It's on page 1147.
Okay, 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 9 to 13.
I have written to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people,
not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral,
or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters.
In that case, you would have to leave this world.
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother,
but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.
With such a man do not even eat.
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?
Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside.
Expel the wicked man from among you.
Let me go down to chapter 6.
I'll start at verse 9, 9 to 13.
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived.
Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes,
nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards,
nor slanders, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were.
But you were washed, you were sanctified,
and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
by the Spirit of our God.
Sexual immorality
Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food,
but God will destroy them both.
The body is not meant for sexual immorality,
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Amen.
Thanks very much, Ian.
Well, I encourage you to take notes.
If you've got your new sheet, there's a space on the back.
If not, there should be another sheet that was handed around,
or a pen at the front.
Feel free to get it,
and to get yourself a Bible if you haven't got one.
There's plenty at the back,
and you can follow through.
Before we start this morning,
I want to say a couple of things.
First, that I'm aware when dealing with the subject of homosexuality,
there are a variety of views and experiences.
So, you may find that as we go through this morning's talk,
there will be times you may agree,
and there may be times you disagree.
And so, I'm just saying that up front.
So, if you've got questions afterwards,
to come and talk to me,
and to encourage you to come to our follow-up discussion this evening.
The second thing that I want to say is that I am a learner.
I don't know all the answers,
and nor do I pretend to.
Trying to understand our sexuality is a very complex matter.
And I speak to you not as a physician,
or as a psychologist,
but simply as a learner and teacher of God's Word.
And that is where we want to base our thinking
and our study this morning.
That as we come together,
we want to hear what God has to say about ourselves,
how He has made us,
and how we are called to live in His world.
So, let's pray as we ask for God's help.
Our Father God, we thank you so much that you have given to us your Word,
so that we know how to live,
and how we have been made.
That we are not just placed here on earth,
trying to make it up,
and trying to figure it out by ourselves.
But you have shown us very clearly.
And we ask, Father, that by your Holy Spirit,
that you would help us to understand,
and to apply it to our lives,
and to our thinking.
If we come with any thoughts and any views,
that we would submit them right now to your Word.
That you would shape our minds,
and our thinking,
so that we become more and more like Christ.
Loving one another,
caring for one another,
and serious with the issues that you are serious with.
So please help us,
we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, over the last 20 years,
Ireland has changed from a conservative religious culture
to a more liberal, irreligious culture.
The bedrock of Irish society,
the heterosexual marriage,
is no longer foundational.
Increasingly, we meet people who are living together
with the same sex,
and hardly a week goes by
without some big-named celebrity coming out.
But with all the changes in our culture,
there still seems to be a lot of confusion about homosexuality.
Last year, I had to attend the funeral of my aunt.
And as with most funerals,
it's the opportunity to meet relatives and friends
that you haven't seen in years.
And at this funeral,
I was looking forward to meeting my cousin.
As far as I remember,
I had only ever met him once.
Of course, we had had many family gatherings in the past,
and everybody had always been invited,
except John was always absent.
Leading up to the funeral,
we were told that John was gay,
and was living with his partner for the last 20 years,
and they were now happily married.
Now, the question I had was this.
Why did nobody know?
Why was it all kept a secret for so long?
You see, with all the changes in society,
it seems that people still don't know
how to handle homosexuality.
Those within the gay community
very often fear rejection and isolation,
and have to deal with being ostracized and marginalized.
Those outside the gay community,
it seems, are uneducated in their understanding.
And they often appear homophobic in their attitudes,
and in the jokes that they share.
But that's my experience.
Let me try and make it a little bit more personal for us.
What would you say, or what would you do,
if your son came home one day from school
to tell you that he was more attracted
to the other boys in his class than the girls?
What would you do if a woman and her gay partner
arrived in church saying,
they follow Jesus, they love reading their Bible,
and they would love to be involved here?
What would you do?
You see, these are no longer questions for others
in another place.
These are questions for us.
And so we come this morning to hear
what the Bible has to say about homosexuality.
Well, I think there are three broad responses
that the church gives
to the change in our culture.
Firstly, there are those in the church
who will say,
condemnation.
Read your Bible, they say,
and they'll quote verses like Romans 1, verse 24.
