Hayley DiMarco - Sex

2008 by Hungry Planet

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-5855-8753-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked HCSB is taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Creative direction: Hungry Planet

Contents

What Is the Purpose of Sex?

What Is Abstinence?

How Far Is Too Far?

What Are You Thinking?

What Are They Thinking?

How Do You Have Good Sex?

How to Use This Book

Its PB&J time. Time to feast on the hearty protein of Gods Word mixed with the sweet goodness of grace. Let the truth stick to the roof of your mouth and satisfy your hunger. This study will offer a quick meal on the subject of sex. In it you can expect to learn what abstinence is, what sex is, and what your thoughts have to do with sexual sin. Unlike other Bible studies, this one will help you by giving you the answers you look for when you want to know how far is too far. It isnt just a fill-in-the-blank, hope-you-got-it-right kind of study. Its a guided tour of Gods Word, filled with helpful suggestions and truths as well as thought-provoking and self-examining questions.

This is a study that you can do by yourself or in a group. You can lead a group of your peers or find an adult to lead it for you. Just go online at www.hungryplanet.net and download the leaders guide of your choice, and you are off and running!

One more note: This study is for teens and young adults, not for preteens or wannabe teens. Its for people who are ready to hear the harsh truth about sex and all the stuff that surrounds it. So its not for the faint of heart. Its the truth in plain and simple termsno tiptoeing around with generic or euphemistic terms. Its the straightforward truth about sex and Gods plan for your sexual future.

So I hope you enjoy! Now sit down and take a bite.

Your Study Crew

Okay, now just some notes to get you started. First of all let me say that I hope you are doing this book with at least one other person of the same sex. Repeat: they have to be of the same sex as you. Im sure it would be fun to do it with your significant other, but my advice is not to do that. Studying Gods Word together has a way of creating intimacy, and with that feeling of intimacy comes a greater risk of temptation. When couples who arent yet engaged do studies together, they can become so turned on by the spirituality of it all that they lose sight of the dangers of being intimate with someone they arent married to. And in some instances people have used the illusion of spirituality to seduce another personusing talk of spirituality for their own sexual gain. Im not saying that your bf/gf is like that; Im just saying, it happens. So find someone of the same sex as you to do this study with, please, please, please! Its the best way to be honest with yourself and with God while you do the study and also to guard your heart and body at the same time.

make a list!

Whos in
your crew?

Okay, now that Ive given that speech, let me just encourage you to find at least one of your buds to do this with. Sure, you can do it on your own, but with a friend or a group of same-sex friends youll get much more out of it. Its a great way to have accountability and share God-conversations and revelations. As you work through the questions and talk about them with each other, youll learn much more than if you just do it alone.

Once you get your gang together and they all get their books, make plans to meet once a week to go over one chapter. Be prepared to be honest and talkative. Dont just give yes and no answers; be real, dig deep, and share. Thats the best way to study and to learn. The more you can learn about Gods thoughts and his plans for your life as a believer, the more healthy and happy your life will become. So call a friend or two or three and get this study started!

Note for Group Leaders:

Hey, dont forget to check out the leaders guides on our website. There are two. One is for an adult leading the group and one is for you if you want to lead your friends. A guide will help you answer the hard questions and keep the gang on task. So check out www.hungryplanet.net and download that guide today!

This is a Bible study on sex.

That means that this book isnt for little kids or people who dont want to be exposed to any sexual talk. Like all my other books, this book is honest and pulls no punches. That means Im gonna talk about things that other authority figures might not talk to you about. Im going to ask hard questions and hopefully answer the things you really want to know but have been afraid to ask. Sex isnt a subject we can avoid as believers and just hope it never comes up, because if you are anywhere near anyone of the opposite sex who you are interested in, then the subject is bound to come up, at least in your mind. And the best way to be prepared with a godly response to sexual issues is to talk about them now, while you arent under any kind of verbal or hormonal pressure. Sex can cloud your thinking and erase your memory. The promise of it can make you do out-of-character things, and without some good preparation you can end up doing something you never dreamt you would do. So if you are ready and willing, lets talk about the hush-hush subject of sex, shall we?

A Hot Topic

The Christian life is full of some really frustrating conflicts, but one of the biggest has to be sex. It seems so weird for God to create such an amazing thing that is oh-so-tantalizing yet so far off limits (at least in single life). For centuriesno, eonshuman beings have been figuring out ways to have sex and ways to avoid having sex. Its always been a hot and a life-changing topic. Whatever your history with sex, its definitely something that impacts your life. Its a many-faceted thing and something that you could hear lots of different things about from all kinds of different people. I can remember one particular guy presenting me with an interesting question while hoping to take my virginity when I was young. He said, If God made sex, then he obviously wants us to enjoy it. How can it be wrong? It was Gods idea. Hmmm. Interesting dilemma for a kid whose body was racing with hormones. Whatever philosophical questions youve considered on the subject or loopholes youve found to try to have all the fun without the guilt, its time to get the facts straight from the source. But before we do that, lets talk about you: