Go a little deeper
In the "Elephant in the Room" series, Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick names the LGBTQ+ topic as the most polarizing subject of the summer, urging that the church address hard topics rather than let social media and wider culture shape its thinking. He frames the message around the conviction that there is hope for everyone in Jesus, including people who differ in background, belief, or behavior, and insists that Jesus holds authority over every area of life, including sexuality, so Scripture can be approached without fear.
Pastor Keith interprets Romans 1 as describing humanity rejecting God's direction and emphasizes salvation rather than shaming as Paul's purpose. Using Genesis 1, he presents every person as bearing God's image. He distinguishes temptation from wrongdoing through Hebrews 4:15 and 1 Corinthians 10:13, urges reliance on God's teaching rather than feelings alone, and uses Romans 3:23 to emphasize everyone's need for Jesus.
The back half turns toward grace and invitation. Using 1 Corinthians 6 on being washed and sanctified, John 8 with the woman caught in adultery, and Luke 15's lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son, Pastor Keith pictures a God who runs toward the returning sinner and celebrates. He argues that Christianity offers not behavior modification but new life, and the message closes with a call to surrender to Jesus and a prayer over the church to pursue the lost rather than judge them.
Take this with you
Made in God's image
Using Genesis 1, Pastor Keith presents all people as bearing God's image and grounds human worth in the Creator. He encourages listeners to look to God rather than comparison with others for their sense of identity.
Everyone's need for Jesus
Applying Romans 3:23, Pastor Keith emphasizes that everyone needs Jesus regardless of background or identity. He warns against ranking sins as a means of claiming moral superiority.
Temptation is not sin
Pastor Keith uses Hebrews 4:15 to distinguish experiencing temptation from giving in to it. He urges reliance on God's direction rather than feelings alone and explains 1 Corinthians 10:13 as assurance of God's help to endure temptation.
Grace welcomes and calls to a new way
Using John 8 and Romans 8:1, Pastor Keith emphasizes Jesus' grace toward the woman accused of adultery alongside his call for her to change direction. He presents life in Christ as freedom from condemnation and an invitation to follow his ways.
The Father runs to the returning sinner
In Luke 15, Pastor Keith points to the father who runs to embrace the prodigal son, restores his identity, and celebrates, while the older brother's resentment stands as a warning to religious pride. He says no one is too far for God.
Surrender defines a Christian
Applying Mark 8:34, Pastor Keith describes Christian identity as surrender to Jesus rather than a political or sexual label. He acknowledges that following Jesus can still involve temptation and difficult burdens.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
we are in a summer series called the elephant in the room the elephant is what's here yet we want to ignore it but if the church does not talk about the elephant in the room the world will talk about the elephant and then the world will influence the church and the church was never meant to be influenced by the world the church is meant to influence the world facebook should not be the place where you grow most in your faith the greatest influence of your life should not be instagram when you think about the inspirational sound bites of your life maybe you shouldn't be turning so much to twitter as you should to scripture
so that we can see who the author the founder and the perfecter of our faith is that is jesus christ as we come to this subject today this elephant in the room i want you know this is the most polarizing of all the subjects we'll look at in the summer series it's polarizing for a reason it's emotional for many it's it depends where your core conviction is it might be taken personal and one way or another so before we get to the subject i just want to remind you what we believe here at journey church that there's hope for everyone that in jesus there's hope for everyone would you just say that with me come on with a personal conviction get out your preacher voice all together here we go hope for everyone now if you believe
this just think about this if you believe this that means there's hope for someone that's not like you that means there's even a hope for someone that doesn't look like you hope for someone that doesn't think like you hope for someone that doesn't act like you today's elephant is lgbtq plus which stands for lesbian gay bisexual transgendered queer now known as questioning plus the plus means including but not limited to transgender intersexual asexual and much much more how many you admit we're living in a day of change you think we're living in a day of change just seems like this world is changing right you just look around it's like oh man this
this world is changing but it's not long before you start to recognize that things are constantly changing and the wise words of the the late solomon he said in ecclesiastes 1 9 he he says there's nothing new under the sun the older i get the more i realize what solomon said these kids today think that their pants are new pulled up halfway through their stomach and they they call them mom jeans but i i have some ptsd because my mom wore those jeans i start to recognize but there's nothing new we think there's change we think there's new styles but the older you get you you see that they're just recycled this has been here before we we look around and it seems like society is just
changing but all we've got to do is look back in history and see that well maybe maybe solomon was on to something there's nothing new under the sun today as we turn to this subject i want to recognize today that if jesus is who he claimed to be in matthew 28 that all authority has been given to him under heaven and on earth that jesus has all authority over politics over money and he even has all authority over sexuality so as we turn to the bible the bible has much to say regarding this subject regarding sex and sexuality we don't need to be afraid of this that we can go to god's word with open eyes and open ears and say lord teach me teach me who you are paul who wrote many of the books we find in the new testament
was radically changed by jesus and he was the great influencer of the early church he helped start many different churches and he wrote an incredible letter to the roman christians we have it known as the book of romans and in the opening chapter of romans paul's going to address the culture the reality of society in the days that they're living in and paul recognizes that this world in rome which is the greatest empire on the planet and this this this roman culture was influenced by the greek culture so it's a greco-roman culture influenced by philosophy and the worship of many gods and sexuality was brought into all of these different things and he's going to write to the christians addressing this reality of who jesus is and in the
