My good friend Charlie Wallace requested that I post the outline from my sermon last Sunday, so here you go. It’s just an outline, because I’m not old-school like many guys I know who type out an entire manuscript verbatim:
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Accepting both family and community (i.e. friends, church, etc.) concern for your well-being in all areas of life is critical. (v.8-9)
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The Gospel gives intense inner motivation for sexual restraint while single. (v.10)
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Temptation for Singles: The Sex & the City View
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Desire equals license
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Devalues the gospel because it takes the passion of sex without the necessary form, which is marriage (Gen. 2:24-25)
II. Vineyard Imagery: Married people worship God in sex through commitment and delight. (v.11-14)
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Sex requires exclusive and total giving of ourselves to each other. (v.11-12)
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Sex is to be eagerly delighted in within your marriage. (v.13-14)
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Temptation for Married Couples: The Leave it to Beaver View
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Desire equals shame or embarassment
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Devalues the gospel because it takes the form (marriage) without the passion.
III. The Gospel: Sex is designed to be enjoyed within a radically self-abandoning relationship (form) and with intense passion.
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Ephesians 5:25-33 teaches us that marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with His people, the Church.
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II Corinthians 11:2 reveals that currently the Church is engaged (betrothed) to Christ, waiting for final “consummation” (figurative language, not literal) at the end of the age.
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Revelation chapter 19 gives us a picture of the joy that will accompany Christ’s “wedding day,” when he enjoys His people (the Church) forever in a passionate, radically self-abandoning, eternal relationship.
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Therefore, both singles and married couples depict the various stages of Christ’s relationship with the Church. Singles represent the engagement period (see #2), while married couples represent the final marriage (see #3).
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The Gospel raises the understanding of sex higher than the Sex & the City View of more liberal people and higher than the Leave it to Beaver View of conservatives.
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The Gospel creates a “third way” of understanding human sexuality which places high value on radical commitment and maximizes passion in the bedroom.
This message, my friends, was quite fun to preach. To listen to the master himself, Dr. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, check out his sermon entitled Sexuality and Christian Hope, available in the online store for Redeemer. I am indebted to him for the overall understanding of the Gospel as the “third way” in virtually every aspect of life.
That’s fantastic. Work up a few more and I’ll have you come to Sumter and lead a marriage conference.
Ha! Yeah, that would be great. The 24 year-old childless guy who works at the Y should DEFINITELY be the Marriage & Family Guru!
it’s interesting that you reference Song of Solomon as a way to illustrate ideal love and marriage and the appropriate venue for sex, since Solomon had so many wives. In what way does that impact your message?
Lauren,
I’ll answer this for Drew (and he can fill in where I mess up). Solomon was a sinner just like all of us. Even though he had many wives (which is against God’s law), Song of Solomon is still a wonderful portrayal of what marriage could and should be. It is too bad that Solomon liked marriage a little too much (wink, wink). Also, having many wives as seen as a symbol of power, and Solomon was a powerful man. That fact does not make his polygamy alright, however.
Drew,
You don’t have to have children to be able to preach the Bible about sex and marriage! (Although you probably should be married)
I agree with Charlie, Lauren. Great question!
Lauren,
To add to what Charlie said. There is an interesting interpretation of the corpus of Solomon’s writings. The short way to explain it is this:
Song of Solomon was written early in his life before years of making poor decisions. The Proverbs were written in his middle-age years. Ecclesiastes was written toward the end of his life as he sees the effect of many years of fruitlessly trying to find pleasure in the wrong things.
It seems to me that this is the most natural reading of the Solomonic corpus.