201: How to Love the LGBTQIA+ Community Well with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode #43)

On today’s solo show, we are tackling the topic of how we as believers can love well those image bearers who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. My prayer is that you would come away from today's episode equipped to be the hands and feet of Christ in this area as you seek to fulfill the Great Commission. What I Chat about in Today’s Episode: ~Understanding that just because "Pride Month" is now over does not mean that we as believers should now shelve this topic until June of next year ~The 4 important steps of loving these people well: *Starting with love itself - this has to be first *Speak the truth in love *Remember that salvation comes first and sanctification follows after *Show compassion, care, and concern for any mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual issues they are facing as a result of their lifestyle ~Understanding that the idea that "the most loving thing you can do is speak the truth " is a cop-out and is direct disobedience to God if you are not actually speaking the truth in love ~Understanding that in order to truly love these people as we are called to, we must actually feel love and care in our hearts for them, and they have to be able to tangibly feel that love when we interact with them ~Real-life examples of believers who are doing this really well; how living this way is known to bear the fruit of bringing people to Christ in ways that dishonor and rudeness cannot ~The work God has done in my own heart in this area ~The importance of speaking the truth when the time is right and when you have the relationship currency for that truth to take root ~The importance of remembering that salvation comes first and sanctification follows after - why we mustn't put the cart before the horse ~Showing care and compassion for people as Jesus did for those who were as sheep without a shepherd ~The truth of why Sodom was actually destroyed - and why referring to those in the LGBTQIA+ community is not only unloving and unfruitful, but it is also unbiblical ~Who the real Sodomites are according to Ezekiel 16:49 - hint: you may have to look in the mirror ~Remembering that the sin of homosexuality is on the same list - in Romans 1 - as the sin of being disobedient to one's parents; what this means for how we treat people in the LGBTQIA+ community ~The sin of dishonoring and disrespecting fellow image bearers of God ~Jesus' example of doing life together with all kinds of people; the impact this had ~How wrong theology carries bad consequences ~The importance of truth ~The importance of remembering that it is our *gentleness* that is to be known to all ~1 Corinthians 13 as our definition of love and understanding of what love is ~And more!   For full shownotes, head to www.hargraveshomeandhearth.com/podcast