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David Platt, Pastor of The Church at Brooke Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, hosts an event twice a year at his church called Secret Church. the purpose of the event began as a way to gather and pray for those believers who are persucuted around the world for thier belief in the Gospel and in Jesus Christ. It was and is also a means by which time is set aside specifically to delve into Scripture on various topics for a set, intentional period of time. the material that is taught in these sessions is then translated into various languages and used to equip believers around the world.
Last night, the 11th Secret Church meeting was held. It was simulcasted to include over 48,000 people, spanning 6 continents and also in 42 of our 50 states here in America. in a very real sense, we were gathered together with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ as some of the locations experienceing the simulcast were in areas where, had they been discovered to be participating it could be dangerous for them.

I have had the opportunity to participate in the live simulcast last night with the association that the church i attend is a part of. the topic title was "Marriage, Family, Sex and the Gospel."
Platt took us through scripture for 6 hours (my kind of Friday night!!) seeing what scripture, and says about all the facets of these topics.

The Questions of the night were:

1. What does the Bible say about family?



2. What does the Bible say about marriage?



3. What does the Bible say about sex and sexuality?



4. How do all of these relate to the gospel?



5. How do all of these relate to the Greate Commission?

just to list some of what was discussed, check this out:
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God's Design:
1. The Gospel and Sexuality
2. The Gospel and Marriage
3. The Gospel and Parenting
4. The Gospel and the Orphans
5. The Gospel and Singleness
6. The Gosepl and the Widow

Man's Distortion:
1. The Gospel and Divorce
2. The Gospel and Homosexuality
3. The Gospel and Abortion
4. The Gospel and Polygamy
5. The Gospel and Pornography

Special Issues:
1. Sexual Distinction in the Church
2. Sexual Sin in the Church
3. Sexual Satisfaction in Marriage
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To say the least, it was a blessed time. As a single woman, the points in the Gospel and Singleness section were great to ponder, be challenged by and see how to glorify the Lord Biblically in my singleness. It was encouraging and also, to be honest, parts were hard to hear because i do have a desire to be a wife and have children and raise them to fear and love the Lord. There were 2 things i really had jump at me from this section:
1. Singlness and Marriage are both gifts. during singleness, i need to recognize this beautiful gift from the Lord and not flounder it.
2. "Contentment is deep trust in the sovereignty of God and deep enjoyment of the grace of God."

{These are two areas i have had mulling and wrestling back and forth with this semester as i found myself "distracted" in this particular area. I had/have begun to see my attitude toward being content in my singleness a difficult battle. I had not been really struggling with contentment much prior to this because, well, frankly there were no prospects. easy to be unaffected when theres nothing tempting around. For whatever reason, that changed this semester. an attractive, God-fearing man is a fierce combination). It is prudent for me to cling to the Cross now more then ever, not letting this distraction keep me from serving the Lord and living for the Lord in attitude, word and deed. should something progress from this, that is not my concern. at this time, i am to be solely concerened with seeking and obtaining a "deep trust in the soveriegnty of God and deep enjoyment of the grace of God." Pray for me in this. Pray that I can obtain this deep trust and deep enjoyment.}

I learned valuable truths in each section and was reminded of the Grace of God and how His hand has been on my life to this point and will continue to be in the future. In each section, truth was revealed of God's perspective on my role as a woman in relation to Christ, in relation to my brothers in Christ, to my future husband, as a mother one day, in how live now.
I challenge you to check out the link to resources of Secret Church. this link will take you to the secret churchs of the past which are available in audio and video and also have PDF files of the study guides both with the blanks filled in and also with the blanks empty. Last night's wont have the audio or video available online for another 2-3 weeks, but the study guide is up and is well worth being checked out.

Platt always begins one of these sessions explaining that it is "not for the faint of heart." His purpose is to pour the truth into you like a fire hose and then you can soak in it all. Im still processing what was discussed last night!

The Association that the church i attend down here is a part of is doing something awesome with these. They have begun back at the first Secret Church recording and have met together twice already with the same set up as if it were live, but we gather together to learn. We have done "The Survey of the Old Testament" (which was over the summer and i missed that one...) and "The Survey of the New Testament"> which was phenominal! Next up is "How to Study the Bible" then "Who Is God?" and you can see the rest of them by going here.