The Stories Shaping our Sex Lives

We live in a world where there are narrative tensions (4 of them) that are at play in what story of sexuality people are telling, or inhabiting. Caught within a mixture of pleasure, shame, longing, and confusion, this sermon explores the pertinent question at the heart of it all: what does our sexuality have to do with God? 

Drawing on the insights of many, we look at the different stories shaping our understanding of sex -- and why so many of them leave us restless. Jesus doesn't start with shame or easy answers. He offers a subversive vision of humanity where our bodies matter, our desires aren't dismissed, and our deepest ache finds meaning in the Kingdom of heaven. 

This message invites you to wrestle honestly with desire, identity, and faith -- and to consider whether Jesus might be offering a better story than what's been inherited or that's on offer.

Chapters

• 0:00 A Strange Question: What Does This Have to Do with That?
• 1:45 The Ache Beneath Our Desire
• 4:46 Why Sex Is Never Just About Sex
• 11:03 Sexuality as Story: The Narratives Shaping Us
• 13:34 Pleasure, Identity, and Shame: Three Competing Visions
• 21:02 Jesus’ Subversive Story (Matthew 19)
• 30:07 Making Room Without Losing Truth
• 33:15 A Holy Sexuality: Desire Directed Toward the Kingdom
• 37:17 You Are More Than Your Desire
• 38:29 A Name Better Than Sons and Daughters (Isaiah 56)
• 42:59 The Body of Jesus and the Hope of Healing
• 43:05 Which Story Will You Trust?