God gave them over in their sinful desires
of their hearts to sexual impurity.
Men committed indecent acts with other men
and received in themselves
the due penalty for their perversion.
Homosexuality, they say,
is God's judgment.
Such people need to be put out of the church.
They need to be reminded
of how they have violated God's commands.
Second, and in response to that attitude,
there are those in the church
who will say, acceptance.
Homosexuality is just as much a part of society
as heterosexuality.
So we need to grow up
and we need to get on with it.
Lisa Miller, who is a theologian
and a commentator said,
speaking about the Bible,
a mature view of scriptural authority
requires us, as we have in the past,
to move beyond literalism.
The Bible was written for a world
so unknown to our own,
it's impossible to apply its rules
at face value to ours.
In other words, it's saying
we can't take the likes of Romans seriously.
Those texts were for another age.
They don't apply to us anymore.
Well, I don't know about you,
but neither of those views settle with me.
I don't think either of those views are an option.
Both are a distortion of Scripture
and both misunderstand how we handle Scripture.
So we need a third way.
And the third way I'm going to call
a gospel way.
And we're going to look under it
in two ways.
First, God's good design
and then God's great hope.
So we start with God's good design,
who we are.
First of all,
we must see ourselves
as human beings
created in God's image.
Back in Genesis 1,
verses 26 to 27,
it says this,
Then God said,
Let us make man in our image,
in our likeness.
So God created man
in his own image.
And in the image of God,
he created him.
Male and female,
he created them.
You see,
all too often,
we are grouped or categorized
according to our sexual orientation.
On the one hand,
there is the gay community
and people get lumped there.
And then there are others
who are in the straight community
and they get lumped there.
We find our identity in a group
and with people
who we perceive to be like us.
But that's unhelpful
because we first need to see ourselves,
not how we see ourselves
or how other people might see us,
but how God sees us.
You see,
we were created by God
in his likeness.
We are his image bearers.
So no matter who we are,
what background we come from,
we are his image bearers,
every single human being.
Now as we'll see in a minute,
that image has become distorted
by our choices
and the choices of others.
And it is God's purpose and plan
that that image is restored fully in us.
But as one writer helpfully put it,
God's primary desire
is not that we should become heterosexual,
but that we would become more like Christ.
We were created like God,
we are to become like God,
So it's only by looking to God
and seeing who he is
that I can really understand who I am.
So God views us
and God sees us as unique individuals,
people who are made in his image,
in his likeness,
who are equally loved,
and we must be treated as such.
Our first identity
is that we are made in his image.
So that's who we are.
And second,
well how should we live?
Well God has shown us
how we should live
in relationship with each other.
Because we are made in God's image,
we are relational beings.
God is a relational being.
The Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
They are at one together,
they relate together.
And we were made
for the same intimacy,
primarily with the triune God.
But also,
with each other.
And we are told
how that should be expressed.
And we've been looking at that
over the last few weeks
in 1 Corinthians chapter 7,
as we've been looking at
marriage and singleness.
And in 1 Corinthians 7,
we see God's purpose very clearly.
That marriage
is always between a man and a woman
in an exclusive,
committed relationship.
friendship.
And sexual intimacy
is part of God's
good design for marriage.
And one of the primary reasons
for that
is procreation.
God has designed
the man and the woman
so that they can have
children.
Children who can work together
to grow up
to serve and love God
and live under God.
Man and another man
and a woman
with another woman
can't have children.
It's not part of God's design.
So marriage is very clearly
a part of his
creation order.
Singleness,
on the other hand,
is also encouraged,
as we saw that
in chapter 7,
but without
sexual intimacy.
Relationships
between single people
are to be encouraged
and to be encouraged
across the sexes,
but without
engaging in
sexual activity.
to unite yourself
with someone sexually
outside of marriage
is to be going
against God's
good design.
So God, again,
has not only shown us
who we are
made in his image,
he has shown us
how we should live
in relationship
with each other
and how we should live
in his world.
So for all of us,
whoever we are,
there is either
marriage,
which is always
heterosexual,
always between a man
and a woman.
Or,
there is singleness,
which is either
heterosexual,
you stay in your own,
or homosexual.
Now,
let me try
and explain that
a little bit more
as we think
of homosexual
behavior
and homosexual
orientation.
