Wholesome Sexuality

One topic that is rarely discussed in any practical or meaningful way in church is that a human sexuality? Usually what happens is that we've talked about what we must not do. We talk about divorce or we leave it at the point where we say that, you know, sex is a beautiful thing, blessed by God, and we say no more. Everybody should go home and figure it out on their own. However, within society, no other subject is more exploited than no subject is more discussed or debated. Then human sexuality, I mean, what do you think the gay issue is about? It's about sex. How people have sex. Movies are raven by their sexual content. Go to the bookstore lightly and look at the section on what they call psychology or health. Most of those books are about

You'd think they'd run out of ideas, you know, book after book after book, but somehow there's a tremendous appetite or knowledge about depictions of the activity of sex.

I believe as Christians, we need to understand what the Bible also teaches, not just about marriage, although the Bible gives us what we understand about marriage, but I think we also sometimes need to study what the Bible teaches about sex period. So if you came tonight thinking I was going to talk about marriage, well, I will in a very indirect way. This lesson is about sex and human sexuality. That is something that is sensitive. Please understand that the objective is to learn to understand. We'll try to stick to the Bible for this particular study. I also want to draw some practical conclusions that are not directly stated by the Bible, but naturally are deduced from the psalm of its teaching. Again, the inference, it can't get away from this inference. Business Command example, you free. So important. Actually, most of our teaching comes from what we infer what we did do. The Bible teaches no different about sex. The Bible teaches many things about sex. Some of the things we have to do of the things we need to draw conclusions and hopefully by the end we'll get an image, a picture of what is wholesome sexuality, you know, wholesome, healthy, human sexuality, edit as it is defined by God's word. Well, let me just start by saying a few kind of statements. Prac,

just because we have a sex drive doesn't mean we understand sexuality. Just as we feel like having sex doesn't mean we understand. Just because we know how to make love, it doesn't mean we know how to love big.

You see, video of us enter into marriage and the sexual relationship included in marriage with what we have been taught concerning sex. Therefore, if our sex life many times is not satisfying, oh, we have problems with human sexuality. The first place to find a solution is not how we do it or how often we have sex, but rather what we think about sex, we need to examine what we have been taught about sex long before we examine the actual mechanics of human sexuality.

Now when we talk about sex, we usually feel uncomfortable. The fact that I've had to make a preface, you know, settle us down. I was standing out in the hallway. Everybody was giggling. You know what? We're gonna talk about sex in church, y'all. We did a little giggly when we talk about the subject, we're a little embarrassed sometime. Maybe some are uncomfortable and I think this is due to the fact that we have been taught certain things about human sexuality. Much of our thinking has been formed by religious attitudes.

And many of these religious attitudes were formed by not the Bible, but by early theologians and the, I refer back to the Middle Ages and the Roman Catholic Church of the middle age who themselves were influenced by Greek philosophers. A lot of those ideas are the ideas that were still hanging onto us today. No way back then, the middle ages, Catholic theologians, their idea of the origin of man.

I came from a lot of philosophical ideas from the Greek. The Greeks believed that man was made of flesh and spirit and sex because it was part of the flesh. It was associated with being that, this basic idea evolves as you wish and within Roman kept falling. Um, Roman Catholic theology of the time. This is thinking in this teaching over centuries spilled over into the Protestant reformation. A lot of Protestant thinkers, this produced this certain mental attitude which many times have been hurt. We have inherited with the verifying if our attitude is really biblical. In other words, you know, there's a vestige of a lot of old ideas which are not biblically based that we carry around with us, but we cannot verify from the scriptures. So let's look, first of all, it seems sexual myths that exists that some of us, many of us may be laboring with because of some of the things that we have been taught. First one is the idea that sex is basically a bad thing.

No, it's a bad thing and only tolerated by God's within merit tolerated by God. Again, I was brought up in the Catholic church. Maybe some of you were also, and I remember clearly this idea, you know, or just a bad thing. And thank God we have marriage. Do you notice? So we can kind of hide it in marriage. That's one myth that exists. Another one is that a celibacy is the Holloway is another celibacy. It was taught at the time was the way that we really ought to be. And uh, this gave rise to the monastic movement and the celibate priests in the Roman Catholic Church. The idea that celibacy really is the best way marriage is just, well, it's a notch down. It's a vocation. But you know, if you can be syllabus while you're not as well. Another myth is that women are evil. I said it was a myth. You'd take needs all those men who were laughing, of course, along with the idea that sex was bad, came along with it. The idea that women somehow were innately evil because they were considered the source of this sexual thing. They were the target of the sexual thing and the cause of this, many of them were abused. As a matter of fact, in the 17th century of many women wore black because of this very reason.