opening chapter we read in romans chapter 1 verse 16 the author paul says this for i he makes this personal this is what he's experienced for i am not ashamed of the gospel now gospel means what if you know it come on god that's right gospel is good news so he's addressing the reality the whole world might be different than you but what we have is good news is not bad news i'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god for salvation to some people who look like each other to believe let's just see if you're reading the same text the gospel is the power of god it is salvation to everyone who believes now he addresses the reality that god worked through israel first to the jews they have the
scripture but also to the greek this is to everyone he he knew that what jesus did in his life that jesus can do it in someone else's life as well regardless of where they find themselves in life and as he writes this letter to the romans he's going to get very real with them about what's happening in their lives and in romans chapter 1 verse 18 he speaks of the reality of god he says for the wrath of god is revealed the wrath of god is god's judgment he's a just perfect god he cannot tolerate sin we looked at this greatly when we studied the book of revelation he's a just god that pours out his judgment and paul addresses this he says the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
righteous means a right standing with god so people who are not right with god experience god's wrath who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth for what can be known about god is plain to them because god has shown it to them for his invisible attributes namely his eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so they are without excuse let's just pause for just a moment here's what the writer is saying everyone is without excuse all you gotta do is look out at a beautiful sunset and something inside of you stirred and said man it's like someone made that sunset all you got to do is look at the majestic mountains and something stirs inside of
you and says might there be a maker behind those mountains or when you look out at the vast expanse of the oceans and there's something inside you just says i feel so small maybe maybe there's more to life well god has revealed himself not just in the temple not just through the torah of the law not just through people but through creation that when you see a hummingbird and you say that moves like a drone that's just wonderful like what's behind this and why why why is the hummingbird that is a bird looks so different than an eagle and and who's behind this and so paul addresses all people on the entire planet have the same access to the one god creator but then he goes on in verse 21 says for although they knew god they knew there was
something more they did not honor him as god or give thanks to him but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened he's using a greek phrase here they gave in and he goes into verse 22 claiming to be wise today we have many that claim to be why just because you claim to be wise does not mean you are wise claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for the images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things so despite the knowledge of god that he's preeminent overall meaning god is supreme over everything we see the first exchange that paul talks about
instead of wanting god that is invisible they go after that which they can see the visible they exchange god for the things they can see and we're gonna see a theme in scripture there's god's ways or there's the world's ways we could say there's our way paul goes on and continues in verse 24 and says therefore this wrath of god that he just talked about in verse 18 therefore god gave them up in the lusts let me just pause with lust this greek word means to be given over to desire you see something you really want and you would do anything to get it you don't always lust bad things come on sometimes you lust after chocolate cake it just means you do anything to get that chocolate cake you got a lie you got to take it from a kid you you lost seen after this thing you you
want that and you're willing to break your diet you're willing to do whatever needs to be it's not just chocolate cake it could be video games you're going to do whatever it takes i'm going to wake up in the middle of night i want to play video games but he's not talking about here video games or chocolate cakes specifically he's going to reference what these lusts are they gave themselves up in the lust of their hearts to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves so now he's talking about what's happening sexually in this society at this time because this is why they did it they exchanged the truth about god for a lie and they worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever amen so this writer paul is expressing the reality
in which these christians in rome are living in and he talks about the second exchange they exchanged the truth of god for a lie so instead of wanting god's ways they said our way is a better way and as he begins to talk about this the point of this introduction to the book of romans is not to condemn them it's not to shame them it's not to guilt them it's not to say we're doomed it's not to say that it's all over it's not to say this is the worst time that we can live in it's not to say that oh the times were better in the good old days the point of all this is to express the reality in which they find themselves and so he continues in verse 26 for this reason god gave them up to dishonorable passions some of us
wonder why are things the way they are god allows it he does not force any of us to follow him for this reason god gave them up verse 26 for their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural excuses the men likewise gave up natural relations for women and were consumed with passion for one another men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error so we have in this opening chapter of this book a clear distinction there's a natural way which he's referring to god's ways or there's the way of the world which we could call man's ways
now if you stopped here you might think oh this guy is shaming he's condemning but he spends the remainder of this book chapter upon chapter explaining the wonderful salvation that's found in jesus that by believing in jesus christ through faith you receive grace but before he gets to this wonderful salvation he wants to make sure that the reader knows what they're saved from you are saved from the wrath of god and you receive the wrath of god because you choose your way over god's ways and as we look around the world that we live in today we can look back and say this sounds so similar that what we're going through today looks a lot like what was happening in the days of paul they look really similar to what were
happening in the days prior to paul in fact what we begin to understand is that throughout history we continue to repeat the same cycles and if there's one thing that i know that god wants you to know today is that he loves you and he made you he has a purpose for your life he's got a plan for you that you would have hope how do i know this because the bible teaches us that you are made in the image of god every single human you sitting here today you can have hope today because god made you in genesis the opening book of the bible in chapter one at the beginning we see in chapter one verse 26 then god said here was his plan let us make man in our image after our likeness
