By Rev. Eric Landry
Some of the most challenging cultural flashpoints facing the church today are around the questions of gender and sexuality: What is a man? What is a woman? How should men and women interact? What is marriage? How do we address transgenderism and homosexuality? What is the role of men and women in the church, in the home, and in society?
Shortly after arriving at Redeemer in 2016, I led a seven-week study on Sunday evenings through these issues. In 2018, the session concluded a multi-year process of study and discussion of these issues and clarified how men and women should be engaged in the work of the church at Redeemer. At the end of 2020, we announced a new position, Director of Men’s Ministry, with a goal of encouraging our men and families toward their biblical role and purpose. Normally, in the weeks following Easter, I spend some time working through a topical sermon series that I think addresses an area of need in the church. Since these questions of gender and sexuality continue to be areas of interest and confusion, I will focus the next few weeks of sermons on this subject.
Shelves of books have been written on these issues. Our topical sermon series will touch on just a few important biblical coordinates to help frame future discussions. (Those future discussions will take place in our men’s ministry and a fall School of Discipleship class, among other potential venues.) The four coordinates should be familiar to anyone who knows and loves Scripture: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation.
The Bible’s story of humanity—from our creation in Paradise, to our fall into sin, to our redemption in Christ, to the consummation of all things and the eternal state—is foundational to any kind of response to the issues in our culture that seem bewildering at first glance. Men and women were created with a purpose. Sin has affected not just our souls, but also our bodies and our minds. The work of Jesus Christ has introduced a new kind of community that transcends cultural norms. The Kingdom of God—an already present reality that is yet to come in its fullness—changes forever the relationships we take for granted.
Like many of you, I have Christian friends and family who struggle with their gender identity and sexuality. I know many more who struggle to faithfully perform the duties of husband and wife. Our broader Reformed community has been rocked in recent years by misogynism. There is great concern that our young people are being catechized more by the culture than by what Scripture teaches them about their bodies. I have recently had conversations with single women in our church who wonder why the single men don’t seem interested in settling down and raising a Christian family. I say all of this so you know this isn’t an issue of “us” versus “them.” We all need to be brought back into conformity with the Word of God. My prayer is that this sermon series—in addition to the other steps our church has taken and will continue to take—will be one means that God will use to bring us to maturity of faith. Join us, beginning April 25, for our new topical sermon series: “Male & Female: In the Image of God for the Purpose of God.”