They thought sex was bad. And because women, you know, they're the ones that have the children. And they represent fertility and sexuality. Somehow they're bad too. Sex is only for procreation. Sex within marriage was only good if one was producing children. Now I come from a place, I mean one generation removed in my own family. This is what was really 50 years ago. People in my family believed, and I've talked with them, you know, recent last few years we talked about this and they tell me how it was in the old days. It was a lot. I mean the clergymen up in the pulpit teaching this that every time a married couple had sex, if they weren't allowing themselves to have a child. In other words, if they weren't having sex with the opportunity to have a child, it was a sin. Could you imagine the burden people live local control? The next is only for procreate. Sex should be in the dark. Many times it is in the dark, but that's where it should be in the dark. Attitudes towards sex should be secretive in the dark. We just don't talk about that thing. That's, we just do that. That's that animal thing that we do within the dark. We hide and we insure the children all another minute. The ultimate result of all this type of mythology about sexuality is that guilty and still do and they feel ashamed when trying to deal openly with sexual matters and false guilt produces frustration and anger. And when this anger and frustration is repressed, it has a tremendously negative results on people at especially on their sex life. For women, this type of repression produces sexual indifference and rigidity, rejection of their partner as a way of punishment. Repressed feelings come out as anger towards the park, either ability to be satisfied and all the related problems that come with that. And then the same id, all these repressed feelings developed because of false ideas that produce the inability or rather the indifference in rejection of the partner in potency and, and, and uh, promiscuity the ever going or, or the never ending search for satisfaction through multiple partners and experience. So what we have learned how about sex? We'll determine largely what our sex life will be like. You are what you think, especially when it comes to sex. Many of us because of Pagan, I do use or because of false ideas that we have been taught these sex as a cause for shame. Even within there, you know what happens then you'll flush. Shame equals poor. Set. These false ideas produce false guilt and anger, which if not expressed honestly manifest themselves in frustration and poor sexual development within marriage.

How would it give you a brief history of sex? What it would probably look like by the fourth century?

The idea of original sin was no. The idea of original seeds, that's the idea where Adam sin is passed on physically through heredity to the next generation and so on down the line, and since this sinfulness is passed on physically and human sexuality is the vehicle that moves the generations forward, there must therefore be something wrong with human sexuality. By the 17th century, sex was just a dark and dirty thing not to be discussed. This idea took hold that people in the name of religion were twisting themselves so totally out of shape when it came to this particular topic. Of course people eventually revolted against this oppressive and false. But as is often the case with human beings, they went completely to the other extreme and we arrive in the 20th century and we get these ideas about sex. Somewhere around the fifties you know, after the first world war and all, all the way up to the 60s we began with the idea that sex actually should be fun.

It's activities to enjoy. If we can just loosen up why boy magazine starts this philosophy sexualizes every rock and roll things about the glories of free six. Much of the songs, if you remember, sounded innocent enough, but the writers of those songs, you know, were very sexually oriented all the time. We get to the 70s the ideas that sex is free sex with whomever, whatever. And whenever you want the sexual revolution, you know, it swings one way for a long time. Boys starts swinging completely the other way. All the time. We get into the eighties this group here has grown up. They don't totally, uh, uh, do away with their sexual ideas. But now they're raising their kids. Now they've come up with their philosophy. Sex is for the mature. We need to be ready. We need to experiment. Oh, the 80s were a very serious time sexually, you know, 30 something middle age. Everybody's sitting around contemplating their navel and thinking about sex and very serious and of course, what are the nineties tell me. Give me the word sex. Now we're into safe sex because of a, nevermind. You should be ready. You have to be careful not to kill yourself as far as sex. Now these ideas have truth to them. There's a kernel of truth in these ideas. For example, sex is sinful. When it's outside of marriage, sex is dirty. When presented as pornography, when it's presented in a base way, yes, it is unclean.