we get a glimpse from the beginning we have one god in three persons he is a triune god perfectly united one not three gods one god and three persons and god gets this great idea i'm gonna make a creature that's more like us and as we begin to read this we see that this creature would have favor on earth let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over the earth and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth all the hunters say amen come on so god created man in his own image in the image of god he created him male and female he created them so we see that both male and female are made in the image of god that was his plan from the beginning
you're made in his image he goes on he doesn't just leave us there god blessed them and god said to them be fruitful multiply fill the earth subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth so this is god's plan from the beginning that humanity is made in the image of god this is really important it's what distinguishes us from every other creature dogs are cool but they're not made in the image of god some of y'all treat them like gods elephants are awesome but they're not made in the image of god monkeys might look like man but they're
not made in the image of god you are made in the image of god and we as human beings need to know our maker the one that actually made you in your mother's womb you are fearfully and wonderfully made great are his works he doesn't make mistakes oh i just talked to someone this morning that told me her story she was adopted her birth mother was actually raped and gave her up to adoption to parents that could no longer have kids and then she was raised in a christian home and she's telling me this powerful story and i look at what the world sees as a mistake god sees as a divine plan you have purpose and now she's got kids and she's got grandkids and she's sharing the legacy of loving people when they show up to journey church i just look and say man what the enemy intends for evil god god's going to use it for good so
despite who you are your earthly daddy can walk out on you but your heavenly father's not i want you to know that you might look like you're missing something on this side of heaven but i want you to god made you just the way he did and he does not make mistakes you are fearfully and wonderfully made you don't need to compare yourself to someone else you need to look at the creator and if he is creator god then he is that unique you have the imprint of god on your life and so what the enemies wanted to do from the beginning is to say do don't choose god his way is not the right way oh that's what happened with our first parents adam and eve they're in the garden what could go wrong everything's good wouldn't it be great to be in that garden oh you don't need to water it there are no dry spots in the lawn there's no weeds to be pulled you can see my struggles right now
there's there's no problems everything's good you've got a great relationship with god a great relationship with others and then the devil enters the story and he starts tempting he starts asking questions did god really say is god's way the right way and that's the ultimate question in life is god's way the right way or can you choose another way in life oh jesus says of the enemy the devil he says when he lies he speaks out of his own character for he's a liar he's the father of lies and what happened originally in the garden when sin first entered the human story still happens today it happens in all of our hearts but this is where the grace of god comes in and it is great the grace of god comes in and acknowledges what's wrong the grace of god says i don't want to leave you in this place
for if you stay in this place i want you to know that it's not going to lead you to life so the grace of god enters our story and it's messy some of us think that grace will be all cleaned up but grace is messy grace is the rainbow after the storm now the storm is painful the storm is hard the storm might be full of fear and uncertainty but after the storm comes the rainbow isn't it a curious thing that the symbol of the lgbtq plus community is a rainbow the symbol of the lgbtq community is a rainbow a rainbow is a reminder of god's grace that what we see today as a
problem is actually an opportunity that every time you see a rainbow you remember who made the rainbow it was god in genesis chapter nine this is after the flood god's wrath came upon an earth he judged the earth through a flood god says in genesis 9 13 i have set my bow thus the rainbow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth when i bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds i will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh and the water shall never again become a flood to destroy the earth so some of us think oh that's so mean of god to to flood the earth and today we've taken this story of god's wrath and judgment
we we've turned it into like a a a nursery story we've got telling kids you know hey here's an ark with all these animals but do you know why those animals are there because all the people died because of judgment of sin and then if you get real with the story you say i'm not sure i like that god well i'll tell you if you read between genesis 3 and genesis 9 you'll understand why the wrath of god came it's a reality that humanity chose their way instead of god's ways and the consequences are catastrophic if you continue in your way instead of god's ways and what god promised us through the rainbow as he said although you deserve death although you deserve judgment although i deserve god's wrath
i am reminded through the rainbow of god's mercy and grace it's a reminder of my need for him it's a reminder that when i choose my way it doesn't end well yet when i choose god's ways it always leads to life you know when we choose our way apart from god's we can justify it many different ways today we say we're following our feelings i'm just doing what i feel is and if you feel a certain way you should do what your heart tells you to do and and we even say things like that you should just follow your heart which is outside of biblical advice because the bible says your heart is deceitful above all things so sometimes i can't even trust my own heart because my heart doesn't always know the right way my heart wants to do things my way and i can blame my original parents from the
beginning because they chose to do things their way instead of god's ways and one would argue well if i'm attracted to the same sex that's what i feel maybe i was made this way or one might argue if i feel a different gender than i am a different gender but as we begin to look at our feelings we should not be guided by our feelings feelings are created by god but they're never meant to be our guiding light god wants us to choose his way over our way and we need to be reminded that temptation that is to do things outside of god's ways temptation is not a sin even jesus was tempted over and over by the devil and the writer of hebrews reminds us that we have one
