Jesus is Better than Sex: Warfare and Redemption in the Marriage Bed

The marriage bed can be both heaven and hell on earth. Oftentimes, this area of intimacy ends up revealing the junk in our hearts. But such suffering and sin should compel us to seek Christ for refuge and relief. God designed the marriage bed to be a place where we can follow Christ, be redeemed by his love and enjoy him in deeper ways.

Over 120 Sojourn couples gathered on Friday, February 3rd as we addressed this important aspect of marriage straight on with the gospel. Couples were also given the opportunity to submit questions anonymously before the event for our Q&A sessions.

We invite you to listen and follow along with the teaching audio and PDF material found below.

“Jesus is Better Than Sex” -  Audio - PDF (Right click the link and select “Save link as” to save it to your computer)

Sojourn Pastor, Robert K. Cheong, joined up with four other pastors from the Biblical Counseling Coalition to write the multi-part series Equipped to Counsel. Check out the BCC Blog to read Pastor Robert’s account of how he equips Sojourners to love one another with Gospel Care.

Friday night was hopping at the Midtown campus with over 100 couples learning together and enjoying desserts in the art gallery and dancing in the Listening Room.

Pastor Robert and his bride Karen taught about our tendency as husbands and wives to look for perfection in our imperfect marriages. In most instances, it’s not our imperfect spouse who shatters our dreams but God.

Learn how you can take the everyday opportunities in your marriage to draw near to your perfect Redeemer AND your imperfect spouse so that you can both experience God’s love and participate in his redemptive mission. Listen and follow along with the teaching audio and PDF material found below.

“Perfect Dreams, Shattered Dreams” - Audio - PDF

Please share with us how the Redeem Marriage Event impacted your marriage. You can share your Stories of Change here

To view more pictures from this event click here. 

* * * * Join us for our next Redeem Marriage Event * * * *         Friday, February 3, 2012 - different topic, same gospel!

Click here to listen to the Redeem Marriage Event back in April 2011

]]> http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/10/20/redeem-marriage-event-friday-october-14-2011/feed/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/31/homosexuality-the-church/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/31/homosexuality-the-church/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:13:40 +0000 robertcheong http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/?p=1186

Homosexuality is a huge issue facing the church. What do we say or do? How can we help? Can the gospel bring redemption? There is an exciting conference coming to Louisville September 20-21 designed to answer these and so many more question that we all have.

“Homosexuality & the Church” is a free mini-conference sponsored by The Way Out, and is designed to equip both pastors and ministry leaders to better understand same-sex attraction so they can more effectively minister to individuals impacted by homosexuality.  This is a special opportunity for Sojourners to gain the tools they need for reaching out to those who struggle with same-sex attractions, and to their families and loved ones.

Register by Monday September 5 and you will get a free lunch on Wednesday. Invite friends to come to this much-needed time of equipping!

For more information and registration, check out their website: www.thewayoutlouisville.com

See you there!

]]> http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/31/homosexuality-the-church/feed/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/02/embracing-intimacy-in-marriage/ http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/2011/08/02/embracing-intimacy-in-marriage/#comments Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:19:33 +0000 robertcheong http://counseling.sojournchurch.com/?p=1174 I want to let you know about a marriage conference that’s going to be held at Crestwood Baptist Church August 12 (7-9 p.m.) and August 13 (8:30 a.m. - Noon) led by a dear friend and mentor, especially in the topic in which he is speaking.

This time of equipping was a little different than most, as it was not primarily in lecture format, but instead participants were given the opportunity to engage in interactive discussion. Those in attendance found this form of training to be very helpful, and we were encouraged by how quickly they were able to speak to the aspects of both spouse’s perspectives that were not reflective of the gospel.

Although there are moments in this recorded interactive training when the sound is a little more difficult to hear, we encourage you to take the time to listen to this very informative and applicable teaching. As you are listening, feel free to pause the recording and consider how you would respond to each example with a gospel perspective before you hear the recorded responses. To listen to the complete teaching and download the PDF material visit our Equipping Resources Page and find “Ministering in the Aftermath of Adultery-Part 2″.

