Have you ever thought that God hates sex?

Maybe it’s because the Bible has lots of rules that seem to restrict our freedoms and that cause us to miss out on the ‘fun’ and ‘naughty’ side of sex?

Well, if that’s the case, then you’ve probably never read ‘The Song of Songs’.

This book of the Bible talks openly and unashamedly about sex, and its mention of private parts and private acts is enough to make anyone blush.

Throughout history some people have thought that the intimate love portrayed between the husband and wife was only just describing the love between Jesus and his church.

These people couldn’t cope with thinking that this saucy sex was in the Bible.

But God is pro-sex, and he made sex to be celebrated and enjoyed.

But like any good thing, it can easily be damaged if it’s not used according to its maker’s instructions.

And that’s why we learn in Song of Songs that true sex is wonderful, honourable, secure and committed.

It’s designed to be between a married man and a women, who together preserve this remarkable gift from God.

So instead of seeing God as some sort of spoil sport, we should see his words in the Bible about sex as the kind of wisdom that is worth a fortune.

The Song of Songs shows sex to be mind-blowingly good, but it also makes it clear that this powerful tool has the potential to cause real harm when it’s not used according to its maker’s instructions.

We carry this glorious love poem around inside our Bibles, so it is good for us to read it, and understand it.

And so, over the next four weeks, we’re going to study this remarkable book of the Bible, and whether you’re old or young, married or single, male or female, this will be a spiritual journey not to be missed!

The talks will run on 9-10, 16-17, 23-24, and 30-31 March 2019 at both our 5pm Saturday and 9am Sunday services at Jamberoo Anglican Church.

JODIE McNEILL

There are people everywhere who feel as though they cannot be part of our world any longer.

Sadly, some of those people have tried to take their own lives.

In 2015, over 3,000 people died by suicide, and it is presumed that for every death there were as many as 25 attempts.

Whilst this seems like a new phenomenon, we read in the Bible about people who have struggled with great fear, sadness and hopelessness.

The Psalmist even declares that God was the only thing that, “kept my eyes from closing [for he] was too troubled to speak.” (Psalm 77:4).

Yet even though these feelings of hopelessness and suicide are common, Christians believe that suicide is a great tragedy.

After all, God has knit each person together in their mother’s womb (Psalm 139) and made each of us in his image (Genesis 1).

It grieves God to see his children feeling so hopeless, especially when Jesus offers such hope.

If you think someone may be experiencing suicidal thoughts, then it important that you ask them how they’re going.

This is the message that Tim and I were taught in a recent seminar by Lifeline on this topic of suicide intervention.

We were encouraged to speak to people who seem troubled, and to say something like, “hey, you’ve seemed really down lately: have you been thinking about suicide?”

It’s a bold question to ask, but it will let that person know you care and give them an opportunity to talk about what’s going on in their lives.

For, in the same way that you’d run to help someone who was clutching their chest in pain, we need to assist people who are suffering emotionally.

We must care well for others and try to offer hope.

If you need to speak to someone now, contact www.lifeline.org.au on 13 11 14.

RAYNE ORANGE

The decision for a mother to terminate the life of her unborn child must be the most painful and difficult choice imaginable.

Sadly, our society has placed this burden upon women because it has given mothers the option to abort their unborn child.

In the rare situation where a decision needed to be made between the life of a mother or her child, people have made the painful decision to terminate the child.

Yet our society has now extended abortion to allow situations where a pregnancy is simply ‘unwanted’.

In a recent development, New York legislators have chosen to permit late-term abortions, allowing medical practitioners to terminate a pregnancy in its final moments.

Even if it could be argued that a first-trimester foetus was not yet human, there is no doubt that a baby of more than thirty weeks is more than a clump of cells.

And yet we are growing less and less shocked by the thought of doctors causing the death of a human whose only fault is that they have not already traversed their mother’s birth canal.

The Bible makes it clear that God sees unborn children as humans, and view has been held by civilised people for centuries.

Yet, as we stray further and further away from God’s word, our collective heart is hardened, and we are more convinced by an atheistic view that values humans based on their benefit to others.

If we keep travelling this pathway, we will soon justify infanticide of babies with disabilities, and more euthanasia of the aged.

For the vulnerable in our world we must obey the voice of God and show love to those who are unable to love us back.

And we must defend these unborn babies from the acts and decisions of health and legal professionals whose oaths should have led them to protect the vulnerable, not lead them to their premature death.

JODIE McNEILL

As we celebrate Australia Day, it’s a great reminder of how many people give up their time and energy to serve our community.

I’ve recently got to know a bunch of wonderful locals, who spend countless hours of their time to help protect life and property.

Jamberoo Rural Fire Brigade members are always on standby for a ‘fire call’, ready to drop everything to attend a blaze or an incident in our area.

Recently, some of the brigade members were risking their lives as they extinguished the petrol tanker in West Wollongong, and only this week some of us travelled to Tumut as part of a strike team to assist in a large blaze in Southern NSW.

Plus, this weekend, brigade members will be using fire for a different purpose… cooking sausages on the BBQ for breakfast on Australia Day in Reid Park.

I joined the Jamberoo RFB last year, as I wanted to connect more with our community as we seek to serve each other, especially in times of crisis.

This is everything that is great about our village: the willingness to sacrifice time, energy, and safety, to serve others.

This kind of service gives us a glimpse of what it is like for Jesus, the Son of Man, to serve us. We read in the Bible:

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Bible, Mark chapter 10, sentence 45.

Jesus’ rescue mission was costly, because it meant he sacrificed his own life in order to save the people who came to him for help.

And this is the most courageous act of community service we’ll ever experience.

JODIE McNEILL

Whether we admit it or not, we all are influenced in one way or another by our conscience.

It’s our built-in sensor that seeks to prevent us from acting or speaking in a way that goes against our values and principles.

Our conscience is something we all are born with, even though is an imperfect tool in our imperfect bodies.

This week at the week-long CMS Summer School conference, the speaker Gary Miller highlighted four problems that can affect our consciences.

Firstly, we can have a seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:2). It doesn’t work very well anymore because it’s stopped being able to feel properly, having been damaged by neglect, like hard skin on the soul of our feet that stops the pain of stepping on sharp rocks or hot bitumen.

Secondly, we can have a defiled conscience (Titus 1:15). It doesn’t work very well anymore because it no longer notices sinful and unholy things, having been desensitised by viewing and performing all sorts of sins. It’s like when a person watches so many horror movies that they stop being shocked by the violence.

Thirdly, we can have a weak conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7). It doesn’t work very well because it may over-react to things, being misinformed by false teaching. It’s like when someone takes offence at something that the Bible teaches to be mostly harmless.

And finally, we can have an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22). It doesn’t work well because it has been reprogrammed to do the opposite for which it was intended. Instead of alerting us about evil, it now encourages us to pursue sinful acts.

In response, Gary encouraged us from God’s word to re-awaken and heal our conscience.

In answer to our prayers, God’s Spirit can restore our seared, defiled, weak and evil consciences, and give us the gift of being able to recognise and avoid sin when we’re tempted.

Will you pray with me that God will heal and re-awaken our consciences?

JODIE McNEILL