who in every aspect hebrews 4 15 says jesus was tempted in every aspect as as he was tempted as we are yet without sin jesus was tempted as we are but he was the only one that did not give into sin he was tempted to he was tempted to take a shortcut he was tempted to do things outside of god's will and god's ways because sometimes god's ways are difficult sometimes god's ways are hard he was tempted to give into the lives of the enemy but he didn't do it and if you follow jesus you too will be tempted the enemy is going to go after you to do something contrary to god's will and his way don't think that by believing in jesus you won't be tempted anymore
i remember after believing in jesus for the first time i accepted christ as the savior of my life at 15 years old i went to church for all the wrong reasons i went to youth group for the girls but instead i got god i gave my life to jesus i was baptized on my 16th birthday i was just a hormonal teenage boy that gave his life to jesus but you know after i gave my life to jesus i was still a hormonal teenage boy thankfully this time i had a youth pastor in my life who brought me god's word in psalm 119 he says how can a young man keep his way pure and summer and bend organ how can a young man do it he can do it by the power of god's word when he hides god's word in his heart when god's word guards his heart and so my youth pastor told me you need to
memorize god's word and the first bible verse i memorized was first corinthians 10 13. paul was writing to a church in corinth corinth had a a god right in the center of the city of corinth aphrodite they did worship through cult prostitutes and and paul was familiar that they were going to be tempted as christians to do what the world was doing and so i memorized this verse that he wrote to the corinthians no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man i remember it to this day in the original version i learned which was the niv no temptation has seized you except what is common to man don't think you're alone in your temptations now all our temptations might be different but we're all tempted but don't think that god's gonna
leave you in this place but rather he continues and says god is faithful he'll never give up in you god will never leave you he'll never forsake you and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability but with the temptation he will provide a way of escape that you may be able to endure it now this is key here christians don't talk about it enough when you follow jesus sometimes you gotta endure it sometimes you gotta not do some things you want to do because you're following god's ways over your ways and it's hard sometimes you gotta endure but god wants you to experience all that he has to offer that you would know that you're made in his image not the image of the world
not what you want not what anyone else want god wants you to understand who you are in his eyes and the one thing we have in common with every person every one of us no matter if your l or your g or your b or your t or your q it doesn't matter if you're a baptist or a presbyterian or methodist doesn't matter if you're a republican a democrat or a libertarian we've all sinned and we have a need for a savior oh the scriptures teach us in romans 3 23 it says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god every one of us no exemption doesn't matter what family you were born into doesn't matter what nationality you are doesn't matter what church you attend you're a sinner in need of a savior
david knew this oh so well when he says in psalm 51 verse 5 behold i was brought forth in iniquity it's my parents fault and in sin did my mother conceive me some find it a defense that a baby would be born in sin but i'll tell you it doesn't take very long before you realize everybody's a sinner you real no one's exempt from this because if your daddy's ascended and your mom is a sinner then you're a sinner this is where jesus is different than we are jesus was not born the same way jesus was not born of an earthly father jesus was born of a virgin so he was born a man but he was born of god he is 100 man 100 god not 50 50 god became man
the creator became created he is the only one that did what needed to be done he's the first human to live a sinless life he was tempted to do something different but he didn't give in to the temptation that's why when we look to jesus we know that he knows what we've been through because he was a human just like us god stepped into the mess of our story and think about the time he stepped into this story what a curious time that jesus came at a time when the roman empire was great people thought he would be the conquering king but he's the king of all kings he doesn't do things like the way of this world his kingdom is much greater he came to show us who he is as almighty god and so he would serve us in love so that when we believe in him
we would see the demonstration of this love that's why paul writes to the romans he says but god shows his love for us in this while we were still sinners christ died for us christ died for the non-binary person christ died for the transgendered queer christ died for you so that you would know the love of your creator he took on our sin he died when he did not deserve death he took all of our sin not some of it he would bear the weight of all of our sins that by believing in him you begin to understand that god had a purpose from the beginning but do not believe that jesus died so that you would behave differently some of us have bought into the myth
that that's what christianity is about that when you believe in jesus you behave differently that's a lie that's not what the gospel is about jesus didn't die so that people would behave better jesus died so that we wouldn't go to hell sin separates you from god it doesn't matter what the sin is we like to categorize sin we we put murder in a special place right at least i'm not a murderer i should have but i didn't so i'm better than that person i didn't cave into the temptation but here's the truth if you lie you're you're sinning and it separates you from god if you're greedy you're sinning and it separates you from god anytime you choose your way over god's way separates you hell is eternal separation from god we like to to say things like this why
would god send anyone to hell he does not send anyone to hell he rescues us from hell that's the gospel that you identify and recognize that apart from god if i choose my way then i'm going to end up in a place that's far from life and jesus wants us to experience the fullness of his kingdom now kingdom implies there's a king and the king has his ways we talked about this last week because we talked about religion and you can go back and listen to that message kingdom typically is an understanding in jesus day as a political way of life but he came to flip upside down our thinking system and when paul writes to the corinthian church he knew full well that they they had gotten saved in a culture that
