Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Is Sex as Dangerous as Christians Make It Seem?

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Is Sex as Dangerous as Christians Make It Seem? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Today's question is from an outsider, Sarah. Sarah is not
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  Speaker 1: a Christian. She says she may never become a Christian either,
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  Speaker 1: but she has some Christian friends and they encouraged her
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  Speaker 1: to send this question in to ask Pastor John, why
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  Speaker 1: do Christians make such a big deal out of sex?
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  Speaker 1: Why all the prohibitions about something so natural and personal.
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  Speaker 1: Here's what Sarah wrote to us, a student at Texas
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  Speaker 1: A and M in College Station, Texas. Pastor John, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for considering this question from me, a college student
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  Speaker 1: who didn't grow up as a Christian and someone not
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  Speaker 1: really convinced that I will become a Christian either. But
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  Speaker 1: here I am surrounded by Christians at school and even
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  Speaker 1: have a few good Christian friends. I've asked them this,
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  Speaker 1: and they suggested that I ask you this too. Here
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  Speaker 1: it goes. I often wonder why Christians get so hung
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  Speaker 1: up on sex and what constitutes what is forbidden or wrong,
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  Speaker 1: which is many, if not most sex acts, as far
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  Speaker 1: as I can tell, certainly anything and everything outside monogamous
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  Speaker 1: heterosexual marriage. From the outside, it looks like a lot
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  Speaker 1: of unnecessary prohibitions around something so physical, natural, instinctive, and personal.
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  Speaker 1: Can you explain why sex is such a big deal
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  Speaker 1: for Christians.
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  Speaker 2: Sarah, You are probably more right than you know. Christians
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  Speaker 2: do make a big deal out of sexual behavior, probably
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  Speaker 2: a bigger deal than you realize. So your question is
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  Speaker 2: a good one. Why is sex such a big deal
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  Speaker 2: for Christians? Why do Christians preserve the act of sexual
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  Speaker 2: intercourse for monogamous heterosexual marriage. To answer this first with
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  Speaker 2: just a personal question for you, Sarah, and then a
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  Speaker 2: longer explanation from the Bible, Sarah, wouldn't you say that
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  Speaker 2: deep inside your female personhood is a desire not to
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  Speaker 2: be sexually used by a man simply for his physical gratification.
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  Speaker 2: Don't you sense that giving your most intimate self to
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  Speaker 2: a man would be most beautiful and most satisfying if
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  Speaker 2: that man cared deeply about you as a person and
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  Speaker 2: not just as a vagina. In other words, don't you
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  Speaker 2: already have, as it were, written on your heart, the
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  Speaker 2: framework of healthy sexuality, namely being measured as a person
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  Speaker 2: in a committed relationship. Now, if that's true, if I'm
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  Speaker 2: not put words in your mouth, then the answer to
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  Speaker 2: your question is that Christians have been given by God
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  Speaker 2: in the Bible a full blown theology that accounts for
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  Speaker 2: those very feelings you already have, at least in nugget form,
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  Speaker 2: in seed form. So let me turn to the Bible
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  Speaker 2: and sketch out the teaching of the Bible that explains
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  Speaker 2: why sexuality is such a big deal for Christians. Let's
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  Speaker 2: start with the creation genesis, first book of the Bible,
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  Speaker 2: Chapter one, verse twenty seven. God created man in his
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  Speaker 2: own image, in the image of God. He created him
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  Speaker 2: male and female. He created them so male and female,
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  Speaker 2: with all of our profound differences that go way beyond
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  Speaker 2: anatomy and hormones, was God's idea for our good. Then,
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  Speaker 2: in the second chapter of the Bible, chapter two, verse
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  Speaker 2: twenty four, God introduces marriage like this. Therefore, a man
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  Speaker 2: shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast
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  Speaker 2: to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. So
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  Speaker 2: one man one woman holding fast to each other in
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  Speaker 2: such an intimate union that it can be called one flesh. Now,
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  Speaker 2: what God will reveal later and was not clear at
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  Speaker 2: the beginning, was that God created marriage this way as
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  Speaker 2: a kind of parable of God's own relationship to his people,
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  Speaker 2: the people who trust him. We see this picture in
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  Speaker 2: Ezekiel six' Eight ezekiel the Prophet. Ezekiel in The Old
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  Speaker 2: Testament chapter, sixteen verse, Eight god says to his chosen People,
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  Speaker 2: israel WHEN i passed by you and saw you, behold
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  Speaker 2: you were at the age for, love AND i spread
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  Speaker 2: the corner of my garment over you and covered your.
