Sermon Details
- Pastor Name: Jonathan Cornell
- Date & Time: May 18, 2014 | 10:00am
Before I begin this morning, I just want to give you a brief heads up that the material I’m going to cover today leans a little bit on the racy side. Families with young children may want to take them downstairs, and for the rest of us, this is just a friendly warning that what we’re going to dive into may be a little eye-opening. And before we do, I would invite you to join me in asking the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us today.
Father God, as we once again place our lives before your Word, we do so today with even the places of our heart we would rather keep hidden. For God, we too, especially your people, are as prone to wandering after false gods as any other. So may the refining fire and penetrating light of your Holy Word skillfully and precisely remove the dead tissue, and replace it with new and faithful life the Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen.
Last year, the New York Times ran an article entitled “She Can Play that Game Too.” In it, the author describes how on college campuses these days, there is a phenomena happening among both genders that used to be known stereotypically as being male behavior. You see, traditionally it was men on campus who were interested in one night stands, while the women were looking for relationships and commitment. Well, not so much anymore, this author says. The author follows a slim, attractive junior who, when she was done studying for the evening, texts a young man, who was not her boyfriend, but rather the person with whom she is sleeping.
This hook-up culture is becoming a way of life in many places. When asked about why she opted for this, as opposed to a committed monogamous relationship, even one that prolonged sexual activity until after marriage, she replied not with an emotional answer, but with a cost-benefit analysis.
“I positioned myself in college in such a way that I can’t have a meaningful romantic relationship, because I’m always busy and the people that I am interested in are always busy, too,” “And I know everyone says, ‘Make time, make time,’ “But there are so many other things going on in my life that I find so important that I just, like, can’t make time, and I don’t want to make time.”
Studies are showing that this is no longer just a male dominated behavior, but that where 25% of men bought in, 20% of women also were fully bought into the desire to simply enjoy the benefits of intimacy without actually investing in the relationship that would blossom into deep and long-lasting intimacy. People who are approached about long-term sacrificial, what the Bible calls a covenant relationship, say that it sounds terrible. In short, what so many in our culture want are the benefits without having to invest in the thing that yields the benefits (sex, job, friendship, career, etc).
What we will see today is that, as the author of Ecclesiastes says, truly there is nothing new under the sun. This morning, I am preaching from the Prophets. And this morning is not a message about sex. Rather, what we will hear from Hosea is that Israel has become a hook-up culture in their relationship with God. A people who would rather get all the benefits of what God has to offer without any of the costs of the long-term relationship.
Download the entire transcript here: Hosea 2 Love Me Tender
