Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
In the last month I have had the
privilege as pastor of performing 3 weddings.
Each couple was different, as one would expect. But, one experience was true in all 3 of
these weddings. I saw broad smiles of
joy on all of the couples as the ceremony was concluded. There was real joy and hope in the hearts of
the husbands and wives as they began the tougher job of making their marriage
work. I am thankful to have the
privilege of seeing that joyful response again this Saturday as I perform the
fourth marriage at St. John in a little over a month.
In addition, this Wednesday,
January 31, the 8th grade confirmation class I teach starts studying
in their final lesson book. All 3
classes are using texts from “Faith Incubators,” a confirmation series from a
church in Minnesota. The book we begin
on January 31 is entitled, “Hot Topics.”
The first lesson in this book, the lesson with which we begin is
entitled, “Sex and Love.”
Our youngest son Tim is teaching Senior
High Sunday School this year. Kathy told
him that if he agreed to teach, as he had been asked, she would provide snacks
each week. So he agreed. He has been using the Nooma videos to teach Biblical
truth and bring up conversation of faith among the students. I did not witness the conversation between
Tim and Kathy in church that has now become another family legend. One Sunday, a month or so ago, Tim entered
church after Sunday School and sat down by Kathy. He is reported to have related, “So, when you
don’t prepare the night before, and you put in the Nooma video, and the lesson
is on The Song of Solomon (a love poem by Solomon) . . . Whew! I dodged that bullet!”
Sex and love are a big part of the life
of each person created by God. Sometimes
the experience is a positive blessing.
Sometimes our experience with sex and love can lead to deep sorrow and
regret. No wonder Tim felt like he
dodged a bullet. In fact, the old saying
was that in public “you don’t talk about religion or politics.” Maybe some have added sex and love to that
statement. This is a “hot topic” (as my
confirmation lesson book implies) both in the realm of faith and in the realm
of politics.
So, what would a pastor teach an 8th
grade confirmation class on this topic?
When I was in 8th grade I confess to being naïve and to
lacking knowledge. That was not
necessarily a bad thing. Today’s 8th
grade students have been bombarded with these topics from TV, movies, and
social media. They have already been
influenced to certain kinds of thinking.
Actually, rather than making this topic easier to teach, it becomes
easier to offend.
I have learned to teach the basics
of Scripture and to answer questions about specifics as they arise. But, I have also learned that if God’s people
do not teach God’s principles in this area my students will learn other ideas
from our culture. These ideas are often
contrary to God’s plan.
The first lesson I teach comes from
Genesis 2:24. This verse from the
Creation Account is the foundation verse in Scripture on marriage. Jesus uses this verse to teach about marriage
and divorce in Matthew 19 and other places.
Paul uses this verse to teach about marriage and God’s church in
Ephesians 5. Genesis 2:24 says, “For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one
flesh. The simple lessons
from this verse are that marriage between one man and one woman is God’s
plan. The “oneness” of sex is God’s gift
to strengthen marriage and families.”
That’s pretty simple.
The other verse I am using to teach my confirmation class
is the memory verse for this lesson from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “19 Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Actually, God tells us in
His word we are to honor Him with “All our heart and soul and mind and strength.”
(Mark 12:30) God calls us to honor Him
even in the things we eat (1 Corinthians 10:31), in “whatever we do”.
(Colossians 3:23) We honor God, not so
that we can earn His love. We honor God
because He “bought” us and saved us with the price of the sacrifice of His very
own Son. So, the second lesson I teach
my class is that God also calls us to “honor God
with your body.”
Finally, in confirmation class, based on the questions
from my lesson book, I will ask the students to list complications to life that
are the result of living in a way that is different from God’s plan for family,
God’s plan for sex and love. We will
place that list on one side of a white board.
I also ask them to list the blessings that come from doing what God
calls us to do in 1 Corinthians 6, “honor
God
with your body.” My students
may be young, but they can write these lists pretty easily.
The truth is that in this world of sin these simple concepts
become very complicated. It was the same
in Jesus’ day. (You can read about these complications in Matthew 19:2-12, Luke
7:36-50, Luke 15:1-3, John 4:4-43, John 8:1-12). Thankfully, in the middle of life’s
complications we hear God’s love and mercy for His wandering sheep. He directs us back to a healthy relationship
with Himself through His mercy and forgiveness in Jesus, and as we “honor God with your body.”
“Whew!” I know what Tim meant when he said, “I dodged a
bullet on that one.”
A Child of God, Love and Sex – Trusting God’s Love and
Wisdom in a Complicated Area of Life,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Last week was
a busy week. There were meetings with
meals on
·
Thursday, January 25 – an Elders meeting to meet
new DCE Intern, Ethan Mirly, at the home of Ron and Ann Marie Svedin.
·
Friday, January 26 – The Koinonia Senior
Fellowhip met at church with 13 people enjoying a pot luck meal.
·
Saturday, January 27 – the Christian Couples
Group met for a pot luck at St. John with 17 people in attendance.
·
Friday for Becky Maxwell and Tom Lutz, and
·
Saturday for Rebekah Watkins and Caleb Gabel.
P.P.P.S. Our Dave
Ramsey “Financial Peace University” Class continues to meet on Sundays at 1:00
p.m. Last Sunday 25 people
attended. Here are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wGLTvPMpsixXTpVx1
P.P.P.P.S. I
intended to go fishing last Monday. However with 60 mph winds throughout the
valley I chose not to sit on the ice in the winds. We did, however, find protection from the wind
in Hatcher Pass as I drove for 3 St. John Ski bums as they traversed the
Paradise and Sixteen Mile runs. https://photos.app.goo.gl/sjQq6z8TKSQVATug2
******
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you do not want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.
******
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