Last week several church leaders from our church attended a conference to help those who are sexually broken. God created sex as a very good thing, but it has been twisted up into something it was never intended to be. Those twisted ways always bring negative consequences. They also bring situations that are very difficult to confront and resolve. Just like a drug addict needs to recover and heal, so does the sex addict. The conference was helpful and we were made aware of several resources. Some of them were books, others were websites, or groups that are helpful. Below is a list of books, and a website that can be helpful to you. Also, below are a few thoughts from Lisa Davis and Nicole Sahd. They attended the conference with me. If you are struggling with a life dominating sin, please seek some help.
Pastor Scott
Attending the conference for helping the sexually broken has opened my eyes to the great need of every person to be loved and to be accepted. Unfortunately. This desire can become an idol of the heart that drives a search to satisfy that deep need in many different ways. The world and Satan deceive all of us into believing that God’s idea of love and intimacy won’t satisfy and we begin to go outside of the marriage covenant to try to satisfy that need with all sorts of sexual perversions. Thankfully, God in His great love has made a way for repentance hope, and spiritual growth by finding our satisfaction in Christ and His gospel. God always has the answers. His Word has always been the way to bring us all love, satisfaction, and abundant life!
Lisa Davis
I attended the conference, “Spiritual Care for Sexual Brokenness” at LBC. It was a very informative, insightful, and impactful day for me. There a few take-a-ways I’d like to share. One is the question of why this issue isn’t talked about and addressed more in the church. An answer to this question, John Freeman, one of the keynote speakers, had was that we really don’t believe the gospel can transform deep sexual struggles of the human heart. We have the world, our flesh, and the devil fighting against the sanctification process in us. There is no shortcut to victory and holiness. We need to run to the throne of grace in our deepest need like Hebrews 4:16 tells us.
Another thing that stuck out to me was to ask ourselves as a church body, “How can we create an atmosphere of grace?” A safe place in which attenders feel safe to share their struggles. Are we, “unshockable, confidential, and caring?” There are lots of resources, support groups, and individuals who are able to help in these areas. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out, help is there! Let’s aim for people’s hearts, not just the behaviors as we help others in the journey to healing.
Nicole Sahd
Books: Addiction and Grace, Sex and Money, Daughters of the King: Sexual sins of women, Children’s spirituality, Pastoral Care of Children in Crisis, When Children Suffer, Healing the Children of War, The Children’s Minister, Hide or Seek, Engendered, Sexual Sanity for Men, Sexual Sanity for Women, False Intimacy: understanding the struggle of sexual addiction.
