit and
as the end of
verse 19 says,
this comes as a
gift from
God.
It's not
something we
have to earn.
Notice Paul is
not saying here
in this passage
or anywhere
in his
writings.
You must be
moral so that
the Holy Spirit
can dwell in
you.
He's saying the
opposite.
The Holy Spirit
already dwells in
you by God's
grace.
Therefore,
be who you
are.
Your body is
a temple of
God's own
spirit now
already.
Now live as
if that's true.
And of course,
that means we
ought to seek
holy lives.
But at a
deeper level,
friends, it
means that we
ought to live
without being
haunted by
shame.
You see,
before you had
done one
thing right,
before you
had made
any progress
in righteousness
or holiness,
when you were
still utterly
dead in sin,
Christian brother
or sister,
God took up
residence within
you by his
Holy Spirit.
He looked at
you and said,
by virtue of
what Christ
my son has
done,
I'm coming to
live there
permanently.
I'm making it
my home.
And so he will
do for everyone
who trusts in
Christ.
Maybe you're here
this morning and
you've not been
fleeing sexual
immorality.
Maybe you've
fallen into it
time and
time again.
And as a
result, shame
lingers in
every corner
of your life.
And you feel
that if someone
really saw you,
they wouldn't
love you.
And if someone
loved you,
they couldn't
have really
seen you.
But listen to
the good news
this morning.
No matter
how impure
and uninhabitable
you may feel,
if you've
placed your
trust in
Christ,
God himself
has taken
up residence
within.
You are
a temple
of the Holy
Spirit.
The same
Spirit who
when he
descended on
the Old
Testament
temple made
it so that
the priests
couldn't even
stand up
because his
presence was
so overwhelming
and so
glorious.
That's who's
in you.
That's who
you are.
Not a
mistake.
Not a
failure.
Not an
addict.
Not a
boarded up
home on
the edge
of town
where no
one wants
to live
but a
temple of
the Holy
Spirit.
So from
now on,
come live
that way.
Come live
that way.
Be who
you are.
Come clean
where you
need to
come clean.
There's no
shame here.
Break off
relationships
that you
need to
break off.
He'll
strengthen
you.
He'll be
with you.
Stop
living together.
It'll be
worth the
cost and
the weight.
get rid
of technology
where you
need to
get rid
of
technology.
You don't
really need
a smartphone
despite what
the world
might say.
Don't let
guilt and
shame and
fear hold
you in their
grip anymore.
glorify God
in your
body.
Your body
has a
God-given
purpose.
It's a
member of
Christ and
it's a
temple of
the Holy
Spirit.
But there's
one more
point that
Paul makes.
One more
reason to
glorify God
in our
bodies.
And this
fourth and
final reason
simply put
is the
cross.
you're
not your
own.
For you
were bought
with a
price.
So glorify
God in
your body.
You see
underneath the
Corinthian
attitude towards
sex and
the body
was the
belief that
at the
end of
the day
what they
did with
their bodies
was really
their own
business.
But when
we take
that attitude
and bring
it into
the light
of the
gospel we
see that
it just
can't be
so.
We don't
belong to
ourselves
anymore.
We belong
to Christ.
You see
because of
sin friends
we lived
under a
debt that
we could
never pay.
And that
debt grew
greater every
second of
every day
infinite upon
infinite.
A debt that
held us
wholly under
its power
body and
soul.
You might be
here this
morning living
under this
debt maybe
without even
realizing it and
you wonder why
there's a weight
on everything
you see and
experience and
know.
But there
is one who
came who
was able to
pay the
price to
lift the
debt and
he was not
just able but
willing to do
so.
To redeem
us he gave
up his own
body to
die on a
cross to
pay our
debt of
sin in
our place.
And now in
light of what
he's done
we're
gloriously not
our own
anymore.
He bought
us for
himself and
we belong
to him.
If you're
new to
Christianity
this is
really the
point around
which everything
else turns.
Christ
crucified.
God
the fact
that we
are so
sinful that
the perfect
son of
God had
to pay an
infinite price
for us his
own blood.
But the
fact that we
are so loved
and accepted
that he
gladly paid
it out.
Becoming a
Christian putting
your trust in
Jesus Christ
means embracing
these two
realities that
flow forth from
the cross that
we are
simultaneously sinful
and accepted.
And it means
entrusting your
whole life to
him.
The great
lifter of our
debt.
The great
purchaser of
our lives body
and soul.
And he
becomes the
Lord of your
life.
You listen to
what he says in
his word.
And by the
indwelling power
of the spirit
you're changed
more and more
to become like
him.
And you become
a part of his
people in the
world.
The family of
God.
The church.
Of course the
thought of being
no longer your
own as Paul
says at the end
of verse 19
can sound a bit
scary or
threatening can't
it?
And yet to come
under the
lordship of
Christ even
when it comes to
how we use our
bodies is the
most liberating
thing there is.
If it's true
that Jesus Christ
is our loving
creator and
redeemer then
surely belonging
to him and
doing what he
says and trusting
him is the most
liberating and
joyful thing we
could possibly
do.
Because he gave
his body for
us we can
gladly and
safely give our
bodies to him.
If he was
willing to go to
the cross for me
and love then
surely I can
trust him with my
everything body
included.
God's
purpose.
Because it's a
member of
Christ.
Because it's a
temple of the
Holy Spirit and
ultimately because you
were bought with a
price because of all
that brothers and
sisters flee sexual
immorality and
instead glorify God
in your body.
flee sexual
immorality not
because sex
itself is awkward
or dirty or
taboo but because
God's vision and
purpose not just for
sex but for our
very bodies is so
much more glorious
and satisfying.
And as we do so the
world will see in us a
different way of
thinking about our
bodies.
And the world will see
in us a different way
of living as embodied
people in community.
And by God's grace it
will draw them to know
and trust the risen Lord
Jesus for themselves.
The one who gave up his
body for us so that
our bodies might be
raised with his.
Let's pray.
Oh Father we come
before you this
morning having thought
about these words of
your Apostle Paul to
glorify you in our
bodies.
grace.
And we want to
pause and confess
this morning God
that that is often
so hard.
And Jesus we
recognize that there
is no difficulty,
no sin,
no temptation,
no hardship that you
yourself did not know
in its full measure
and full weight
of your grace.
During your earthly
ministry.
And so we find in you
Lord our refuge
and our shield
and our strength.
Fill us anew with your
Holy Spirit
that we might live out
the vision of this
passage.
And God build us
into a community
of love and grace
and truth.
Make us into a church
family where living
this kind of life
makes sense.
Where there is
fellowship and
friendship and
communion.
Where there is love
and acceptance.
God I pray for those
who are undergoing
conviction of sin
this morning.
Areas of their life
that they need to be
fleeing from.
Oh God I pray that
you'd give them the
strength to do just
that.
Give them the courage
to reach out to a
Christian friend
who can help them
in that fleeing.
And help them to
grasp the positive
vision that you have
for them.
Whether they be
single.
Whether they be
married.
Whether they expect
and hope one day
to be married.
Whether they expect
and realize that they
will live a life
of singleness all
their days.
Oh God help them
to see the glory
of living for you.
Help us to glorify
you God in our
bodies.
Amen.
so
All right.
lay chin