Love, Sex and Jesus!

 

  

    Recently I moved to the panhandle of Florida. I worked for the mouse for six years and it was time to give it up. I was tired of working on Sundays and missing church. It had started to take a toll. I got a promotion at Disney that took away my Sundays off. I was excited for the promotion, but I think it made me realize church was more important than that promotion. Also, since covid Disney changed drastically. Plus, I have family in the panhandle, so I am now closer to them, and I am enjoying that. I decided to try out this church about 2 miles from where I live. I decided to go there because I checked out their website and their current series was titled ‘Love Sex Body’. I thought a church talking about sex. Hmm. Weird. I gotta see what the preacher is saying. I grew up in church, so I know the basics and more of what is in the scripture. So, I feel like I have pretty good discernment of what is true and what isn’t, as far as what is taught in churches. I have heard messages that showcase extremes on both sides. This was truly in the middle. This did not condemn and was still true. 

         A little background I grew up in a small church. When I was young it had like 60 people and then when I was a teen it shrank significantly. (Now is back up to a larger size.) But as a child I often felt like an outsider in my home church. The preacher didn’t like that I didn’t play sports like his two sons. (Even though I played baseball for 6 years.) I am not a sportsman. As a teen we got a new pastor and the church shrunk; but this pastor and his wife accepted me the way I was but by this point I started to not like the church again because it had like 30 people in attendance. In college and until recently I attended larger churches so I could fly under the radar more because in smaller churches you get ‘volun-told’ to do everything. Whether you’re good at it or like it or not. I wanted to go to churches where I could just be a number. I did try another small church in the Orlando area but didn't like it because of the point I was in spiritually in life. (I will talk about that in a couple paragraphs.)

            I prayed that God would give me signs if this was a good church or if I needed to keep looking, before I even attended. I walked in the door and felt good about the atmosphere. I have always been told I have excellent judge of character. Several people greeted me and were friendly. 

            The music starts and it’s a contemporary church with the lights like a concert. I think I prefer traditional services because I grew up in a traditional church. However, the messages mean more to me than song choices. The pastor gets up to preach. He’s a younger guy probably around my age. He starts talking about sex. His message was full of truth of what scripture says. Often truth can turn people off because it can come across as judgmental. But more than that, the sermon was also filled with grace and the love of Jesus. He did not condemn anyone, but he told us all we were loved and wonderfully made in God’s image. The message made me tear up because of how loving it came across.

            Here is some more background before I continue, about 5 years ago I had a little bit of a promiscuous string. I went on many dates, slept with a few people, and talked to multiple people at once. It was an exciting time but also mentally exhausting. I knew that was not right; but I was in my 20’s so why did it matter? I will tell you it robbed me of my peace. I didn’t sleep during these six months, when I finally asked for repentance God gave me mental, physical, and spiritual rest. So much rest I slept like 15 hours. My roommate probably thought I was dead. I probably needed to hear that message 3 or 4 years ago so to hear it now really plucked a string in my heart. It didn’t make me sad reminding me of my past because our past can make us stronger and help us to be a light to others. What that sermon did though it made me think “I am glad I am not in that place in my life anymore.” It made me smile thinking of where Jesus has brought me. It was, I think, one more step in the healing process. I believe now that I have written about it and now people know this is the last piece of healing from where I was. (Note: I think a sin can be different for everyone- another topic for another day.)

            I left this new church and thought ‘hmmm maybe I will try another church or maybe I will come back next week I liked it.’ I googled more churches and decide to try it again. The next week was another message that I felt God had been laying on my heart and is still working on. I thought “Well maybe this is the place for me.” I started to know faces and names at the church, and all seemed nice, accepting and not judgmental or stuck up like I have seen in other churches. I have thought about trying out churches; but, I check out their websites and just feel like “Nah. I think I will stick it out” or the services start later and I am an early bird. I would prefer an 8 am service but if you are looking for a perfect church to fit your needs you will be looking a long time. Plus, church is bigger than just me. I am currently reading through the book of Acts which is the foundation of the church basically and me getting back to attending church regularly for the first time in years, it's the perfect time to read it. The church over the years have gotten a lot of things wrong and missed the point and I think a lot of churches still do; however, churches do a lot of good too. 

            Recently, the pastor and I met up for a coffee at a local place in town and chatted for over an hour. It is nice to have a pastor around my age. He and I are becoming good friends. I think I have found a church I can finally call home. It is not a large church, but I wouldn’t call it small either. Remember how I said earlier after growing up in a small church was annoying because you had to do everything, so I went to larger churches and flew under the radar which was nice. Now I miss serving in the church, so I like that I found a medium sized church like the one I have been attending. I have spoken to the pastor saying I am interested in serving at church. So, we will see what that looks like in the near future. 

        Another nice thing, being new to town and knowing 10 people outside work church has widened that circle a little, which is nice when you’re a stranger to all. I guess you could call me an outgoing introvert. I think Freeport is where I am meant to be currently and am excited to see what happens here. 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment below!