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  Speaker 2: NAKEDNESS i made my vow to you and entered into
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  Speaker 2: a covenant with, you declares The, lord and you became.
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  Speaker 2: Mine so that significance of sexuality expressed in a covenant
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  Speaker 2: relationship between a man and a woman is catapulted higher
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  Speaker 2: than we can imagine because it is designed to Represent
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  Speaker 2: god and his people in covenant union with each other
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  Speaker 2: that will last. Forever that's. Huge that's the ultimate purpose of,
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  Speaker 2: sexuality which nobody would know Without god's revelation of these
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  Speaker 2: things in his. Word so When jesus now comes into
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  Speaker 2: the world as the very embodiment Of, god he presents
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  Speaker 2: himself as the bridegroom of the people Of. God god
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  Speaker 2: is going to flesh, out as it, were this parable
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  Speaker 2: of his marriage relationship with his. People now it's going
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  Speaker 2: to Be christ and The, church The Christian, church who
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  Speaker 2: represent male and female in. Marriage so when people Ask
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  Speaker 2: jesus why his disciples are not. Fasting he, says can
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  Speaker 2: the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with,
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  Speaker 2: Them the days will come when the bridegroom is taken
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  Speaker 2: out of the, way and then they will Fast matthew
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  Speaker 2: nine nine point. Fifteen then In ephesians, five the Apostle
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  Speaker 2: paul gives the fullest description of marriage as a parable
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  Speaker 2: of the relationship Between christ and his church husbands Is chapter,
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  Speaker 2: five verse twenty. Five, husbands love your, wives As christ
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  Speaker 2: loved The church and gave himself up for, her that
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  Speaker 2: he might sanctify, her having cleansed her by the washing
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  Speaker 2: of water with the, word so that he might present
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  Speaker 2: The church to himself in, splendor without spot or wrinkle
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  Speaker 2: or any such, thing that she might be holy and without.
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  Speaker 2: Blemish so you can see what a huge significance The
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  Speaker 2: bible is giving to the meaning of sexuality as male and,
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  Speaker 2: female and why the consummation of that relationship belongs in
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  Speaker 2: a life long covenant. Relationship it Represents christ and The,
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  Speaker 2: church and we don't want to Represent christ as unfaithful
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  Speaker 2: to his covenant. People christ doesn't sleep around is one.
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  Speaker 2: People he's. Faithful The church shouldn't sleep. Around that's what
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  Speaker 2: human sexuality. Represents so it makes sense when we come
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  Speaker 2: To First, Corinthians chapter six and hear this, strong amazing
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  Speaker 2: language That paul uses to guide the sexual behavior of The.
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  Speaker 2: Christians In krinth he, says the body is not meant
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  Speaker 2: for sexual, immorality but for The, lord and The lord
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  Speaker 2: for the. Body And god raised The lord and will
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  Speaker 2: raise us up with his. Power that's. Amazing it's an
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  Speaker 2: amazing statement that the body is for The, lord and
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  Speaker 2: The lord is for the. Body god is not against the.
