1. INCREDIBLE
SEX!
A “SEXSHOP”
Developed by
Rev. Kathryn G. Brown
Candidate for the office of
General Secretary/Treasurer
Christian Education Department
A.M.E. Zion Church
3. THINK ABOUT THIS
Are your current
sexual attitudes
and practices
helping or
hurting your
life?
4. SEXUALITY DEFINED
Human sexuality
is how people experience and
express themselves as sexual
beings.
5. Genesis 1:27-28, 31:
God creates gendered human beings:
males (zakhar) and females (Neqevah) are
created in the image and likeness of God.
They are given stewardship over
God’s creation.
God declares that everything He
made is good. This includes males
and females and our sexuality!
6. WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Genesis 2:18-25:
They were naked
(there was no such thing as
“private parts!”)
There was NO shame in their
nakedness!
Shame –
feeling of public disgrace, humiliation,
7. WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Genesis 2:18-25:
1. God creates a helper suitable for
man (helpmeet – “as agreeing to
him or his counterpart who would
fit”).
2. The two are designed to “cleave”
(join together; stick to) to each
other.
8. POINTS TO CONSIDER FROM
GENESIS 1 & 2
• GOD CREATED MEN AND WOMEN TO HAVE AN
INTIMATE BOND.
• THE INTIMATE BOND INCLUDES SEX.
• IN DECLARING THAT EVERYTHING HE MADE
IS GOOD, SEX IS INCLUDED AND THEREFORE
IS GOOD.
• MANAGING SEXUALITY IS INCLUDED IN THAT
OVER WHICH HUMANS HAVE STEWARDSHIP.
9. WHAT HAPPENED?
GENESIS 3:1-10, 21:
A. After sin entered the world,
nakedness caused fear and
resulted in an attempt to hide
from God.
B. They were ashamed.
C. God covered their nakedness.
10. HOW SHOULD WE CONDUCT
OURSELVES SEXUALLY?
• I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
Key words:
vessel – goods, stuff, equipment
abstain - hold oneself
fornication – idolator (figuratively)
harlot, whore; from a root word that
means to traffic, sell as merchandise
11. WHO SHOULD WE CONDUCT
OURSELVES SEXUALLY?
• I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
Key words cont:
honor(able): valuable, esteemed,
costly, beloved, dear
lust: (pathos) to wound, hurt, or suffer;
the soul’s diseased condition.
sanctification – purity; consecrate,
make holy
12. SEXUAL STEWARDSHIP
PRINCIPLES
• I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
1. It is God’s will that humans
are good and faithful
stewards over their
sexuality.
2. Good and faithful stewards
of sexuality exercise self
control.
13. SEXUAL STEWARDSHIP
PRINCIPLES
• I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
3. Good and faithful stewards of
sexuality do not use their
sexuality to harm or wrong
others.
4. Good and faithful stewards
of sexuality esteem and
value God’s gift of sexuality.
14. SEXUAL STEWARDSHIP
PRINCIPLES
• I THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
5. Good and faithful stewards of
sexuality allow God’s word to
govern their sexual habits.
17. A PERSPECTIVE ON JESUS’
VIEW OF SEX
“Jesus condemned lust (Matthew 5:28)
because it cheapened sex; it made sex less
than it was created to be.
For Jesus, sex was too good, too high, too
holy to be thrown away by
cheap thoughts.”
-Richard J. Foster
The Stewardship Bible
18. REMEMBER….
“If you think you are standing firm, be careful
you don’t fall! No temptation has seized
you except what is common to man. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will provide a
way out so that you can stand up under it.”
