Current studies show:

• Sex is the number 1 topic searched on the internet
• In 2017 sexually driven sites are reporting 81 million visits a day.
• In 2017 the most popular day to look at sexually driven sites is Sunday.
• Yet at the same time, studies show 1 of 10 married couples sleep alone in separate rooms.
• The average age of first sexual experience is 17, 10 years ago it was 16.
• Teen pregnancy is in decline.
• Studies show marriage is taking place later in life, and virginity is becoming more common.
• In addition, studies are showing that viewing sexually driven sites are re-wiring our brains and creating sexual dysfunctions in the process. (www.yourbrainonporn.com)

It means in 2019 we are seeing more interest in isolated sexual experiences, and a decrease interest in physical sexual experiences, and as a result there is a lot of confusion in our culture around sex.

The biggest confusion is that we have all bought into this lie that “Sex is just something you do that is physical and it doesn’t matter.”  The message in our culture today is, “You can do whatever you want with your physical body as long as nobody gets hurt, anything goes.”

The assumption is that the physical is separate from the spiritual, mental, or emotional, and you need to know this is a lie that we have digested in our culture, this is a lie our children are hearing, and if we are honest witho ourselves, we know it is a lie.  Think about it practically:

• How come the sexual things we do with our bodies can be remembered for life? I can’t remember the majority of what I did last week, but I can bring up sexual experiences I have done with my body from almost any point in my life. Sex isn’t just physical.
• Why do people carry around sexual regret for life? How many of us still have stories of pain and regret around sexual things we have done with our bodies? Sex isn’t just physical.
• Why are our biggest secrets revolving around sex? As a pastor one of the most common phrases I hear, “I am about to tell you something you have never heard from anyone else…”

Therefore, we want to focus on three sub-points:  First, the God of Scripture created sex. Second, the God of Scripture created sex to be good. Third, the God of Scripture created sex to be good in marriage.

First, the God of Scripture created sex:

• Genesis 1:27-28, “27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Second, the God of Scripture created sex to be good:  

•  The God of Scripture created our bodies to be good. Tthe God of Scripture takes on flesh in a physical body, John 1, and physical bodies will be one day raised in glory, 1 Corinthians 15. It’s because our physical bodies were created to be glorious.
• But, when you add in sin, shame, regret, bad experiences, pornography, stories of abuse, and 20-30 years of experience then we start thinking to ourselves, “Sex is dark, embarrassing, and should never be talked about, especially on Sunday morning.” But the God of Scripture created sex, created, and created sex to be good.

Third, the God of Scripture created sex to be good in marriage:  

• Genesis 2:24-25, “, 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

You need to know every one in humanity has fallen short of what the God of Scripture created sex to look like in our world today.  We have all taken what was intended to be good, healthy, acts of worship unto the Lord (Genesis 1-2), and used sex in thought, word, and deed for our purposes (Genesis3).

Even if you are thinking, “But, I have some really horrible stories of shame, abuse, promiscuity, sexual addiction, fear, and misunderstandings, and nobody can find out.”  This is what makes Jesus so important.  This is exactly why Jesus is so important to our conversation.  Jesus has entered into humanity to not only redeem our spiritual lives, but also redeem our physical lives.

Jesus has come to draw out our stories of shame and darkness, and shine His glorious light into those dark places, not for the purpose of condemnation, but for the purpose of confession, repentance, forgiveness, restoration, by taking all our pain upon Himself at the cross, putting it to death, so that through His resurrection we might be cleansed, and made new.