Evolving community thinking on everything from pre-marital living arrangements to what constitutes marriage means that there is a widening gap between Church and society on sexual ethics matters that warrants further examination.
Understanding how we engage with these differences helps us connect in mission with our communities where the values and practices of the people we are called to minister to, are often different from our own. How are we to remain relevant without jettisoning Scripture? What makes marriage, a marriage? How do we respond to the fact that living together without getting married is the new “normal” for many New Zealand couples? While lifelong, faithful marriage is the ideal, divorce happens often. How do we engage with this reality?
This booklet examines these questions and more in the context of the Bible (study one), history (study two) and today’s world (study three). These studies provide the opportunity for readers to return to the Bible and think more deeply about how they have engaged with questions around sexual ethics to date.
This is the twelfth in a series of group study booklets produced by the Church to encourage congregations to reflect about contemporary issues that are impacting our communities. Download Sexual Ethics Study Guide