Sex is fun. Of course, when enjoyed by legitimate marriage. Partners is wonderful. Sex is free, but the thing that people don't understand is that it's, excuse me, it's exclusive. It's really enjoyed, but by only two people within that, yes, sex is for the mature and the mature are determined by the ability to make a commitment or life within marriage. So yes, sex is for the mature. Maturity is demonstrated by making a commitment with another person to live as husband and wife and sex is safe because sex between faithful married partners is absolutely say it always has been. It always will be. Well, let's take a look at a little bit of background there. Let's take a look at what God says about sex. God's ideas. Do you have your bobbing and follow along if you want. Bible says a lot of things about sex. It is not exist. As I say, there's a lot of things about marriage, but it does refer to human sexuality. For example, the Bible says, or God says that sex is beautiful. It's a beautiful thing. Let's read the Song of Solomon Chapter Seven I'll read it for you. You follow along if you want. Listen to me now. This man is talking to his right to be alright.

He says to her, how beautiful are your feet and sandals? So princess daughter, the curves of your hips are like jewels. The work of the hands of an artist. Your navel is like around goblet which never lacked mix, which never lacked mixed wine. Your belly is like a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies. Your two breasts are like two Fonz twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like the tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the fools and pitch box by the gate of bath. Rubbing your nose is like the Tower of Lebanon. I thought that was kind of strange. You know it's like the tower of liver. Maybe they were in the big noses and those days which faces towards the master, your head crowns. You like Karma. Karma was a mountain and the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads. The king is chapter evaded by your trip. He's wild about you. How beautiful and how delightful you are. My love with all your charms, your statues like the palm tree and your breasts are like it's clusters. I said, I will climb the palm tree. I will take hold of its roof spots. Oh, make your breasts and be like clusters of the vine and the fragrance of your breath like apple and your mouth, like the best wine. It goes down smoothly from my beloved, blowing gently through the lips of those.

Is this guy in luck or what? That's a very, very sensual pastor. He is talking about his right to be the woman that he loved and he describes her body. That's right. You hadn't talked about her mind yet. He talked about our body. He's saying, you're beautiful. You excite me. I love you. I'm going to take you in my, I'm going to make mad love for you. That's what we say here. Sex is beautiful. You realize the Holy Spirit.

Okay, so it's not just a throwaway line to say, sex is beautiful. It is. God says that it is. The Holy Spirit says we could read more, but I picked that passage because it was so graphic. God also says that there is no shame or guilt within marriage.

When, uh, when referring to sex in genesis chapter two, verse 24, it says, for this cause a man shall clea of shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. They were not ashamed. There is no shame in human sexuality. You ever notice if you continue to regenesis the shame came after the sin. Before the thin nudity was a symbol of innocence. After sin, nudity became a symbol of guilt. That's why we all feel embarrassed to be naked because it reminds us that we are sinners, but not at this time. God also says that sex is his idea, not man's idea. Sex is not something that men invented and foisted upon. God. Sex is gone. I God's idea. Proverbs chapter five you ever think about that you married people. Think about that. The enjoyment, the pleasure, the excitement, the adventure that you have experienced in your sex life was designed by God. He knew what he was doing when he created you. Every feeling you've ever had, God knew you were going to have.

In proverbs chapter chapter five Solomon says, again, speaking about married love, Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth as a loving hind and a graceful doe. Let her breasts. That is why you would all be exhilarated always with her law line is saying the passionate, what's your wife be the one that excites you all the days of your life. This is

God's idea that we should be in love, that we should be excited, that we should enjoy ourselves. Sexually was originally God's idea, every perverted and twist, the thing that's been made out of it, man has done what originally it was a great idea and of course, here's one that always

God commands regular sex. First Corinthians chapter seven verses let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife and likewise also the wife through her husk. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does stop the prizing one another. Let me read it again. Stop depriving one and none except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourself to prior and come back together again, less Satan tempt you because of your lack of self control. When he says, come back together, he doesn't mean to come back together to have breakfast together talking about human sexuality, God command married people to have an active sex life and don't let too many things interrupt that life, Paul, and if you do interrupt in normal, frequent, mutually satisfying sex, sex life, make sure that you both agree on it and make sure that the purpose for your separation is high minded and noble for something that has to do with prayer or or spiritual focus, and don't let it be too long. He says, because you're a human and you'll be tempted to come back together again as soon as you can. God commands all of us to have regular, not to use it as a negotiating device. One partner with them, not in God's plan.