I have the privilege of serving as one of the BCC Council Board Members and I would love for you to check out the ever-changing website and the newly launched blog. The first week, you can enjoy the following posts from leaders in the biblical counseling movement:

• Monday, May 2: Paul Tripp (http://www.paultrippministries.com/), The Ultimate Lens on Life
• Tuesday, May 3: Elyse Fitzpatrick (http://www.elysefitzpatrick.com/), Despising the Shame
• Wednesday, May 4: Steve Viars (http://www1.faithlafayette.org/church/), Biblical Counseling as a Community Bridge
• Thursday, May 5: Bob Kellemen (http://www.rpmministries.org), Our Competence Comes from Christ
• Friday, May 6: BCC Staff, Five to Live By: The Best of the Best on the Net in Biblical Counseling
• Saturday, May 7: The BCC Interview: Pastor Deepak Reju of Capitol Hill Baptist Church (http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/we-equip/adults/counseling/)

In late May to early June, the BCC Book Review site will launch. Every week the BCC will post four biblical counseling book reviews. The site will also provide “The Best of Guides” (such as “The Top Ten Books on Biblical Counseling and Dealing with Anxiety”).

Then throughout the summer and on an ongoing basis, the BCC will launch the Free Resources section of the website. Eventually, the BCC plans to provide 1,000s of free articles, forms, counseling guides, videos, and audio resources.

Three Audiences

Every section of the BCC website will focus on three audiences:

• People seeking biblical care: all of us—people in need of change.
• People providing biblical care: pastors, counselors, spiritual friends.
• People equipping biblical care-givers: educators, equippers, writers.

If you’d like to be placed on the BCC e-mailing list to hear more updates and receive periodic e-blasts and e-newsletters, sign-up on the BCC home page (www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org).

When you think of April 15, what comes to mind? Taxes! But April 15 2011 marked Sojourn’s first marriage event that kicked off with a candlelight dinner, not for two, but for over 200 hundred followed by an evening of teaching and talking heart-to-heart as couples.

Not only was I blessed as a pastor that God had brought all of the details together for this special event, but he also brought over 100 couples together to be reminded of how our God redeems our vision of marriage, our individual hearts, and our oneness as husbands and wives through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  To cap off the evening, couples where given almost 30 minutes in a quiet and private nook or cranny around the J-town campus. You might say, “What, 30 minutes is so short!” But every couple was so thankful for that intentional quiet time with each other. In most cases, the 30 minutes was more time than they have spent talking like this in a long, long time.

During this time, husbands and wives began to re-connect as couples, sharing intimate details of their hearts, encouraging one another, confessing ways in which they sinned against one another, and forgiving one another through the power of the cross. As Karen and I walked around to check out the couples during this “heart talk” time, we were so moved and blessed as we saw couples sitting face-to-face, some wives leaning into their husbands’ chest, some crying, some finding rest in the moment, and all praying together.

We all came back on Saturday morning to experience more teaching and heart talking as couples. The Spirit of God was very present throughout this marriage gathering, as he showed himself through the overall atmosphere of gospel encouragement and challenge.

If you didn’t have the chance to attend the Redeem: Marriage event, you and your spouse can download the teaching notes, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and sit and listen to each of the 4 sessions. Husbands, after each session, you can lead by intentionally working through the questions as a couple so that you can enjoy some “heart talk.” You will not regret it!  You can also download a “refrigerator card” that will remind you of a key point from each session, followed by a challenge question.

Pass this link along to other couples that you know would be encouraged and challenged by the gospel applied to marriage. Also, join us as we pray for the Lord to guide and lead us for future marriage gatherings at Sojourn.

May Jesus continue to redeem your vision, hearts, and oneness as a couple in Christ!

The following blog was written by Sojourn members Chris and Kat French as a reflection on the Redeem: Marriage Conference that took place in April, 2011.

I really enjoyed this session (and not just because Chris and I were off the Biblical Hot Seat of Personal Testimony!) There was so much good material covered, and I was so encouraged to see the subject addressed frankly and honestly among the Body.