You can just
go back one,
that's all right,
saviour.
You mightn't have
this on your notes,
it's just an extra
homosexual behavior
and homosexual
orientation.
We've got to
distinguish
between the two.
Homosexual orientation
is to be
attracted to
someone of the
same sex.
Homosexual behavior
is to be
sexually active
with someone
of the same sex.
Now,
as we have seen,
sexual intimacy
is only to be
expressed
within the context
of God's
design
for marriage.
So the Bible,
we discover,
is always
negative
to homosexual
behavior,
but it never
condemns
or judges
homosexual
orientation.
Because the issue
in Scripture
is not
homosexuality,
but purity.
The Bible
does not
say
straight
sex
is
good,
but gay
sex
is bad.
It doesn't
say that.
Now,
what the Bible
says is,
in Ephesians 5,
verse 3,
there must
not be
a hint
of sexual
immorality.
You see,
whatever our
orientation,
we are all
called
to purity.
So if you
are married,
listen to this
from Hebrews
13,
verse 4.
Marriage
should be
honored by
all,
and the
marriage bed
kept pure,
for God
will judge
the adulterer
and the
sexually
immoral.
If you
are single,
whatever your
orientation,
listen to this
from 1 Timothy
5.
Treat younger
men as
brothers,
and younger
women as
sisters,
with absolute
purity.
You see,
to be made
in God's
image is
to reflect
God's heart
for purity.
Behavior
is what the
Bible talks
about,
not
orientation.
So we've
got to be
very clear
about the
differences
there.
But let's
move on
as to
why we
struggle.
And that's
a sensible
question to
ask.
Why do we
struggle with
our sexuality?
Christians who
have a
homosexual
orientation
often talk
about unwanted
desires and
share of their
struggles to
remain sexually
pure.
Richard Kirker,
who was part
of the gay and
lesbian Christian
movement in
Britain,
he said
this,
it would
be very
cavalier and
capricious of
God who
created people
in a certain
way and
then instructed
them that
they are
forbidden from
fulfilling all
the potential
they have been
given.
In other words,
he was saying,
if God made
me this way
with homosexual
feelings,
then I must
be able to
express it
sexually.
Well,
I don't think
God has made
us that way.
apart from
scripture,
scientific and
medical research
has shown that
homosexuality is
not genetically
or biologically
determined.
You see,
we all live in
a fallen world
and as a result,
all of our
sexuality,
whoever we
are,
is all
flawed.
None of us
relate to each
other the way
that we ought
to,
we don't live
the way God
intends,
and we don't
behave according
to God's
word.
The Bible
is crystal
clear that
while we have
all been made
in the image
of God,
that image
has been
distorted.
And a
distorted
sexuality can
be put down
to,
very simply,
our wrong
choices on
our own
part,
but equally,
our sexuality
can be
distorted
because of
another person's
wrong choice
towards us.
So if
people have
suffered
sexual abuse,
it is going
to have an
effect on
their behavior
and their
outlook on
their relationships.
It's also
true that for
those who
have grown up
within a
family where
there has
been one
parent or
there's been
people coming
in and out
of the
relationship,
that that
also creates
behavior.
Contrary to
common thought,
there is
not a
gay gene.
Homosexuality
is a
choice within
our control
or it's
a learned
behavior
outside of
our immediate
control.
I have a
book here
and as
we are
stuck for
time,
we could
take a
long time
to look
at those
issues.
This one
is called
Walking
with Gay
Friends
and there's
a very
helpful
chapter on
here called
Nature.
Or nurture
which will
take that
whole issue
through a
little bit
more.
Did God
make me
this way
or is it
because of
outside influences
and experiences
that makes me
the way that
I am?
So I just
hold that up
as something
that you
want to
have a
read of.
So I
think this
will help
us better
understand
homosexuality,
who we are,
we're made
in God's
image,
how we live,
the relationships
that he has
given us,
but why we
struggle.
We live
in a
fallen
and broken
world,
and we
make choices
ourselves,
but because of
others' choices
towards us,
it can have an
effect on our
behavior and
our thinking.
So what is
God's great
hope?
Well, I think
there are three
ways that we
can respond
equally to
this.
things.