Sin Causes Guilt, not sick. So many of us feel guilty just about sex. Only reason we should ever feel guilty is because we sin because we have sex. Chapter 13 verse four of Hebrew says, let the marriage bed be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for fornicators and adulterers God will judge, done.

God will judge those who violate his word concerning sex, not those who have sex. Legitimately within that sex has no age. Sex had no age. Said you a story. I remember when I was younger, my own excuses that I was younger and my, uh,

my mother had been a widow for many years and she was talking and so on and so forth. And she said that some, somebody in our family forget, you know, something or an ass was getting married again. She was a widow. She was like 74. And she had met somebody who was 78 or 79 and they hadn't really gotten along on this wonderful older couple. It was going to be married. And of course in my young rash, ignorant way on it. Oh, how disgusting. She's so angry at me. She told me there is no age for love. Yeah, love has no age limits.

She took me to task and rightly so and rightly so. Love has no h you read the story of Abraham and Sarah. Do you think it was a miracle that they had said, how do you think your child was born? Immaculate Conception. You know, was it a virgin birth? No, they had sex and she conceived. And why do you think she had said? Because they were attracted to each other because God blessed them and made them lovely in each others. No Way, no age for expressing. And then some decisions belonged to us uniquely belonged to us. Uh, how? When, how often, whether we do it to conceive whether we do it simply for pleasure. Some decisions belong to us because the Bible doesn't speak to these issues. You know, the human body was designed for a woman that she could have a child every year for 20 years. Some women are going, oh my. I said, theoretically, the human body was designed that a woman could conceive and have a child every year for 20 years and where I come from in Quebec 50 years ago, they were having families. One woman was having 1316 kids. I'm mother comes from a family of 11 and they were meeting, but you see, God also gave us a brain. You gave us the body that could produce children, but he also gave us a brain so we would know when to quit.

Some things, we use our own judgment. There's nothing in the Bible that tells us how we figure out how. There's nothing in the Bible that tells us when we do it. Whenever there's nothing in the Bible that says once, twice a week, 10 times a month, once every two or nothing. That tells us this. We figured this out first and we also figure out far so of our intimate relations. Is it just to say I love you? Is it just to say you're important to me? Is it just to say I'm partying and I need you to be closed or is it to say let's start our family or let's continue. These decisions belong to us.

Now let's just summarize some of the things that we've sick. God invented an intended sex to be experienced really joyfully within marriage all through life. Sin and not sex is the only cause for guilt and finally somethings God leaves us to decide for ourselves and no one has the right to make rules. All right, I'll talk about something else. Sex therapists tell us that the biggest problem that couples have with sex is not mechanics or frequency or even look, they tell us the biggest problem with sex is communication. Communication. That's the big problem, the main sex organ of the body, and I'm going to point to it now, so don't be embarrassed. The main sex organ of the body is the brain. That's the major sex organ, the brain.

It is this part of the body that controls feeling and desire and enjoyment of pleasure. It is the brain or rather if the brain is not stimulated, if the brain is not sexualized, then the other body parts cannot function properly. So the best way to stimulate the brain is to communicate. The best way to improve sexuality within a marriage is to learn how to communicate more effectively about sex. They repeat. The best way to improve is to improve the way that we can. Now, one major problem in many marriages is that there are things that we wished our partners knew about us because you know what's most secret? We're all here. We all have different needs. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves. Sexual, everybody's different. The problem is we hope that our partner knows or we wish they did or we wish they would figure it out. But because of shame and guilt and fear and anger and ignorance, we can't communicate our feelings to them. Stay locked up. We hope that they'll guess and they don't guess and we end up becoming unfulfilled and actually miserable. I'm not painting. You know everybody's got a problem, but you know I have been preaching about 14 years and a lot of people, a lot of married couples and when it comes to the human sexuality, you know if that's the problem in the marriage or in nine times out of 10 it's communication.

Because we all kind of know how to function section. You don't know how to talk. You don't know how to communicate, how to say what it is that is on our heart. For that reason, we remain unfulfilled and it's a godly thing to be fulfilled sexually. God wants us to be fulfilled sexually because that builds a strong marriage.

