This morning's text is from Romans chapter 1 verses 24 through 27.

Therefore, God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored

among them, for they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever.

Amen.

For this cause, God gave them over to degrading passions.

For their women exchange the natural function. passions for that which is unnatural

that which is unnatural.

And in the same way also, men abandon their natural function of the woman

and burned in their desire toward one another.

Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their heir.

In our exposition of the Book of Romans, now we have come to this astonishingly relevant section in chapter 1 versus 24 and I'll probably

go on through 28 even though I didn't announce that I would go that far. where Paul touches on the reality of homosexuality.

Now this is relevant, I say, for a lot of reasons.

Let me mention some of them. Yesterday there was a conference called

Here I Stand to address the issue of homosexual and

homosexuality active clergy in the ELCA that was reported in the Star Tribune.

As you all saw, whether in St. Paul or in Minneapolis, the story of the hate crime committed

against the University of Wyoming student who was lashed to

offense and beaten and not expected to live. Perhaps you also read about the

Lambeth Conference in England back in August with 641 Anglican bishops from around the world

who came together and voted remarkably, overwhelmingly, that homosexual practice is incompatible

with scripture.

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