I Want to Know What Love Is.

LESSON FOCUS
God has designed us to live in relationships. He created us with the capacity to enjoy a level of intimacy that is appropriate within the boundaries set forth in His Word. We have great freedom in exploring intimacy as long as we are obedient to Him. We cannot just set our own boundaries and determine what is appropriate without regard to God’s commands. Issues like marriage and sexuality are addressed in the Scripture and we must adhere to the standards upheld by God’s self-revelation.

HELPFUL INSIGHT
The family is grounded on or evolves from the nature of the man and woman God created. The Bible clearly reveals that the creation of man and woman was the crowning act of God’s creative work . . . Man and woman, on the highest level, find their fulfillment in communication with God, the one who created them in his image. On the human level, men and women usually find their fullest and most meaningful communication with each other as husbands and wives . . . How are men and women made suitable to or with the capacity to answer to one another? Certainly this is true of their biological natures. They are suitable to one another for physical intimacy and for the propagation of the race. They are not only suitable to one another physically but also, to a considerable degree, emotionally and psychologically. If we ignore the latter we will miss much of the potential richness in the husband-and–wife relationship.
         – T.B. Maston with William M Tillman, The Bible and Family Relations, Broadman Press, 1983, pp. 35-38.

FOCAL PASSAGE: Hebrews 12:1-17

Daily Readings
Our culture does not embrace a Biblical worldview. Nor does it abide by the instructions found in the Word of God. This places us in a place of tension as we seek to abide by the authority of Scripture and live in relationship with members of our society. It is a challenge that every generation of believers has felt. We must figure out how to do it well in our day!

Monday:                            Genesis 3
Tuesday:                            Romans 1:18-32
Wednesday:                    1 Corinthians 6
Thursday:                          Hebrews 10:19-39
Friday:                                 Hebrews 12

ISSUES/QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS

1. What does the Bible teach about sexuality?
2. How do Christians live in the wake of cultural pressures?
3. How important is it to have a richer understanding of sexuality and morality?