- I Corinthians 10:11-13 (NIV)
19. RESOURCES
• The Really Good News: What the Bible Says About Sex”,
Rev. Debra Haffner, MPH
• I Thessalonias 4:4: Breaking the Impasse,Jay E. Smith, Dallas
Theological Seminary, Bulletin for Biblical Research11.1
(2001)65-105
• Woman’s Desire for Man: Gensis 3:16 Reconsidered, Irvin A
Busenitz, Grace Theological Journal 7.6 (1986) 203-12
• The Stewardship Bible Zondervan Publishers
Editor's Notes
Word StudyEZER KENEGDOUsages of 'ezer in the Old Testament show that in most cases God is an 'ezer to human beings, which calls to question if the word “helper” is a valid interpretation of 'ezer in any instance it is used. "Evidence indicates that the word 'ezer originally had two roots, each beginning with different guttural sounds. One meant “power” and the other “strength.” As time passed, the two guttural sounds merged, but the meanings remained the same. The article below by William Sulik explains this point quite well. He references R. David Freedman and Biblical Archaeology Review 9 [1983]: 56-58). "She was to be his "helper"--at least that is how most of the translations have interpreted this word. A sample of the translations reads as follows: ‘I shall make a helper fit for him’ (RSV); ‘I will make a fitting helper for him’ (New Jewish Publication Society); ‘I will make an aid fit for him’ (AB); ‘I will make him a helpmate’ (JB); ‘I will make a suitable partner for him’ (NAB); ‘I will make him a helper comparable to him’ (NKJV).However, the customary translation of the two words `ezerkenegdoas "helper fit is almost certainly wrong. Recently R. David Freedman has pointed out that the Hebrew word ezer is a combination of two roots: `-z-r, meaning "to rescue, to save," and g-z-r, meaning "to be strong." The difference between the two is the first letter in Hebrew. Today that letter is silent in Hebrew; but in ancient times, it was a guttural sound formed in the back of the throat. The “g” was a ghayyin, and it came to use the same Hebrew symbol as the other sound, `ayin. But the fact that they were pronounced differently is clear from such place names which preserve the “g” sound, such as Gaza or Gomorrah. Some Semitic languages distinguished between these two signs and others did not. For example, Ugaritic did make a distinction between the `ayin and the ghayyin; Hebrew did not. (R. David Freedman, "Woman, a Power Equal to a Man," Biblical Archaeology Review 9 [1983]: 56-58).It would appear that sometime around 1500 B.C., these two signs began to be represented by one sign in Phoenician. Consequently, the two “phonemes” merged into one “grapheme.” What had been two different roots merged into one, much as in English the one word “fast” can refer to a person's speed, abstinence from food, his or her slyness in a "fast deal," or the adamant way in which someone holds "fast" to positions. The noun `ezer occurs twenty-one times in the Old Testament. In many of the passages, it is used in parallelism to words that clearly denote strength or power. Some examples are:”There is none like the God of Jeshurun, The Rider of the Heavens in your strength (`-z-r), and on the clouds in his majesty.” (Deut. 33:26, [author's] translation)"Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is the shield of your strength (`-z-r) and the sword of your majesty." (Deut. 33:29, [author's] translation)The case that begins to build is that we can be sure that `ezer means "strength" or "power" whenever it is used in parallelism with words for majesty or other words for power such as `oz or `uzzo. In fact, the presence of two names for one king, Azariah and Uzziah, both referring to God's strength, makes it abundantly clear that the root `ezer meaning "strength" was known in Hebrew.Therefore, could we conclude that Genesis 2:18 be translated as "I will make a power [or strength] corresponding to man." Freedman even suggests on the basis of later Hebrew that the second word in the Hebrew expression found in this verse should be rendered equal to him. If so, then God makes for the man a woman fully his equal and fully his match. In this way, the man's loneliness will be assuaged.The same line of reasoning occurs with the apostle Paul, who urged in 1 Corinthians 11:10, "For this reason, a woman must have power [or authority] on her head [that is to say, invested in her]."This line of reasoning, which stresses full equality, is continued in Genesis 2:23 where Adam says of Eve, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man." The idiomatic sense of this phrase "bone of my bones" is a "very close relative" to "one of us" or in effect "our equal."The woman was never meant to be an assistant or "helpmate" to the man. The word “mate” slipped into English since it was so close to the Old English word “meet,” which means "fit to" or "corresponding to" the man which comes from the phrase that likely means "equal to."What God had intended, then, was to make a "power" or "strength" for the man who would in every way "correspond to him" or even "be his equal."" The Torah Study for Reform Jews says, “From the time of creation, relationships between spouses have at times been adversarial. In Genesis 2:18, God calls woman an ezerkenegdo, a "helper against him." The great commentator Rashi takes the term literally to make a wonderful point: "If he [Adam] is worthy, [she will be] a help [ezer]. If he is not worthy [she will be] against him [kenegdo] for strife." This Jewish study also described man and woman facing each other with arms raised holding an arch between them, giving a beautiful picture of equal responsibility.
When we use the word holy, as in a holy person, we usually associate this with a righteous or pious person. If we use this concept when interpreting the word holy in the Hebrew Bible then we are misreading the text as this is not the meaning of the Hebrew word qadosh. Qadosh literally means "to be set apart for a special purpose". A related word, qedesh, is one who is also set apart for a special purpose but not in the same way we think of "holy" but is a male prostitute (Deut 23:17). Israel was qadosh because they were separated by the other nations as servants of God. The furnishings in the tabernacle were qadosh as they were not to be used for anything except for the work in the tabernacle. While we may not think of ourselves as "holy" we are in fact set apart from the world to be God's servants and representatives.
15-16 Do you know the saying, "Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well"?It's true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted. 17-20 Your spring water is for you and you only, not to be passed around among strangers.Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose— don't ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted!Why would you trade enduring intimacies for cheap thrills with a whore? for dalliance with a promiscuous stranger? HONORABLE/PURE:1) as of great price, precious2) held in honour, esteemed, especially dearUNDEFILED:1) not defiled, unsoiled1a) free from that by which the nature of a thing is deformedand debased, or its force and vigour impaired 21-23 Mark well that God doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark.Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.
