Can you be gay and Christian? Does the Bible really require celibacy outside of heterosexual marriage? Isn't it unrealistic and unfair, imposing loneliness and the loss of basic human satisfactions like sex and marriage? Is what the church teaches about homosexuality a plausible way of life? In this honest book, Ed Shaw shares his pain in dealing with same-sex attraction - and yet he is committed to what the Bible says and what the church has always taught about marriage and sex. He shows us that obedience to Jesus is ultimately the only way to experience life to the full. He also challenges missteps that the church has often made in its understanding of the Christian life and of sexuality. We have been shaped by the world around us, and urgently need to re-examine the values that drive our discipleship in the light of the Bible. Only by reclaiming the reality of gospel discipleship, can we truly appreciate that life in Christ is the best way for all of us to flourish - whoever we are attracted to.

If God means for us to save sex for marriage, why doesn't he just zap us with sexuality on our wedding night? Why do most of us experience sexual feelings throughout our adult lives, not just in the safe confines of marriage? Is limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman anything but outdated prejudice? What is our sexuality actually for? Today's culture overwhelmingly tells us that sex is essential for human flourishing. Far too often the church perpetuates the same message - as long as you are married. But far from being liberating, this idolising of sex leaves us even more sexually broken than before. With refreshing honesty and clarity, Ed Shaw calls on the church to rediscover its confidence in the Bible's teaching about our ability to experience or express sexual feelings. He points us to how God's word reveals that sexuality's ultimate purpose is to help us better know God and the full power of his passionate love. He shows us how this is surprisingly good news for all our joys and struggles with sexuality.

"COVID-19 has transformed our everyday lives. It's as if another world has arrived in the blink of an eye. Yet life is not on pause. We still need to live. The pandemic, like any other time, is a moment both of opportunity as well as challenge. Healthy Faith in the Coronavirus Crisis is a briefing on how to thrive in a world of restrictions. Twenty leading Christian thinkers have come together to help you begin to navigate this strange reality. Each contributor writes on their area of expertise, and topics covered include prayer, loneliness, work, singleness, marriage, parenting, grief, death, imagination, conversations, humour, and much more. They offer practical advice as well as helpful perspective from Scripture. This is an essential resource for anyone looking to cultivate a healthy faith which infuses all areas of life during this disorienting time.

The Gospel Coalition Top Books of 2015 in Christian Living Tim Challies' Top Books of 2015 ProdigalThought.net's Top Reads of 2015 Leadership Journal's Best Ministry Books of the Year When Christians have same-sex attraction, how should the church respond? Pastor Ed Shaw experiences same-sex attraction, and yet he is committed to Scripture and the church's traditional position of fidelity in heterosexual marriage and celibacy in singleness. In this honest book, he shares his pain in dealing with these issues, but at the same time shows us that obedience to Jesus is ultimately the only way to experience life to the full. He shows that the Bible's teaching seems unreasonable not because of its difficulties, but because of missteps that the church has often taken in its understanding of the Christian life. We have been shaped by the world around us and urgently need to re-examine the values that drive our discipleship. Only by doing this in the light of the Bible can we make sense of its call on the lives of those who are attracted to their own sex.

The biggest problem facing humanity is a lack of intimacy - the relational intimacy we were created to need and enjoy in the very beginning. This intimacy can be best understood as an experience of oneness with our Creator God, with ourselves, with others, and with God's creation. Life is often unhappy and frustrating because we lack this true intimacy in one (or more) of these 4 key contexts, and then go searching for it in wrong relationships and places where it was not meant to be found. Among many other things, our culture's religious consumerism, identity politics, porn addiction and mental health crisis can be traced back to the intimacy deficit we are all experiencing in different ways today. Wired for Intimacy 1 The intimacy deficit 2 Intimacy defined With God 3 Intimacy with God 4 Through biblical meditation 5 Through biblical prayer With ourselves 6 Intimacy with ourselves 7 Through rejoicing 8 Through repentance With others 9 Intimacy with others 10 Through spiritual friendship 11 Through spiritual parenting With creation 12 Intimacy with creation 13 Through work 14 Through play Living with intimacy 15 The intimacy quadrant Appendix 1 The intimacy quadrant and pornography Appendix 2 The intimacy quadrant and anxiety