Trinity United Methodist Church Germantown MD

January 14: God Incarnate Audio

Text: Holy Fire (1) God Incarnate
The Christian doctrine of “incarnation” says that God took on a human body in Jesus Christ, affirming the goodness of human flesh. Likewise, human sexuality was created by God and has positive worth. We’ll explore the mixed legacy of Christian attitudes toward sex and procreation, and consider what the “holy fire” of sexuality has to do with our life in God.

January 21 The Fall & Sin
Text: Holy Fire (2) Fall and Sin

The Christian doctrine of “the fall” or “original Sin” says that sin entered the world and all creation is wounded by evil. Perhaps this brokenness is no-where more evident than in the realm of human sexuality—so easily it falls short of what God intends. We’ll explore the way sex can both exacerbate and heal our alienation from God and others, and notice God’s first act of grace in covering our shame.

January 28 Grace and Forgiveness – Audio
Text: Holy Fire (3) Grace and Forgiveness

The Christian doctrine of “salvation by grace” is the beating heart of Methodism. Grace is relational and flows between God and people, brother and sister, husband and wife. Our sex-lives or single-lives are arenas where we can experience the grace of God and be transformed. Why then have our sex-lives or single-lives become the arena of so much Christian stone-throwing? This message will focus on the way God’s grace woos us, justifies us, and sanctifies us through holy intimacy.

February 4 Divine Covenant Love
Text: Holy Fire 4 Divine Covenant Love

Is there such a thing as a “biblical view of marriage?” King David might not be our best role model. There is certainly a biblical doctrine of “God’s covenant love” which is conveyed in marital imagery. We’ll survey the biblical practices of marriage and celibacy and ask how our contemporary expressions of these practices can reflect God’s covenant love. In this light, we’ll propose an ethical system for determining when sex is a faithful option for Christians.

February 11 Identity in Christ

Christians believe that our primary identity is in Christ, through baptism. How does this identity relate to our sexual or gender identity? We’ll discuss the patriarchal milieu in which Scripture was written and the church’s current struggle to understand homosexuality. We’ll consider the story of Philip the Ethiopian Eunuch and consider what it might say about the place of sexual minorities in the church.