I'm going to finish this lesson tonight by saying out loud some of the things that couples find hard to say for various reasons. Obviously I'm talking to married people, single people who are here can learn. The theory can understand, but I'm really talking to married people. I don't say these things to offend or embarrassed. I say these things, rather the open up lines of communications between couples who are bound by false ideas. And I encourage you, if you hear something that strikes home for you, remember it. There's something you need to communicate to your partner that you've never been able to write it down on a note and slip it under the pillow. Amazing how people, once that first step is taken, it's amazing how general the dam breaks and everybody begins to really share it. So here are some of the things that I've picked up, books and uh, counseling sessions, key phrases that people want to say to each other. But the communication, tell me how to please you. Guide me so that I will know in the future

we think that our partner knows what we're thinking. We think that our partner knows how we feel with our partners going to figure out by Osmosis what is what it is that we need, but it doesn't work. Like, tell me how to police guide me this time in the future.

How about this? I want to make love just for fun, just for fun, just for the sheer pleasure and exhilaration and jaw.

You ever prayed after you made love and say, Oh God, that was great. Thank you. My Bible says we should give thanks in all things. We can go to McDonald's and say thank you for a big Mac. Okay. We say thank you after with great sex, you know something's wrong here. Externally wrong. What's wrong with this picture? How about this one? Seeing your body excited. Hide it from me. Amazing. We spend our, our our, you know, we grow up, grew up in the church and grow up, you know, find Christian parents. You know, we're modest, we're modest. This is good. You know, I had to know it. O c has to chase those girls down, get them to get dressed properly and so on and so forth. Were Modest Ramaz then we get married. We're modest, we're modest, we're modest. It's okay.

Paul says the body belongs to the other body, belongs to the other. We need to stop this. You know, from the bathroom to behind the drapes and behind the bureau under the covers lights out. That's your little flashlight. Seeing your body excites me. Don't hide it from me. Please don't force me to do what I can't do. Just recognize that human sexuality requires crow, requires time. Like spaghetti sauce, you know, can make good spaghetti sauce unless you cook it for six hours. Well, this spaghetti sauce tanks six hours. Imagine human sexuality. Sometimes, you know, one partner is over here and the other partners over here. An Act of love to be able to say, Hey, I'll wait for you. You don't understand, or you feel a little resistance. Don't force me to do what I can't do just yet. On the other side of the coin, don't say never to me. I will never, I will never do that. Don't please don't say never to me. Just say, Whoa, maybe woo time. Let's talk about this. Let me tell you how I feel about that. If I have a kind of a moral problem here with doing this right? Maybe I'm just embarrassed drive. I feel equal. I don't know how to do that. Don't say never to me.

Here's one I wish you would initiate sex for a change. It makes me feel wanted. It makes me feel the iron. I remember when you were a kid, I remember when you were younger, you had this terrible crush on somebody else, but it didn't come back the other way. Imagine living a whole life boy. Most both way.

Number step. Pick, your schedule. Great care routine to be with me makes me feel important. Yeah.

Come home for lunch. Show me that I'm important.

Wanting to have sex with me doesn't tell me that important. Or giving up something or breaking your routine or something in order to be alone with me so that perhaps you can win me over. That makes me feel important. How many couples have I heard? You know, the man says, well, you know, unless the dishes are washed and all the kid's stuff is put away and the ironing is folded and then the teeth are brushed in the, and then maybe we will have sex six in the laundry room. That's what this is a break. Let's try something new in our sex life. Let's explore together. Let's talk about what we'd like to do. It's amazing. Most people here who are, you don't have a long marriage, you know, 25 years of marriage and are happy and so on and so forth. You understand what I'm talking about. Here's some new younger couples

there's this terrible myth that goes around and I hear even to this day, I hear it, you know, well, you know the guys are talking, well, you know, first couple of years of marriage is really exciting and so on and so forth and after that, boy, you need a hobby. Not True because if God designed marriage and commanded that we remained faithful for life, that means she's also provided for a lifetime commitment and allowing human sexuality to be something that we can enjoy for a lifetime. What it requires a little bit of imagination, a little war. Let's try something new. Let's explore together. Couple more. I said to the song leader, I'll probably go over tonight. How about this one? Be Kinder to me every time you are unkind to me. It makes it harder for me to desire you then that hit home every time you make me feel foolish. Every time you laugh at me, every time you cut me off, every time you start casting every little chip and nick and cut that you make day in and day out makes it very hard for me to want you. Try to understand what stimulates me. Try to understand what turns me off. Or men probably don't understand this about your wife. Try to understand that the emotional stimulation comes before physical stimulation.

