298. Helping Teens Navigate LGBTQ+ Friendships

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.

This week, Ricky and Bonnie discuss how to approach conversations with teens about navigating their LGBTQ+ friendships with truth and grace. In a culture where everything screams that love is agreeing 100% with another's decisions, young people can struggle with honoring Christ and honoring their friends simultaneously, and Ricky and Bonnie are here to give tips for discussing these things with teens.

This week is just Bonnie and Marsha! Our Women's Minister and Friends & Family Director discuss how transgenderism is often lumped together with same-sex attraction in the LGBTQ+ community, but that the struggle of transgenderism is a little more on the opposite spectrum of same-sex attraction. They talk about what is often going on under the surface of someone struggling with their God-given gender and how we can meet those struggles with the love of Christ.

Ricky and Bonnie are joined by Marsha Inman, the Friends & Family Director at Living Hope, to discuss how parents can navigate their children's struggle with their genders from young and still in the home, to adult and returning home for the holidays. They talk about asking good, open questions, setting boundaries, and continuing to love with grace and truth.

Happy Thanksgiving, HopeCast Listeners! Whether you are in the U.S. gearing up for Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving is not a holiday you celebrate in your part of the world, gratitude is something we can all grow in. Thankfulness can shift your perspective in many ways. This week, Ricky and Bonnie are here to discuss how gratitude can improve your relationships with both with other people, something people with LGBTQ+ struggles often find a lot of heartache in, and most importantly with the Lord Himself.

In this episode, Bonnie and Ricky discuss a recent survey of church-goers and the common misconceptions believed even among people who attend church (not necessarily Christ-followers). They meet these misconceptions with the truth of God's Word.

This week, Ricky and Bonnie sit down with another participant from our Living Hope Women's Group, Bridget, who shares her story from her testimony to finding Living Hope to pursuing a degree in apologetics and now a certification in Biblical Sexuality Ministry through the Institute of Biblical Sexuality.

This week, Ricky and Bonnie are joined by Tiffani, an Living Hope participant who shares her story of what brought her to Living Hope and how she has benefitted from finding a community that is open, transparent, and understanding, but encourages her to pursue Jesus above all.

In this episode, Ricky and Bonnie talk about the devastating effects of leading a double life, and how, though bringing sin to light can be terrifying, it is also promised to be the most freeing thing we can ever do.

This week, Ricky and Bonnie discuss the ineffectiveness of responding to someone who struggles with a phrase like "Just don't be gay..." and how, more often than not, these feelings and struggles are not a choice, but the result of a long journey of unmet needs. They suggest and encourage more thoughtful responses that are more loving (though not affirming in the lifestyle) and that are more likely to open doors for spiritual support and encouragement rooted in truth.