Implement
Preach the Series
When the story of Jesus is told with humility and hope, surprising things happen. People may come to hear a series about “those people,” yet they soon realize they are listening to a series about themselves. We have seen God use a sermon on same-sex marriage to unexpectedly convict a newly-converted couple of their need to get married. The man and woman had been living together for many years and had three children, but they had never been married. By Monday afternoon, a wedding was happening in the auditorium. They were convicted that they had not honored marriage (Hebrews 13:4). When same-sex attraction is addressed with biblical clarity and gospel expectancy, all followers of Jesus see our own hearts more clearly and become equipped to address our own sin more effectively. The Spirit unites us and transforms us together. Preach the Word with expectancy!
Invite a Response
Assume that you have people in your church who struggle with same-sex attraction, because you do. As you exposit what God says about our hearts and about homosexuality, invite those who may be tempted by homosexual porn or same-sex attraction to come to you for prayer and help. The good news of the gospel enables us to be honest about the bad news of our sin. If you have not pursued an environment of honesty and transparency in your church, ask God and your people for forgiveness. Transparency is contagious.
Protect Your People
Several people in our church expressed concern about safety during a series on homosexuality. Most homosexual activists would not consider being violent, but some groups do use intimidation and disruption in order to try to silence any message that questions the homosexual lifestyle. We recommend that churches develop an informed safety plan led by qualified leaders. For ideas, click here. We have found that tone matters. Even some visitors who disagreed with our message expressed gratefulness for the way it was communicated. We had no disruptions during our series on homosexuality.
