Dear Mars Hill Parents,
This Sunday’s upcoming sermon will deal with the topic of pornography. The sermon was recorded before a largely collegiate audience on the pain of porn, including my interview with a former pastor’s daughter who grew up to be a porn star and has since returned to a vibrant relationship with Jesus. The sermon is one of the most intense I’ve ever preached. And though the content isn’t inappropriate, I wanted to write to give you a word on what to expect for this Sunday if you have young children.
For those of you who have young ones under the age of 12 who normally participate in the church services, you will want to make sure they are in Mars Hill Kids and not in the service with you, as the topic will be of a much more mature nature.
That said, if you have children who are 12 or older, I encourage you to have them in service to hear the message. The reason for this is that the #1 consumers of porn are boys between the ages of 12 and 17, and the average age of first exposure to Internet porn is 11, usually by accident. Chances are your kids in that age range, especially your sons, have either been exposed to pornography or will be soon, and they may even be actively looking at it. This will be a good opportunity for parents to open up a discussion about this destructive force in our society that is becoming increasingly accepted and widespread.
If you question how much your kids know about porn, next time you are at the grocery store, take a moment to read the headlines on the cover of the women’s magazines that scream at kids every day and ask yourself if they may already know far more about adult sexuality than you think.
Also, I suggest that families with children within this age bracket take a moment before the service and pray, asking for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom, help, and guidance in leading your children to make godly choices in relationship to pornography.
To all our parents—thank you. Thank you for being part of Mars Hill Church and caring about your kids. As a father of five, I genuinely appreciate the questions and hope this helps.
A nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody,
Pastor Mark
