Preaching on Gender and Sexuality
This Sunday I am beginning a four week hiatus from my current sermon series through the Book of Acts in order to preach a brief series addressing gender and homosexuality. As I am sure you know our culture has, with stunning rapidity, normalized homosexuality and deconstructed the very notion of gender as a biological category. What is more, confusion and outright compromise on these issues has entered the evangelical church. It is necessary it seems to me, for pastors to address issues of gender identity and biblical sexual ethics with greater frequency and clarity.
I recommend this be done not in the form of political campaigns or angry rants but through careful proclamation of God’s Word. Specifically we must introduce God’s people to a robust doctrine of creation. We will also have to defend truths that rarely needed defending in the past like the notion that the Bible truly does identify homosexuality as sin unqualifiedly.
As I have prepared for this series the following resources have been particularly valuable:
The Bible and Homosexual Practice by Robert Gagnon
Dr. Gagnon’s book is THE standard reference for the defense of the biblical witness against homosexuality.
The Moral Vision of the New Testament by Richard Hays
Dr. Hays of Duke University carefully builds the argument for the historic understanding of homosexuality in all its expressions as a transgression against biblical sexual ethics.
The First Chapters of Everything: How Genesis 1-4 Explains Our World by Alasdair Paine
A very accessible study of the creation account and its significance for Christian living.
God’s Design for Man and Woman by Andreas & Margaret Kostenberger
A thorough and readable study of the Bible’s teaching regarding sexual ethics, marriage, and gender roles.
Compassion Without Compromise by Barr & Citlau
This is the primary book I am going to recommend the members of my church read in helping them not only understand the biblical prohibition against homosexuality but how to reach out to those struggling with same-sex attraction.
Is God Anti-Gay? By Sam Allberry
Very helpful brief treatment addressing the same themes as Barr and Citlau.
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champaign Butterfield
Dr. Butterfield’s moving spiritual biography documenting her conversion from a practicing lesbian to a pastor’s wife is a brilliant illustration of how to reach the homosexual with the power of the gospel and the beauty of Christian community.
What is the Meaning of Sex? By Denny Burk
One of the better treatments on the Bible’s teachings on sexual ethics. Highly recommended.
Making Gay Okay by Robert Reilly
The aim of this book is to examine why homosexuality has been normalized at such a stunning rate. The author also explains how the institutionalization of homosexuality represents a fundamental threat to liberty and freedom of conscience