would bring them back into their old way of life and he writes to them about the reality that this church in corinth is struggling with and he says do you not know first corinthians 6 9 do you not know that the unrighteous righteous means a right standing with god if you don't have a right stand with god then you will not inherit the kingdom of god do not be deceived he's writing to the church the church can be deceived the church can give into the ways of the world do not be deceived neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality nor thieves nor the greeting or drunkers nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of god now paul did not just give an exhaustive list of sinners he's just going through some of the main things that people were
were struggling with that people were living in this particular place and many of them are sexual the word sexually immoral is the greek word porneia and it just means a perversion of sex so that could be a whole slew of things he says do you not understand if you choose this way which is the world's way man's ways your way you don't get god's ways which is the kingdom of god now verse 11 he continues and says and such were some of you some of you were practicing homosexuality some of you were practicing porneia some of you were practicing and he he goes through that list this is who you were but he says but you were washed you were sanctified which means you're now set apart you don't go back to who you were you're sanctified you were justified in the name of the lord jesus christ
and by the spirit of our god see jesus says you'll receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you what's that power it's god himself the holy spirit that by believing in jesus here's what you've got to keep reminding yourself you're no longer who you used to be so don't go back to those old behaviors don't give in to those old temptations don't do what the whole world is doing see the whole world might say something is right but it doesn't mean it's right jesus warned us we looked at this last week that wide is the road to destruction and there are many on this road and so he reminds the corinthians the way of the kingdom is choosing the ways of god that i want the way the truth and the life but apart from that i experienced the ways of this world now this is not an american version of
the church this is not our version of the church it's what god has planned for you uniquely god loves you so much that when you give your life to him you've got to surrender it all every bit your mind your heart your desires your temptation and jesus looks beyond what you've done he says you might have been defined by this but that was you now you're sanctified this might have been who you were this is no longer who you are jesus must be pretty incredible that he wants us to know the fullness of god john 10 10 he reminds us i came that they might have life and life abundantly for some reason the churches mess that
up but we ought to be living in such a way that the whole world says i want that life i want what you have because that's the abundant life i want that joy i want that peace i want that i want that contentment i i want that love that's willing to do what needs to be done that serves the least of these takes care of the widows takes i want what's inside of you and all we can do is point them to jesus because he came to give us life and life abundantly so wherever we are in our lives the one thing that we need is jesus it doesn't matter what the world says what the government legislates doesn't matter what our closest friends say what does god say so paul would go on to explain this because he seemed to understand this is not going to be easy when the whole world is living this way
this may not be easy for you to do so he explains this in first corinthians 6 12 he says 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 he's simply saying this just because you can doesn't mean you should just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean you should then he goes on to explain it and something that we can all identify with he he goes on to food he says food verse 13 is meant for the stomach and stomach for food and god will destroy both one and the other it's simply put this way when you're hungry what do you do it's not a trick question you eat this is you go back in history it's what people did you're hungry you eat and he expresses the comparison here now think about food for a moment our
whole world revolves around food right now you're thinking what am i going to eat after church and you got more options and then you know what to do with you can go through a drive-through you can go to a food court you can go to a sit-down restaurant you can have the food brought to you through ubereats and you just think about all the cities of the world the the biggest stores what are they grocery stores they're full of food because when we're hungry what do we want food now he compares that to to sexual urges that what you have on the inside was never meant to just get it whenever you feel like it so he says this the body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the lord and the lord for the body so then when you have an urge whatever the urge is
if you want to have sex you're attracted to the same sex or you're attracted to someone you're not married to just because you have the urge doesn't mean you have to cave into the urge you see if a person does not eat food they die i've never heard of someone dying because they didn't have sex you might think you're going to die i know i just hit a nerve so what paul is addressing with the corinthians is happening in our day we've treated sex like food and so we put it in our entertainment we put it in our advertisement we put it in our songs we put it everywhere and then we wonder
why are things not working the way we want them to work because we chose our way instead of god's ways and what paul is saying here is god designed sex so we should go to god because his ways always work his ways are good ways and it might feel different it might feel like oh if i don't do this then i'm not sure what's going to happen if i don't do this i think i'm just going to die if i don't do this i'll never be satisfied but the devil is a liar because when you give in to sexual sin it's unlike any other sin the consequences are are catastrophic so god wants us to know his way that's why jesus when he speaks of family he wants to just teach us that god had a plan from the beginning he was actually questioned about divorce but his answers are much bigger than the question at hand in matthew 19 verse 4 through 6 jesus answered and he said have you not read that he who created
them from the beginning made them male and female he's quoting from the book of genesis and god said therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh so there are no longer two but one flesh what therefore god has joined together jesus added this from genesis what god has joined together let not man separate so god has a plan and the plan is this that sex is designed in the context of marriage between a husband and a wife a male and a female now now jesus was not asked that question he was asked about divorce and jesus is addressing the heart of the matter that the problem there's the problem with divorce is that we've chosen our way instead of god's way god has a natural way and it's
