What can Christian do about her same-sex attraction? How is an LGBT Christian to respond to the Bible’s blueprint for marriage, in Genesis? What impact does a Christian’s disgust over sexual brokenness have on those around her, who are suffering?
I’m sitting down with my friend, Laurie Krieg, to talk about the story of Genesis 1-3 and what it shows us about God’s design for marriage—especially for the Christian whose default attraction is for the same gender. Laurie shares how she found the determination to work through her mixed-orientation marriage suffering, by digging into the juicy steak of theology, served up in the Genesis narrative and what it points to.
Laurie is a coach/consultant, speaker, author, and podcast host whose mission is to equip Jesus-followers with a gospel-centered approach to sexuality.
Guest: Laurie Krieg
Bible Passage: Genesis 1-3,
Get your Freebie: The Live Like It’s True Workbook
Mentioned Resources:
- Laurie’s Book: An Impossible Marriage: What Our Mixed-Orientation Marriage Has Taught Us About Love and the Gospel
- Focus on the Family episode, highlighting Laurie’s family: The Joys of Raising a Large Family – Part 2 with Guests Randy & Marcia Hekman
- Ada Bible – Laurie Intervied by Aaron Buer: The Questionable Life | Aaron Buer 9am
- Down Gillian Lane, where Laurie played “Brooke” Keys for Kids Ministries > Programming > Down Gilead Lane > Read & Listen
- Live LIke It’s True Episode with Mary Kassian, talking about marriage metaphor, and the imagery of Christ’s side split open and the church being born:E33 Adam and Eve: Man and Wife {Mary Kassian – Genesis 2}
- Live Like It’s True Episode with Portia Collins – the first mention of the gospel: E36 The Seed of the Woman {Portia Collins – Genesis 3}
Recommended Resources: (Scroll down)
Music: Cade Popkin Music
Laurie Krieg
Laurie Krieg is the president of Impossible Ministries, a coaching/consulting, teaching, and podcasting ministry with the mission to equip Jesus-followers with a gospel-centered approach to marriage and sexuality. Laurie serves on the Board of Directors for The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, and is earning a master’s degree from Wheaton Graduate School in Evangelism and Leadership.
Laurie most often links arms with her husband, Matt Krieg, MA, LPC. Matt and Laurie wrote a book called An Impossible Marriage: What Our Mixed-Orientation Marriage Has Taught Us about Love and the Gospel (IVP 2020). They also co-host The Hole in My Heart Podcast, and live in Western Michigan with their three kids.
Three Bonus Episodes
We’ve spent over twelve weeks looking at the True Story of the Beginning. Now we’re taking the next few episodes to look at how our origin story in Genesis 1-3 how to live like it’s true—particularly as we consider some of the issues our culture is wrestling with.
Our goal was never just to learn the story or know stuff about it. From the beginning we’ve been asking, “How can we live like this story is true?” So in these bonus episodes, we’re gathering up all that we learned and considering how that can help us navigate some difficult topics.
Laurie’s Story
For as long as Laurie can remember, she has loved Jesus, and she has been same sex attracted. In this episode Laurie shares her story with us:
- Growing up in a strong Christian activist family
- Her crisis of faith as a college-aged Christian in a same-sex relationship
- God’s call for her (a happy-to-be-single adult) to get married
- Her crisis, as a young mom, when a memory of abuse unexpectedly surfaced
- Her full-blown temptation to leave her impossible marriage
- Her fight back to intimacy in her marriage
- How she’s currently living like this story from Genesis 1-2 is true!
LGBT+ and Marriage Questions for the Christian
- What should an LGBT+ person do about pain from the church, and homophobic attitudes?
- How does Genesis 1-2 provide a roadmap for how marriage is supposed to look?
- How does the Bible’s metaphor of marriage, provide a “juicy steak” of a reason to stay in a difficult marriage?
- How is marriage between a man and a woman not the ultimate picture God is offering us? And what is that ultimate picture?
- What should I do if I’m filing away “what if” ideas about leaving my marriage, and sucking on the “candies” of possibilities?
- What’s the difference between good conviction/godly shame and toxic shame?
- What role does community play in helping with marriage suffering?
- What are we communicating to those around us, struggling in sexual brokenness, when we gasp in disgust and “clutch our pearls” at the news of someone falling into sexual sin?
- How does the story of Genesis 1-2 correct the false narrative of judgmental, condescending disgust?
- How can we live like it’s true that there’s hope in Jesus?
