Should Sex Be Talked About In Church?

I had lunch with a cool church planter the other day named Gary Lamb...he’s rocking things in the big state of GA & seeing some really awesome growth take place. In the midst of our conversation he told me about a series he was doing entitled, “Desperate Sex Lives.” (I love that title!!!)

We talked about teaching on the subject of sex from the stage & he told me that there were actually a few people who became upset over the fact he was dealing with that issue & had informed him they were not coming back to the church until he was through talking about it.

Quite frankly—that ticked me off!!!

SEX is a powerful word—it commands attention. When I speak to younger crowds & cannot seem to get their attention I simply yell the word “sex” and everyone ceases to speak and begins to look at me with intense interest.

And sex is everywhere…we see it on billboards, commercials (seriously, they have beautiful ladies doing commercials for laxatives…that is a thought I do not want to ponder!!!), no matter where you turn it seems that the old adage “sex sells” has been embraced by the modern media.

And to be honest—it is NOT easy to be a godly man in a society like that. There have been many times I have had to change the channel during a COMMERCIAL…not because there was a raunchy scene in a movie…but because Hardee’s was trying to convince me to eat a burger by placing a barely clothed lady on my television set. (Yes, they did pull that commercial…but not before every major news network had shown it at least a dozen times to try to prove the point that there was controversy around it.)

And don’t even get me started about what students in school face today. And it’s not just in high school…or even middle school…but elementary schoolers KNOW about it…and many ARE involved in sexual activity. (To the clueless parent that does not think this is true…stop drinking a cup of stupid every morning and wake up & smell the Starbucks!!!)

As I have said—we are bombarded with the “sex” message everywhere. Addiction to pornography is at an all time high—marriages are ending at alarming rates because men and women believe the grass is greener somewhere else…

AND PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE CHURCH NEEDS TO REMAIN SILENT ON THE SUBJECT OF SEX???

To the person who would make this assertion…my question to you is…do you EVER read your BIBLE? God is the one who invented sex!!! (Thank You Lord!) It was HIS idea…it isn’t like He caught Adam & Eve in the garden “doing it” & got mad about the whole thing!!! He designed sex to be enjoyed—He designed it for one man, one women…in the bonds of marriage! (There is no other successful strategy for sex—God designed it for marriage—that’s it!!!)

Have you read the Song of Solomon? That is a book about sex! Please don’t hand me your weak interpretation about how that book is just a metaphor about Christ and His love for the church! Go back and study the Hebrew language and culture of that time period—uh, Solomon was singing the song, “Let’s talk about sex, baby…”

The church has been silent on the subject for too long…and because of that the world has taken its cue from Hollywood about how sex should be handled. Uh, hello Houston, we have a problem!

I am sick and tired of weak, pathetic pastors who refuse to address the subject because it might offend someone in their flock! Did you ever think it might help people to present a biblically based sermon on the subject…to speak the truth about the matter. I promise it is something that everyone is thinking about!

I am preparing a series for singles this fall entitled “Hitch” & I promise there will be a message on sex! Yes, I will speak about sex to singles, telling them that it is wonderful, but encouraging them to WAIT! (I have had people tell me, “I have never heard a pastor say that sex is wonderful.” My response to them is, “Maybe you have never had a happy pastor!!!”)

Those of you who are reading this…it is our obligation to teach on the subject—to present the whole council of Scripture…and not to duck issues because they might make us feel uncomfortable. We don’t have to be crass…but people want to know what God & the Bible have to say about sex…and if people leave—they leave! (There are backdoor revivals you know!)

So there is my challenge…hope this helps…and if you are around New Spring this fall I promise the series for singles is going to rock!