And the
first is
this.
First, we
are not
called to
stamp out
homosexual
behavior.
We are
called to
preach
Christ.
Paul has
made it very
clear that it
is God's
business to
judge those
who are
outside the
church.
Have a look
at 1
Corinthians
chapter 5,
verses 9
to 10.
Chapter 5
starts out
where it
says in
verse 1,
it's actually
reported that
there is
sexual immorality
among you.
And we
continue in
verse 9.
He says,
I have
written to
you in
my letter
not to
associate
with
sexually
immoral
people,
not at
all meaning
the people
of this
world who
are immoral.
In other
words,
not meaning
those who
are not
Christians,
or the
greedy,
or swindlers,
or idolaters.
In that
case,
you would
have to
leave this
world.
Verse 12,
what business
is it of
mine to
judge those
outside the
church?
You see,
it is not
our calling
as Christians
to enforce
a certain
moral behavior
and to
remove
ourselves
from people
who engage
in immoral
practices.
If that
were the
case,
he is
saying,
we would
just have
to leave
the planet.
We'd
have to
go and
live on
planet
Mars or
something.
Rather,
what our
concern should
be as
Christians is
not the
behavior of
those who
are not
Christians,
but the
behavior of
those who
are Christians.
We should
be concerned
about the
calling of
the Christian.
And the
primary calling
of the
Christian is
to reach
out with
the gospel.
And Paul
made it very
clear in
chapter 1
verse 17
that God
had sent
him primarily
to preach
the gospel.
That was
why he was
here.
One writer
put it like
this,
people need
a reason to
live a changed
life,
and we can
give them
that reason.
God has
not called
us to be
the moral
police for
this world.
He has
called us
to preach
the good
news about
his son.
The biggest
problem that
the non-Christian
world has
is the fact
that they
are not
Christians.
Their
behavior is
a secondary
issue.
The real
problem is
that they
don't know
Jesus.
Therefore,
we can say,
the gospel
is central.
so often,
we can
focus on
the external.
We can
see people's
behavior,
and we
want to
change their
behavior.
We want
to make
them different
kind of
people.
But the
real issue
is the
internal.
It's the
heart,
and it's
only the
gospel that
can penetrate
deep into
people's
hearts and
bring about
the change.
Unless people
are changed
on the inside,
they're never
going to change
on the outside.
So our
first response
as Christians
is always
to be
introducing
people
to Jesus.
The second
response,
then,
is this.
We are not
called to
ignore
homosexual
behavior.
We are to
seek ongoing
transformation.
Now,
when Paul
wrote to
the Christians
at Corinth,
and we
must remember
that this
is a letter
written to
a church,
to those
who are
Christians,
and we
see all
the behavior
that was
going on,
and he
was aware
as he
wrote the
letter that
there was
sexual
immorality
of all
kinds that
was going
on at
the church.
But look
at the way
in which he
starts his
letter.
Go back
to chapter
one,
verse
two.
You
think of
all the
issues that
we've
looked at
that were
in the
church,
and all
the problems,
and this
is how he
starts in
verse two.
He says,
to the
church of
God in
Corinth,
to those
sanctified in
Christ Jesus,
called to be
holy,
together with
all those
everywhere who
call on the
name of our
Lord Jesus
Christ,
their Lord
and ours.
I find it
quite incredible
that he doesn't
just launch
into a big
tirade,
condemning
every immoral
behavior.
Instead,
he starts
off by
reminding them
of the
gospel.
He starts
off by
reminding them
of their
life with
Christ.
He's telling
them that
you've been
sanctified,
which means
you've been
set apart
for Christ.
You belong
to Christ.
You were
called to
be holy.
you're
different.
In other
words,
because of
who you
are,
because of
what Christ
has done
in your
life,
this is
how you
should
live.
And that's
where he
starts his
letter.
So when we
get into
the nitty-gritty
of the
issues in
chapter 5,
he gives
very clear
instructions
that the
Christian,
the believer
who persists
in sexual
immorality,
the Christian
who is
unrepentant,
that person
should not
be ignored.
So in
chapter 5,
verse 11,
he says,
but now,
well, let's
pick it up
from verse 9,
just so you
get the flow
of thought
again.
