272. What's Up in Africa with LGBTQ+?

This week we have a special episode of Hope Cast for you all!Richard and Marsha have been a part of Living Hope for years, and they are leaders in the DFW Friends and Family group.In this episode they speak on how to understand our friends and family who are struggling, as well as how to maintain healthy relationships with them and stay active and involved in their lives.

Ricky and Bonnie take this week to talk about taking caution and using boundaries when it comes to the increasingly more intelligent technology that is becoming a normal part of life, including how parents should be careful with how they let even their teens use technology.

This week, Ricky and Bonnie discuss the past 10 years since the Obergerfell vs Hodges Supreme Court Decision, and how our culture might be realizing that the legalization of gay marriage has not ultimately solved the emptiness and brokenness we all experience, since ultimately what we all need is repentance of our sin and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, Ricky and Bonnie are joined by Ashlee, another Living Hope participant, as she shares her own perspective on coming to Living Hope and how God has met her in her own struggles and journey with same-sex attraction. They discuss the need for vulnerability in the church and how to encourage that in communities of believers.

In this episode, Ricky and Bonnie are joined by Leah, a Living Hope participant, to talk about her testimony, what brought her to the ministry, and the healing she has found being a part of groups, but ultimately at the feet of Jesus. They discuss that although struggles do not disappear after surrendering to Christ, there is still hope and healing to be found in trusting in the One who gave His life for all sins.**Trigger Warning: There is an extremely brief reference to self-harm to talk about the healing afterward. Skip from 8:57 to 9:19 if needed**

Ricky is back from Kenya! In this episode, he updates Bonnie and all listeners about the amazing people he was able to meet, the ways in which he was able to minister and share truth and hope to believing parents, faithful ministers, and even government officials.

Ricky Chelette is in Africa! Bonnie and Ricky talk about how Living Hope Ministries has made a connection in Kenya who asked Ricky to come and teach the Christian families there how to respond to their children being taught LGBTQ+ ideologies in school, especially when some of them decide to identify as LGBTQ+. They are excited to share how God is preparing the way for this ministry in Africa, starting in Kenya.

In this episode, Ricky and Bonnie discuss ways that parents and those who might struggle with LGBTQ+-related desires might prepare for the conversations and spiritual challenges that might come up during Pride Month, a month in which the secular culture around us celebrates and promotes LGBTQ+ ideology.

Ricky and Bonnie discuss one of the most frequently asked questions of Living Hope Ministries: Is being gay a choice? They discuss more recent ideology in the secular world that promotes the LGBTQ+ lifestyle as a choice and how believers might look at their own sinful tendencies and how biblically we are all to approach our sin and temptations.

Ricky and Bonnie discuss doubt and how it is normal and necessary to the Christian walk, but how we should engage our doubts and respond to them. They talk about how God knows that we have doubts and struggle with understanding and believing, but that, ultimately, he is bigger than even our doubts.