a good way and i know this offends some i know this is contrary to our feelings but we should not allow sex and sexuality to be defined by hollywood we should turn our hope to heaven say what is what is god's plan satan would love for us to just buy into our way but when i give jesus ownership of my life it might be incredibly difficult it's difficult in the sense that you're not in heaven yet you have the hope of heaven you know you're forgiven of your sins but it may be contrary to the ways of this world it may be contrary to your feelings and if i don't give god everything then i control my life i've become the god of my life and when it comes to jesus no one is more for you
than he is no one let me give two last stories is we come to a conclusion in john chapter 8 there's a story of jesus going to the temple look at john 8 verse 2. early in the morning jesus came to the temple all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them so this is a place of worship the scribes and the pharisees the religious leaders brought a woman who had been caught in adultery placing her in in the midst they said to jesus teacher this woman's been caught in the act of adultery now in the law moses commanded us to stone such a woman so what do you say now these guys do not have god intentions they want things their way verse 6 this they said to test him that they might have some charge to bring against him but jesus bent down and wrote with this finger on the ground
i love the mystery of this story we have no clue what he writes on the ground i mean we can come to our own conclusions then it's pretty fun did he just draw a rainbow and said remember god's grace did he write a question where's the man we don't know what he writes in the sand but we do know the mystery that john puts in here is jesus knows what he's doing a place of worship religious leader a woman's caught doing something she should not have been doing and verse 7 says as they continue to ask him you're not answering our question he stood up and he said to them let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her and once more jesus bent down and he wrote on the ground oh the mystery what was he writing i think this is what i think he's writing
i think he's writing down the sins of each and every one of those religious leaders i don't know for sure you can come up with your own conclusion because what we read next is this and when they heard it verse 9 they went away one by one beginning with the older ones you know he's like george i know you're 60 but when you were 16 here's what you did and george is like i'm out of here right one by one they left they left beginning with the older ones jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him then verse 10 jesus stood up and said to her woman where are they has no one condemned you she said no one lord and jesus said neither do i condemn you go and from now on
sin no more now john leaves so much of this story up to our imagination we don't know was this woman raped was she tricked was this a trap we don't know her story was she caught in an adulterous relationship she cheated on her husband regardless what we know is she was a part of man's ways she was a part of the ways of this world and now she's in front of god in the flesh what will god do he is the fullness of grace and truth and what we see is he gives grace upon grace for when you stand in front of jesus paul says in romans 8 1 one of the most powerful chapters in the bible there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus when you have jesus
you have the defender when you have jesus you have the protector when you have jesus you have the liberator when you have jesus you have the creator that made you and he wants you to experience the fullness of life he doesn't give you a bigger burden he doesn't give you religion he sets you free and notice what he says to her go and sin no more meaning don't choose the ways of this world choose my ways don't be careful of man they're going to trap you be careful of religion but go after god rosaria butterfield an author and educator and and lover of jesus once lived a life as a lesbian before she knew christ and it was through the kindness of a neighbor that led her to jesus
absolutely incredible woman you can google her and buy her book and she said this and i quote don't presume that the worst sin in your gay and lesbian neighbor's life is sexuality that's what so many do that are heterosexual we can't identify with someone else's life so so we we judge based on what they do but she goes on to say this it's not the worst sin is unbelief so the reality is unrepentant sin is unrepentant sin sin separates you from god so it doesn't matter who a person is we've got to recognize we're on a level playing field on this earth we all need jesus so if it's your lesbian neighbor or your transgendered neighbor or your neighbor that's
choosing a different gender the one thing we know is i may not know the solution i may not know exactly what you're going through but i do know this you need jesus i do know this that our ways apart from god are not going to lead to life i do know this that being a lgbtq plus is not a behavior problem i'm not trying to save you to act better i'm trying to save you not to a better life but a new life in jesus christ christianity is not a message of uniformity i want you to look like me christianity is a message of unity that despite what race you are despite what nationality you are despite what gender you are the reality is we all have the same need so we're united in christ and i just want to identify and recognize today that christians have done many awful things that are opposite of jesus many and i can't
cover the the the the vastness of this subject today in one particular sermon but i can't point us to jesus and say those that don't represent jesus are not representing the love of a real living god here's the last story i'll share with you jesus was challenged by who he was hanging out with luke 15 verse 1. now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawn near to hear jesus and the pharisees and the scribes remember the religious what are they doing they grumbled religion has been known too long for being grumblers grumpy people it's time for a shift church the religious said this man jesus receives sinners and eats with them and what jesus does next is what we can learn from he doesn't debate them he doesn't argue them he doesn't go on social media he goes on to tell a story jesus is the master storyteller
you're made for a story your life is a story he goes on to tell three stories one is of a lost sheep and the shepherd leaves the 99 to go after the lost sheep and when he finds him throws them on his shoulders comes back rejoicing and has a party and then jesus says that's what happens in heaven when one sinner repents god cares more about one center that repents than 99 righteous then he tells another story he says there's a woman who lost a coin and she flips upside down her house looking for the one coin and when she finds it she calls all her neighbors and celebrates because that lost coin had been found and jesus says that's what happens in heaven when a sinner repents and then he goes on to tell the most powerful story it's a story of a son that goes to his dad and says dad i wish you were dead i want my inheritance now and to the shock of the listeners of jesus day the father gives him the
