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God's Church: Flee from Sexual Immorality

God's Church: Flee from Sexual Immorality

This is the sixth sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘Flee from Sexual Immorality’. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 5-6

Sermons – St Bart's Anglican Church · The Rev'd Adam Lowe

June 6, 202131m 16s

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Sermon & Small Group Resources

This is the sixth sermon in our series on God’s Church (1 Corinthians). This sermon is ‘Flee from Sexual Immorality’. The audio recording this week comes from the 6PM service. Preacher: The Rev’d Adam Lowe. Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 5-6

DOWNLOAD the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this Week

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 6:12-20

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

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CONNECT: How could you show humility and demonstrate grace on your Frontline this week

WARM-UP

  1. Why do you think the church can be hesitant to discuss sex? Why is ignoring it not helpful?

  2. Is sexual promiscuity just a modern day problem? What was it like in Paul’s Corinth?

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-6:11

  1. What were the cases of sin that Paul has reported to him amongst the Corinthians? How shameful was it even in the pagan culture?

  2. What does the original word for ‘sexual immorality’ mean? What is the God-given context for sex?

  3. What was really at the heart of the problem in the Corinthian Church? Is that a problem for us?

  4. What does Paul mean in 5:8 by sincerity and truth? What does it look like to test our desires against God’s Word with sincerity and truth? How might this be costly?

  5. Are we ever in danger of trivialising sexual immorality? In what way?

  6. What is the danger of sin that goes ‘unchecked’? What image does Paul use to describe this danger?

  7. What is meant by 1 Corinthians 5:5? What did Paul hope to achieve for the man and the community?

  8. Why would expelling someone from a community only be used as a last resort? What steps would a community reasonably engage in before someone was expelled?

  9. If we fall into sexual immorality, are we condemned? How is 6:11 of encouragement to us?

Read  1 Corinthians 6:12-20

  1. How does Jesus’ resurrection confirm the reality that are bodies (and what we do with them) matter?

  2. How is marriage a sign of our union with Christ? How does this affect who we are ‘united’ with?

  3. In what ways are believers a temple of the Holy Spirit? How can we glorify God with our bodies?

  4. Can you think of a time in which you had to flee something? What does it mean to flee sexual sin?

  5. If a close friend shared that they were struggling with sexual sin, what would you advise them to do?

APPLY:  Is there an area of sexual immorality that you need to address and flee from?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times in which we our pride deceives us and we trivialise your will for our lives. Please convict us of sin, remind us of forgiveness, and help to live lives that honour you. Please especially reveal to us an areas of sexual immorality from which we must flee. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: How can you practically care for someone on your frontline this week?

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