“Asking for a Friend” Series Content

1. Sherah LaBelle
2. February 11, 2019

Middle School

February 27-March 20

What God says about sex and relationships.

Here is a break-down of the topics we will be diving into throughout this next Wednesday night sermon series starting on February 27.

Week 1: God’s design for sex and relationships

During this week we want to give a proper context to what a godly view of sex and relationship looks like. The main idea of this week is that we are created in God’s image and marriage is an example of our relationship with God (Ephesians 5:22-32). Why wouldn’t Satan want to attack that?

Distortion of sex isn’t a new concept it’s been around since Jesus was alive. There were sex temples, prostitution dens, child sex slaves, etc. Back then it was just as easy, if not easier, to have a distorted sexual experience; but that doesn’t make it okay. We want to provide a godly picture of the context of sex and that it is a beautiful picture that should be kept holy and sacred to be enjoyed in the context of marriage.

We also want to touch on how we are created. God has created us with a body, a soul, and a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We are created to be physical, emotional, and spiritual beings. Marriage relationships need to have all three to work and unfortunately we tend to focus on one or two aspects and neglect others.

Week 2: Sex and Culture

How has sex impacted our culture? The focus of this week is going to be “Keep your mind on things above…” (Philippians 4:8). Sex has been distorted and permeates our lives. We’re going to touch on a number of things like…

Sex trafficking (did you know 1 in 3 students that run away from home trafficked within 48 hours?) // Pornography // Homosexuality // Social Media // Modesty (both in dress and actions) // Influencers (i.e. models and celebrities, who are we letting influence us?)

BUT above it all, we are focusing on God’s grace and love that covers us (Ephesians 4:7). The grace of God also empowers us to heal and help others. The question is, who are you becoming? What are you allowing into your life?

Week 3: Relationships and Dating

This week is going to be all about relationships. We want to go beyond the “when should you date?” question and dig into “what do good boundaries look like?” Those questions will be part of this week, but the main focus will be that the purpose of a relationship is to glorify God.

The World says we should connect romantically with people in this order: physical first, emotional second, and spiritual last. However, from a godly marriage perspective, we should connect spiritually first, emotionally second, and physically last. Sex is the completion of a spiritual and emotional bond, not the starting point.

We also want to talk about the fact that boys and girls are different, and that is okay. We were created with unique gifts and talents and we work better when we fit into the design God has for us.

Marriage is an extension of relationship, not the end-point. The relationship doesn’t stop when you get married – and that isn’t and shouldn’t be the goal of our lives. It is an extension of a journey and a milestone in a relationship, a commitment to each other for life. We don’t want to minimize the importance of marriage, but we want to allow students to see marriage as a stepping stone, not a destination.

Week 4: Discussion Panel

This week we are going to do a discussion panel. Throughout this whole series we will allow students to text, email, or write in questions that we will answer during this final week. If they can be brave enough to ask their questions, we will be brave enough to answer it.

Final Thoughts

I am really excited about this series and I think it will be good for our students to hear a godly perspective on these topics that are so prevalent and distorted by the world. Our hope is to challenge students that have dealt with these things to let go of them and begin to heal. We want them to know that grace is sufficient for everyone; and to be aware of the danger and not shy away from hard questions just because they are awkward. I think this is going to be a powerful series and God is going to move in and through our students.

Please be praying for us and for your students as we talk through these “touchy” topics. And as always, please ask any questions that you may have!