inheritance the son takes the money goes to a foreign land and squanders it on sex on debauchery on on just a wild life and eventually the money runs out and he ends up in a pigsty now for the jewish listener hearing jesus to be in a pigsty would have been the most dirty unclean horrific place possible and he's in this place and eventually jesus says in the story he came to himself and he thought about his father and he thought i would rather be a servant in my father's house than here i know i can't be a son i know i did what what deserves death i know i should be condemned but maybe my father who's kind will allow me to be a servant and then jesus says this in luke 15 verse 20 and when the son arose he came to his father but while he was still a long
way off if you've got your own bible i would underline that when he was a long way off his father which represents our heavenly father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him the goal of jesus in this story is to share with you the lavish love of god that no matter how far you are you're never too far for god no matter what you've done no matter what you've no matter who you think you are no matter where you've been god will allow you to be a part of his family because what the father does not next is he changes his identity go get a robe go get sandals for his feet put a ring on his finger and then they
have a party they celebrate this is absolutely awesome we have a god of celebration this is what the world will want when the church celebrates when a sinner comes home but there's one other brother in that story the older brother he never left he never asked his father for an inheritance he was just a good guy he behaved well but when he heard the party he was so mad and jesus was speaking of the religious people of his day they didn't understand it see we are one of those sons some of us think that our behavior will lead to a better life and then we're let down others of us we've tried things our way and it just lets us down and today the grace of our god is right in front of us
i know there's questions to be asked well can you be gay and christian is there such thing as gay christian see by putting anything in front of christian changes what a christian is christian means you're like christ the word christ means the chosen one and a christian originally was a derogatory term it means you wanted to identify your life with christ and it could lead to death so when we start to think about can you be a gay christian would be the same way of asking can you be a conservative christian or a progressive christian you cannot there's no such thing as a progressive christian there's no such thing as a conservative christian there's no such thing as a gay christian you've either surrendered your life to jesus christ or you haven't you don't identify with a political party or a way of life or a way of
sexuality you identify it by the one that has saved you and rescued you and you may still struggle you may still have temptations you may have to to fight those temptations you might might have to surrender your life but jesus tells us he warns you want to follow me mark 8 34 jesus said if anyone come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me now i just want to be really clear some of our crosses are very different some of us have some heavy crosses to bear i've got great news for you jesus is for you he says if anyone's heavy laden and burden come to me and i won't give you rest you don't have to carry that cross alone that's why he went to the cross today if
you've never given your life to jesus today is the day no matter who you are no matter what you think your identity is there's a call from god to follow him but you just in this place between you and god would you close your eyes i just want to ask you right right in the sincerity where you are the bible says if you believe in your heart and you're willing to confess it with your mouth that jesus is lord he died on the cross for your sins you are saved and if that's you and you want to follow jesus for the first time today i would love to pray with you would you slip up your hand boldly and just say today i surrender my life to jesus right where you are if that's you to say i i want to give my life to jesus he wants to celebrate you and welcome you home right where you are slip up your hand boldly
just with every eye closed praise else you're never too young you're never too old you've never sinned so greatly that he won't forgive you anyone else just raise your hand so i can see you raise it nice and high god amen the lord loves you so much he's been waiting for this moment praise god anyone else amen praise god right where you are would you pray in your heart something like this it must be sincere from your heart lord i give you my heart i give you my life forgive me of my sins today i receive your grace i receive the gift of eternal life help me to follow you by the power of your spirit
so if you prayed that prayer today you've been you've been saved you've been born again you have a new life and now you need to seek jesus see prayer is just talking to god it's what i'm doing right now we're just talking to god it's conversation you listen to god and you talk to god he's great enough to handle everything you're going through so lord right now i want to lift up your church church as i pray if you're able would you stand to your feet as i pray lord i give you our hearts i give you our lives and i ask for your help that the world would want what we have and what we have as you jesus and you're enough lord so i just want to prophesy today that life and life abundantly through your church lord that there would be repentance all over the place that god we wouldn't be like the religious curmudgeons that just judge the world but we'd be more like you our heavenly father let us run after the lost god let us
receive your grace upon grace upon grace today i pray today if there's the bondage of temptation that's still holding someone back i praise removed by the blood of jesus christ the addiction to pornography be removed in jesus name i pray the lusts of the eyes be removed in jesus name i pray if there's an adulterous relationship right now that that would be changed today that there would be repentance today i pray today we would give you every area of our hearts god have your way have your way have your way out
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Naming the Elephant with Humility
Pastor Keith urges the church to address difficult topics through Scripture. He emphasizes hope across different backgrounds and interprets Ecclesiastes as a reminder of recurring human questions, then invokes Jesus' authority in Matthew 28 as the basis for discussing sexuality.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 · Matthew 28:18
- Pastor Keith says that if the church ignores a topic, the world will shape the church's thinking instead. Where have you seen cultural voices, rather than Scripture, forming your own convictions?