He says,
I have
written to
you in
my letter
not to
associate
with
sexually
immoral
people,
not at
all meaning
the people
of this
world who
are immoral
or the
greedy,
the swindlers
or idolaters.
In that
case,
you would
have to
leave this
world.
But now
I am
writing to
you that
you must
not associate
with anyone
who calls
himself a
brother,
calls himself
a Christian,
but is
sexually
immoral
or greedy,
an idolater
or a
slanderer,
a drunkard
or a
swindler.
With
such a
person,
do not
even
eat.
Verse 13,
God
will
judge
those
outside,
expel
the wicked
man
from among
you.
In other
words,
you have
a
responsibility
to the
believer
in the
church
who is
unrepentant.
And it's
saying here,
I think,
in a wider
context,
that Christ
is not
content to
leave us
where we
are.
We have
to take
our sins
seriously,
whatever that
is,
and we
are to
seek
ongoing
transformation.
So with
that in
mind,
grace is
required.
When we
become
Christians,
our
behavior
doesn't
change
overnight.
As soon
as you
turn to
Christ,
it doesn't
mean to
say that
you are
now a
perfect
person.
Our
position
before
God
changes.
He
now
sees
us
as he
sees
Christ,
blameless
and holy
in his
sight.
But the
transformation
of our
lives is
ongoing.
And so
often we
seem to
get it
round the
wrong way.
We say,
change your
behavior and
then come
to Christ.
Get your
life sorted
and then
you can
come to
Jesus.
That's
wrong.
It's
terribly
wrong.
We come
to Christ
first as
we are,
whether we
are homosexual
or heterosexual.
And God
in his
goodness
will bring
about the
change in
our lives.
We are
all sinners.
We all
fail and
we all
fall.
Therefore,
we need to
be able to
extend God's
grace to
one another
as we
seek the
transformation
of our
lives.
So
behavior
doesn't
change
overnight.
There is
a process
and therefore
grace needs
to be in
operation.
third
then,
we are
not
called to
make
homosexual
behavior
the worst
of sins.
We are
to welcome
all
sinners.
Look at
1 Corinthians
6,
verses 9
to 10.
Let's
read from
there.
chapter 6,
verse 9.
Do you
not know
that the
wicked
will not
inherit
the kingdom
of God?
Do not
be deceived.
Neither
the sexually
immoral,
nor idolaters,
nor adulterers,
nor male
prostitutes,
nor homosexual
offenders,
nor thieves,
nor the
greedy,
nor drunkards,
nor slanderers,
nor swindlers,
will inherit
the kingdom
of God.
Now,
can you see
that list
that is there
before us?
Homosexual
behavior
is just
one in a
list
of sexually
immoral
sins.
It's not
the only
one.
And then
when we
look at
the sexually
immoral
sins,
that is
in a
broader
list
of other
sins,
of slanderers,
of swindlers,
and drunkards,
and greedy.
There's a
whole lot
of behavior
that is
contrary to
God's
good design.
Not being
generous
with your
money
is just
the same
as sleeping
with someone
of the
opposite
sex.
Speaking
against
somebody
else's
character
is the
same
as looking
at porn.
God
doesn't
distinguish
things here,
and nor
should we.
They are
all grouped
together.
Cy Rogers,
who is a
Christian
teacher,
somebody who
seeks to
help and
encourage
those who
struggle with
homosexuality,
he says
this,
it's not
heterosexuality
that gets
us into
heaven,
it's a
relationship
with Jesus.
When we
stand before
God,
he's not
going to
ask you,
are you
heterosexual,
or are you
homosexual?
He's going
to ask,
do you
love Jesus?
So it's
not about
avoiding
particular
sins,
it's about
coming as
sinners the
way we
are to
Christ,
which is
what Paul
seems to
be applying
in verse
11.
He says
to them,
of all the
people that
were made,
this is what
the church
was made
up of,
all these
kinds of
people that
we read
in verse
9.
And he
says in
verse 11,
that is
what some
of you
were.
This is
the way
you used
to live.
But when
you came
to Christ,
something
happened.
Finish off
verse 11,
but you
were washed,
you were
sanctified,
you were
justified in
the name of
our Lord
Jesus Christ
and by the
Spirit of
our God.
