Studying Beyond the Margins
Bringing Your LGBTQ Friends to Faith
Course Curriculum:
1. 5 Misconceptions About LGBTQ Individuals
Sadly, many Christians have wrongly stereotyped gay and transgender people. When we make broad assumptions about a group of people, it leads us to a place of misunderstanding and distance. Guy unpacks five of the most common misconceptions that many Christians have about LGBTQ people.
2. The Courage to be Countercultural
Crowds cannot be trusted. You can almost always count on the fact that the masses, with a herd like mentality, are going the wrong way. The majority of people will choose to follow what everyone else is doing rather than think for themselves. This is especially true when it comes to God and the Bible. Should this matter to a Christian?
3. Is it a Sin to be Gay?
Many have a difficult time understanding why the Bible would condemn same-sex relationships, especially those between two consenting adults who are committed to one another in a monogamous relationship. What does the Bible really say?
4. Tips for Personal Evangelism to the LGBTQ Community
You've just invited your waiter in the local restaurant to church, or maybe it was someone on your college campus or at work, and they ask, "what does your church teach about homosexuality?". Is there a way to answer that keeps the conversation going? And what about how to share your faith with a longtime friend or family member who is gay?
5. Hospitality is King!
Learn how hospitality can create room, time and a safe space for LGBTQ people to ask difficult questions surrounding their lives and how it all relates to them in matters of faith.
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6. Untangling Gay Romance and Marriage
So you're studying the Bible with a married gay couple and they are interested in becoming Christians. How do you proceed? What does the Bible teach? Is it a sin for gay people to enjoy a romantic relationship provided they abstain from sexual intimacy?
7. Transgender and the Bible
Transgender has become one of the most hot button issues in our world today. What does the Bible say on this topic? What about pronouns? And does a transgender individual need to de-transition to become a Christian?
8. The First Gay Affirming Church
Where did gay-affirming churches come from? What church denomination was the first to embrace and celebrate homosexuality? Who invited the gay doctrine that says a person can be gay and a Christian?
9. Dismantling the Arguments
"I am a Christian, serve my church and feel God's blessings in my life, so how can it be a sin for me to be gay?""If God created me gay, why would he then say I can't live that way? "The word 'homosexual' does not appear in the Bible before 1946, so homosexuality can't be what the Biblical authors were talking about." "Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, so it must be okay."
10. Death to Self
What does it really mean to die to oneself? What does it mean for a person to be holy? Learn why this one Biblical truth is the key for LGBTQ people (and everyone else) to live faithful, Godly lives longterm.