God’s Design

• Our goals for this series: Teach the truth – Equip the saints –Wake people up – Disciples make Disciples
• To be unified as the Family of God
• To act wisely amongst non-Christians

Jesus describes the end times: Matthew 24:10–14 (NIV) Jude 3–4 (NIV)

God gave us His Word as a guide for life: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) Psalm 119:9 (NIV)

There is a spiritual battle going on: 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV) Ephesians 6:10–12 (NIV)

The New (false) doctrine of gender and sexuality. How did it get this way?
• There is no objective truth about your gender –though there is about your sex
• Sex is your unambiguous sexual organs based on biology but your gender can be different than your physical sex
• There are many variations of gender – How many kinds now is debated –gender fluidity means you fit on a spectrum
• What you think you are you are – and it won’t change –immutability.
• The job of parents, teachers, doctors is to be affirming –to help you be who you think you are
• The answer to the problem is to become what you think you are and want to be
• “You do you”
• The result of what is being taught in the media by some doctors, the counseling profession (not all) –the internet. All a pipeline to gender dysphoria
• Physical changes being pushed via medicine and in schools –prescribing medication to minors without permission of their parents
• The problem –especially young girls – the new statistics –percentage of young girls dealing with this
• But science has confirmed that 70% of girls would have resolved the issue over time—kid’s brains don’t stop changing until 25

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) Proverbs 23:7 (KJV 1900)

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences. Plasticity is the capacity to be shaped, molded, or altered; neuroplasticity, then, is the ability for the brain to adapt or change over time, by creating new neurons and building new networks. Neuroplasticity underlies the capacity for learning and memory, and it enables mental and behavioral flexibility. Research has firmly established that the brain is a dynamic organ and can change its design throughout life, responding to experience by reorganizing connections—via so-called “wiring” and “rewiring.” Scientists sometimes refer to the process of neuroplasticity as structural remodeling of the brain.

Irreversible Damage: Abigail Shrier
“Nearly every novel problem teenagers face traces itself back to 2007, and the introduction of Steve Jobs’ iPhone. In fact, the explosion in self harm can be so precisely pinpointed to the introduction of this one device that researchers have little doubt that it is the cause…. And yet here we are: the statistical explosion of bullying, cutting, anorexia, depression, and the rise of sudden transgender identification is owed to the self- harm instruction, manipulation, and abuse, and relentless harassment supplied by a single smartphone.”

Separating sex from gender contradicts Biblical truth

The faith reveals the problem – a sinful heart

• The curse – we are all broken
• We are flawed and our sinful flesh (desires—appetites) lead us away from Gods design
• The way the lost live and the consequences. Appetites- attractions drive their lives
• Their god is their appetites –sinful attractions –the inner man –seat of emotion and direction –the heart
Philippians 3:17–21 (NIV) Romans 16:17–19 (NIV) Jeremiah 17:5–9 (NIV) Romans 3:9–12 (NIV)

Discipleship: includes being saved and following Jesus back to His design for us: Matthew 28:19-21
• Gods design
• Two sexes
• Come together to multiply
• Marriage for life
Genesis 1:27–28 (NIV) Genesis 5:1 (NIV) Matthew 19:3–6 (NIV) Romans 1:24–32 (NIV)

The truth – Two genders – 2 Options
• Single and celibate,
• Married and faithful Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)

Dealing with our sinful nature – broken attractions

A. Accept that everyone has them, including yourself
B. Gods final solution – the New Heaven and New Earth
C. God helps us through this broken world to remain faithful
D. Let the Word of God become your plumb line
E. Reject any thought or attraction that deviates from Gods revealed design in His Word
• Warning – the more you feed the attraction the more powerful it gets
• The sinful nature is never satisfied
F. When you struggle with thoughts (not if) remember your identity is in Christ.
G. Be honest with other believers (the right ones) as a means to defeating sin
H. When dealing with those trapped be gentle and respectful: 2 *Corinthians 10:3–5* (NIV) James 1:13–15 (NIV) 1 John 1:8–9 (NIV). Galatians 5:16–17 (NIV) 2 Timothy 2:25–26 (NIV)

For discussion with your small group, family and friends.

Passages: Genesis 1:1, 26-31; Psalm 139:13-16; Philippians 3:17-21; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 10:3–5

Questions to discuss:
1. From the sermon, what was meaningful and/or challenging to you?
2. What truth from God’s word to his people do you want to investigate more? What will this look like for you?
3. Read Genesis 1:1, 26-31& Psalm 139:13-16. What do these passages say about who God is and who humans are? A) What does this mean to you personally?
4. Read Philippians 3:17-21. What are appetites that could draw your focus away from God and what he says life is about? How do you want to respond to that awareness? A) What are challenges you see for your family and close friends?
5. Read Romans 12:1, 2 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. How do these passages help you live as a Jesus-follower?
6. Try praying this prayer several times this week:
God Almighty, Creator and Lord of all the world, help me to present my body as a living sacrifice to you. To honor you and the way you made humans with my thinking and my words. Give me wisdom to lead myself and my family, to impact my friends and co-workers with truth and grace. These are turbulent times, where your design is being replaced with another set of values, I choose You and your way. Give me courage to love others the way you do, and to stand firm, taking thoughts and ideologies captive to your authority, Jesus.