You see,
we are not
told to
come to
Christ with
our lives
sorted out.
We are to
come to
Christ so
that our
lives can
be sorted
out.
And he
explains how
the gospel
begins to
take effect
in people.
He reminds
them,
he says,
look,
you were
washed.
In other
words,
you have
been given
a new
purity.
Christ has
come to
you,
he has
cleaned
you,
he forgives
you of
your sin,
and in
place of
that,
he gives
you the
purity of
Christ.
Our
sexual
impurity
is
replaced
with
Christ's
purity.
You
are
washed,
you're
clean.
And then
he tells
them,
you are
sanctified.
We've
been given
a new
purpose in
life.
Christ has
come to
you so
that you
can finish
your old
life and
you can
begin a
new kind
of life.
We're set
apart,
that's what
sanctified
means.
You've
got a new
purpose in
life.
You now
follow God's
design for
sexuality,
not your
own.
Now start
living it.
And he
says you
were justified.
In other
words, we
have a new
position.
Christ has
come to
us.
He has
exchanged
places with
us.
He's taken
on all
our sexual
immorality,
every thought
and every
word and
every deed,
and he
suffers the
penalty that
we deserve,
and in its
place, we
are given a
new standing
before God.
We are
not
homosexual
or
heterosexual.
We are
children of
God.
That is our
true identity,
loved and
treasured by
him.
So you
can see
here that
he's reminding
them that
you are
welcomed as
sinners.
You are
welcomed with
all your
immoral
behaviour.
You were
introduced to
Jesus who
gives you a
new purity,
a new
purpose,
and a
new
position in
life.
That means
that all
hate-speak
is out.
We are
not to be
people who
walk around
with placards,
as is seen
on the news
from time
to time,
shouting,
God hates
fags.
We are
not to be
people who
look down
and feel
superior to
those with
a homosexual
orientation.
what about
the jokes
you make
amongst
your
friends?
What about
put-down
comments that
you may say
to your
classmate,
you're
gay?
For the
Christian
community,
that is
unacceptable.
There is
no room to
reject or
isolate
anyone.
We are
called to
welcome
everyone,
just as
Christ has
welcomed us.
so I'd
like us
to think
through
a couple
of things
and I
just leave
these comments
with you.
What is
there within
your sexuality
that you
struggle with?
Is there
anybody that
you know
who is
gay?
Do you
know anybody
who struggles
with homosexuality?
how do you
relate to
them?
What do
you say?
How do
you behave?
Is there a
different way
in which you
can approach
the person?
How can
you help
them?
Just as
much as
Christ has
come to
us to
help us.
May God
help us
to apply
his word
as we
seek to
live as
his people
in this
world.
Let's pray
together.
We've been
talking
through a
number of
issues over
these past
weeks and
so I just
want to say
if there is
anybody here
who wants
to talk
through further
any of
these issues
in a more
private manner
either with
myself or
with Kirstie
then please
do speak
to us and
it will be
held in
complete
confidentiality.
Our
Father God
we thank
you so
much that
we are
your
creation.
we are
part of
your
wonderful
design.
We are
your
image
bearers.
We were
made
like
God
and it
is your
desire
that we
would become
more and
more like
Christ
and thank
you that
one day
if our
trust is in
the Lord
Jesus
we will
become
like Christ
we will
be like
him.
we will
struggle no
more.
We won't
struggle about
our sin.
We won't
struggle with
our sexuality.
Everything
will be put
in order
and your
design will
be stamped
across our
lives and
across our
world.
Please help
us to live
as your
people.
Help us to
submit to the
authority of
your word.
Help us to
bring grace
to one
another.
Help us
not to
ignore the
sin that we
see around
us.
Help us to
bring forgiveness.
Help us to
speak Christ
into each
other's lives.
To help
each other
to go on
living the
pure life
that you
have called
us to
live.
And we
pray that you
would help
us to be
lights shining
for you
in what
is still
very much
a homophobic
culture and
society.
Help us to
bring your
love.
Help us to
bring Christ.
Help us to
be your
people.
In Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're going
to sing
together our
closing song.
It's in
Christ alone
my hope is
found.
That is where
we all find
our refuge.
That's where we
all find our
peace.
That is where
we find our
hope.