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  Speaker 2: Body he's for the. Body he created sexual, desire and
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  Speaker 2: he means for it to be channeled in its most
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  Speaker 2: powerful and beautiful expressions in. Marriage he goes on verse
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  Speaker 2: fifteen In. Firs, six do you not know that your
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  Speaker 2: bodies are members Of? Christ SHALL i take the members
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  Speaker 2: Of christ and make them members of a? Prostitute, Never,
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  Speaker 2: Sarah if you become A, christian AND i pray you,
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  Speaker 2: do and your friends are praying you, do it means
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  Speaker 2: that you will be profoundly united To Jesus. Christ he
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  Speaker 2: will be your righteousness and your treasure and your, hope
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  Speaker 2: and your body will be profoundly part Of. Him a
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  Speaker 2: representation of his, Body how then will you use? It
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  Speaker 2: and here's one more quote to answer that question from
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  Speaker 2: The Apostle paul near the end Of First grintiani flee
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  Speaker 2: from sexual? Immorality or do you not know that your
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  Speaker 2: body is is a temple of The Holy spirit within,
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  Speaker 2: you whom you have From. God you are not your.
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  Speaker 2: Own you were bought with a, price so Glorify god
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  Speaker 2: in your. Body christians believe that When christ, died he
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  Speaker 2: paid the penalty for our sin so that we could
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  Speaker 2: have eternal joy with. Him he bought us so to
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  Speaker 2: speak with his, blood we belonged to him body and.
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  Speaker 2: Soul therefore our bodies exist For his. GLORY i hope
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  Speaker 2: this gives you a, Glimpse, sarah of the massive and
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  Speaker 2: beautiful theological foundation of human sexuality That christians. Believe we
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  Speaker 2: don't have a few arbitrary dos and. Don'ts we have
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  Speaker 2: a beautiful picture of the love Of god embracing an undeserving,
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  Speaker 2: people providing them with everlasting happiness and a kind of
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  Speaker 2: marriage relationship With Jesus, christ along with all the exquisite
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  Speaker 2: joy that, represents and in the, meantime what we do
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  Speaker 2: with our bodies represent that precious. Reality AND i am
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  Speaker 2: sure Your christian friends there At TEXAS a AND m
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  Speaker 2: would love for you to join them in that.
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  Speaker 1: Joy, Yeah christian sex rules are not. Arbitrary human sexuality is.
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  Speaker 1: Sacred it's a covenant sign designed By god to Reflect
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  Speaker 1: christ's faithful love for his, people so That christians reserve
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  Speaker 1: sexual union for a lifelong monogamous, marriage to display that
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  Speaker 1: divine reality and Glorify god with their. Bodies there's a
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  Speaker 1: lot going. On it's very. Profound thank you best For
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  Speaker 1: john for that overview of what makes us so profound
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  Speaker 1: In god's. Design for a collection of what's been said
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  Speaker 1: on the podcast over the years on, dating, romance, idols,
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  Speaker 1: fornication buried, sex bedroom, taboos fading, attraction, barrenness, conception birth,
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  Speaker 1: control fearless, women feminine, beauty, modesty he all of. That
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  Speaker 1: there's an introduction to what's been said on the Aspestor
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  Speaker 1: john podcast over the years in The Ask Pastor john.
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  Speaker 1: BOOK a large part of the book is dedicated to
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  Speaker 1: helping you navigate topics just like this, one especially if
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  Speaker 1: this is all new to. You maybe you didn't grow
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  Speaker 1: up in the, church maybe your parents are not. Believers
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  Speaker 1: check out all those sections in the Asbestor john, book
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  Speaker 1: and those will help you make good use of this.
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  Speaker 1: Podcast we all know the feeling biting off more than
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  Speaker 1: we can, chew committing to too, much thinking we could
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  Speaker 1: do it all, over confident in our own, skills and
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  Speaker 1: then comes time to do the work and it's too.
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  Speaker 1: Much we need. Help we don't have it. Now we're,
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  Speaker 1: buried so we overwork and we burn out learning. Delegation
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  Speaker 1: that's next. Time I'm Tony. Ranky we'll see you On.
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  Speaker 1: Thursday