- What does it practically mean to hold hope for everyone toward people whose beliefs or lifestyle differ from yours?
- Pastor Keith grounds the discussion in Jesus' authority over every area of life and in turning to Scripture rather than social media for guidance. How would that starting point change the way you approach a hard conversation?
God's Image and Human Dignity
Using Genesis 1, Pastor Keith teaches that all people bear God's image. He grounds human worth in the Creator and urges listeners to look to God rather than compare themselves with others.
Genesis 1:26-28
- What changes in how you treat others when you begin with the belief that they bear God's image?
- Pastor Keith says you do not need to compare yourself to someone else but should look to the Creator. Where do you find comparison shaping how you see yourself?
- He describes the image of God as what distinguishes humanity from every other creature. How does that frame the way you think about human worth?
Temptation, Feelings, and Endurance
Using Hebrews 4:15 and 1 Corinthians 10:13, Pastor Keith distinguishes temptation from wrongdoing and emphasizes God's help to endure it. He encourages reliance on God's direction rather than feelings alone.
Hebrews 4:15 · 1 Corinthians 10:13
- What is the difference between being tempted and giving in to temptation, and why does that distinction matter for how you see yourself?
- Pastor Keith contrasts feelings with God's ways as a guiding authority. How does he describe that contrast, and where do you see it in your own life?
- He describes needing to endure when following God's ways is hard. What does endurance look like in your life right now?
Everyone's need for salvation
Using Romans 3:23 and Psalm 51, Pastor Keith emphasizes everyone's need for a savior and warns against claiming moral superiority over others. He connects this with Romans 5:8's account of Jesus' love expressed through his death and presents salvation as rescue rather than merely improved behavior.
Romans 3:23 · Psalm 51:5 · Romans 5:8
- Which sins do you instinctively rank as worse than others, and how does Romans 3:23 challenge that ranking?
- Pastor Keith says Jesus did not die so people would merely behave better. How does that reframe what you expect Christianity to do in a person's life?
- He says God does not send people to hell but rescues us from it. How do you respond to that claim, and what questions does it leave you with?
Grace That Welcomes
Through John 8, Romans 8:1, and Luke 15, Pastor Keith emphasizes grace toward people who have sinned alongside the call to follow God's ways. He describes Jesus' response to the woman accused of adultery, the father's welcome of his returning son, and the older brother's resentment as a warning about religious pride.
John 8:2-11 · Romans 8:1 · Luke 15:1-2, 20
- In the woman caught in adultery, Jesus both refuses to condemn her and calls her to leave her sinful conduct. How do you hold those two together without dropping one?
- The older brother in the prodigal story is angry at the celebration. Where do you see that older-brother posture in yourself or in the church?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
What does this message say about homosexuality?+
Pastor Keith argues from Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6 that sexual relationships outside God's design for marriage between a man and a woman fall under the broader pattern of choosing our way over God's ways. He insists all people share the same need for a savior, and he explicitly says Paul's purpose in Romans 1 is not to shame or condemn. He also says Christians have done awful things contrary to Jesus, and that his aim is to point people to Jesus rather than to a better-behaved version of themselves.
Can a person be gay and Christian, according to this sermon?+
Pastor Keith describes Christian identity through surrender to Jesus and argues against allowing political or sexual labels to define it. Applying Mark 8:34, he calls listeners to follow Jesus despite the difficulties this can involve. He acknowledges that believers continue to face temptation and can carry different burdens.
Does this message say that being LGBTQ+ is a worse sin than others?+
Using Romans 3:23, Pastor Keith emphasizes everyone's need for Jesus and warns against claiming moral superiority over others. He also describes sexual wrongdoing as having serious consequences and frames the church's task as pointing all people toward Jesus. He acknowledges harm done by Christians who failed to represent Jesus' love.
What role does Pastor Keith give to feelings and personal experience?+
Pastor Keith treats feelings as real but urges listeners to rely on God's direction as their authority. Using Hebrews 4:15, he distinguishes temptation from wrongdoing. In his explanation of 1 Corinthians 6, he contrasts hunger with sexual desire to argue that experiencing an urge does not require acting on it.
How does the story of the prodigal son function in this sermon?+
In Luke 15, Pastor Keith emphasizes the father's eager welcome, restoration of family identity, and celebration when the younger son returns. He applies this as assurance that people are not beyond God's reach. He also treats the older brother's resentment as a warning against religious pride.