A lot of men unfortunately think that women are merely men with women's bodies haven't been clued into the fact that women are actually different than men. I don't understand, man, that the bic, the best facts happens when a wife's emotional needs are taken care of on a daily basis. You cannot buy sex at the last minute with flowers and 10 it's a cumulative thing. Take time to allow passion to rise, express love and affection before and during and after, or a continuous and enjoyable sex life. Man. Try to understand this about your why and women. Try to understand this about your hood. Try to understand that the accumulation of seminal fluid within men access and ongoing internal stimulation. That's medical men have a strong sex drive, not because they're sex fees, but because God created them this way. Women try to understand that men are visually stimulated by the eyes. Every Madison Avenue advertiser has figured this one out a long time ago. Every time I go to a mechanic, I see this three foot poster of a girl with a little string bikini and hardly anything covering her, her chest, and she's holding a wrench in her hat. What you know, what's the point here for? What's the point?

Why would you need to take advantage of this? Don't let anybody else take advent. Wives have a right to take advantage of the idea that men are visually stimulated and usually they're the last ones to take advantage of it and every stranger who's selling up a coca cola or a wrench or something, they have access. It ought to be the other way. The key. So interesting. The key is to find a balance between his needs and your ability to meet those needs. God is so wise in that he has created men and women in such a way that there has to be mutual compromise in order to have mutual satisfaction. Number 11 almost done. How about this? I appreciated when you give yourself willingly to me, even when you convenient, that's the gospel. I mean, sex is euros, but when you give sex willingly, even when it's inconvenient, even when you don't feel like it's that you're also become sacrificial, please take care of your body. Don't let yourself go because your body belongs to me. If you abuse it, you rob both of us. Tell me you enjoy our sex life. I need to hear it 10 later, 30 years later.

No, tell me that on duty. Tell me that on head. Telling me that I know how to make love. Tell me that youth that I've satisfied. You tell me I need to know. You know, um, when, when, when you interview someone in a counseling session, a man for example, who has cheated on his wife and you ask him what was it about this other woman? And sometimes this other woman is nothing compared to the wife, you know, I mean looks wise and you say, what happened here? You know what? You know what's the most common thing is, okay, wonderful.

He was Oh Great. He will finally tell me you love, I need to hear it all. I wife and I are in love longer now than, yeah, of course. I call her three times a day and ask her what she does. Tell her I love her 10 times a day. She tells me she loves me 10 times a day. I think that might have something to do. You know what I mean?

We need to understand that sex is God's gift to us or our pleasure or our comfort for our security within society. We need to abide, of course, by God's instructions regarding fidelity and respect. Absolutely. We also need to tell each other honestly and tenderly what we need, what we feel and what we want sexually with our partner. Without feeling guilty. They'll be afraid or being seen nothing stimuli or revives the sex life more than open communication about your .

Well, that's the lesson on human sexuality. We can do several more on that, but I wanted to share those ideas with you. I tell you a little story. Uh, I taught this lesson one for in Edmond and after the, after the lesson, an older brother came forward and he, his face was really sad. You know what I'm saying? Oh boy, I'm going to get it now. You know, as I really put my foot in it and came up to me, says, only one thing wrong with that lesson, brother Mike and I said, what's that? He says, he didn't give us any homework.

So tonight I give you homework, mob each other, love each other, talk to each other about your intimate relationship. Now we have a song of invitation. You know, we have to make a bridge. I don't know how to make a bridge from this to an invitation, but let's just say that we're going to sing your song or visitation. And if there are those among us tonight that have particular needs, prayer for repentance, perhaps from this morning, uh, you, you've heard the message concerning baptism and need more information, or you want to do that, even though we talked on this completely different topic tonight, it is still proper for you to come forward at this time. Seek out the Ministry of the elders of the church on your behalf as we stand.