Finding our Voice: Sex, Marriage, and the Christian Vision
National INSIGHT Conference Highlights, August 12-13, 2015
The Beauty of Chastity: Reclaiming Sexual Virtue – Rev. Dr. John Kleinig
Chastity was once prized as something good and beautiful not only in the church, but in the world at large as well. Yet in recent times it has been belittled and treated with contempt because it is so often understood negatively in terms of frigid sexual abstinence and self-righteous denial of sexual enjoyment. This presentation makes the case for the beauty of chastity from two viewpoints: 1) It promotes healthy self-giving and willing self-disclosure in marriage humanly speaking; and 2) Theologically, it connects bodily sanctification and the resurrection with eternal intimacy with God and all the saints.
Speaking Up: Be Heard in the Din – Deaconess Pam Nielsen
In today’s toxic soup of hard and soft-core porn, sexual titillation and innuendo in media and entertainment, it’s hard for Christians to even gain a hearing. Learn how to identify rhetorical triggers that prevent communication, boldly model and effectively defend Christian morality in a world that has lost its bearings, and speak the truth in the love in the public square.
From Generation to Generation: Honoring Sexual Virtue in Families and Parishes – Rev. Dr. Lucas Woodford
When Christians are belittled or even persecuted for their views on sexual morality they’re tempted to retreat and shut up. They find it hard to speak confidently about subjects many find off-putting or offensive. This presentation celebrates sexuality as a holy calling rooted in the relationship of Jesus and his church, tracing the biblical narrative for sex and marriage from creation through the fall to the new creation. It equips pastors, educators, parents and grandparents to joyfully teach and model sexual fidelity in a confused and increasingly depraved world.
Faith and the Halls of Power: Marriage, Family, and Religious Liberty – Timothy Goeglein
This topic explores the relationship between what happens in the public square and its actual impact far beyond Washington D.C. as well as effective ways Christians can let their voice be heard in halls of power. Exactly 50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson launched his WAR ON POVERTY in the same year that former United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan released a historically important report on the American black family. How has the nuclear family been doing ever since those landmark initiatives? What changes are needed in order to make a difference in the face of these trends?
Why get married? Six models for Marriage – Rev. Dr. John Kleinig
As marriage is belittled and redefined in western cultures, this lecture equips Christians to speak confidently and joyfully regarding the Christian vision for marriage as it explores the six historic understandings of marriage: social, romantic, experimental, personal, ecological and Christian.
The Art of Conversation: Talking About Hot-Button Issues in Truth and Love – Sherif Girgis
Many people today feel alienated by traditional moral visions. They may find our ideals on sex, marriage, and other social issues arbitrary, outdated, offensive, or worse. Conversations devolve into shouting matches. Passions flare. Minds aren’t changed, and hearts are closed. How can we best share our principles on these critical moral issues? How can we open people’s hearts and minds to ideas they’ve been primed to write off as stupid or evil? Drawing on hundreds of lectures, debates, and personal conversations across the country, Sherif Girgis offers practical tips on bridging divides to speak well, and listen well, as we speak the truth in love.
Marriage and Sexuality: A Reasoned Defense – Sherif Girgis
Christianity teaches that marriage unites a man and woman, permanently and exclusively, in a sexual union fulfilled by family life. How can we explain the beauty of this teaching by appealing to reason and the moral law written on the hearts of non- Christians as well as Christians? How does reinforcing this vision for all society serve the common good, especially of women, children, and the most vulnerable of our neighbors? How can we begin to respond to the concerns of same-sex attracted people, singles, the divorced, and others who often feel excluded by this vision of marriage and family? How is the Christian vision on sex and marriage truly good for individuals and communities? This presentation draws on the legal and philosophical traditions that have longed shaped our civilization to address these questions and more.
The Church’s Voice – President Matthew Harrison
This opening greeting from the President of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod sets the tone for our conference: the church’s voice can and must be heard for the sake of faithful Christian witness in our time. Religious liberty on issues relating to human life and sexuality is under attack and those who dare to contradict politically correct views on sex and marriage are accused of intolerance and bigotry. We need to find our voice and speak up—to each other and in the public square.
Senkbeil on the Cure of Souls (Issues etc. May 2007)
Hymn Festival: “Let Praises Ring” (October 18, 2015)
Paul Soulek, organist (St. John Lutheran Church, Seward, NE)
Harold L. Senkbeil, Commentator
Abbey of the Hills, Marvin, South Dakota
Bible Study on Prayer – Dr. John W. Kleinig (September 9, 2018)
Elm Grove Ev. Lutheran Church, Elm Grove, WI.