June 2, 2024
LINK TO TESTIMONY ON YOUTUBE
(May expire after about 6 months)
TEXT: Mark 7:1-23
TOPIC: Becket Cook’s Testimony
TESTIMONY SUMMARY:
This speech recounts Becket Cook's personal journey from living as a gay man in the entertainment industry to becoming a Christian. Cook describes realizing he was attracted to men at a young age, living a double life through high school and college, and then fully embracing a gay identity after falling in love for the first time. He moved to Los Angeles and lived a glamorous lifestyle in Hollywood for many years.
However, Cook began feeling empty and questioning the meaning of life. A chance encounter with Christians at a coffee shop led him to attend an evangelical church, where he had a powerful conversion experience. He describes feeling God reveal himself, and immediately knowing that his previous lifestyle and homosexual behavior were sinful.
Cook then addresses common questions he receives:
Can you be gay and Christian? He argues this is impossible, citing Bible verses about not continuing in sin.
Are people born gay? He says the cause is unknown but irrelevant, as all are born sinful.
Is it unfair to expect celibacy? He feels grateful to be in God's kingdom despite the sacrifice.
Doesn't God want you to be happy? He says God offers joy and peace, not circumstantial happiness.
Cook concludes by emphasizing that his joy now comes from his relationship with Christ, not his circumstances. Overall, the speech presents Cook's story as an example of leaving homosexuality for Christian faith.
LISTEN TO THE Q&A FROM AFTER THE WORSHIP SERVICE
PRAYER: Take a moment now to pray for the church to walk in both love and truth as we respond to our culture’s questions about sexuality, gender, and identity. Pray for multiplication of God’s work in Becket, that many more would come to experience the love, joy, peace, and freedom that Becket has experienced in Christ.
