Young man and woman smiling and standing together with backs against a blue stained wooden slat wall

Should I ask him out?

You have a growing friendship with a lovely Christian guy and you would like it to go further, but he seems to be reluctant to take any initiative. What, if anything, should you do?

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This is not an unusual scenario. This can be for all kinds of reasons. Some men don’t like the prospect of being turned down. Some men find it difficult to know their minds and hearts. Some men are hesitant to commit. In the Christian community the stakes seem high –… Read more.
Computer illustration of Mycoplasma genitalium bacteria. M. genitalium is a small parasitic bacterium. It is a sexually transmitted organism

MG, another sexually transmitted infection

– a tiny organism, but a big problem.

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The smallest known self-replicating bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium (MG or Mgen), was isolated (identified and grown) in 1981 [1]. It can be caught from sexual intimacy with someone already infected. Though scientists have known about the bacterium for decades, it has only recently been identified as the likely cause of many… Read more.
Laptop computer with finger on keyboard in dark room with pink lighting

Pornography (part 3): Effects on behaviour and mental health

Pornography gives unrealistic expectations of what people should look like. It can lead both girls and boys to have anxieties and feel under pressure to have a certain body image.

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Pornography can change the way you think about people. An emphasis on physical appearance is prevalent in today’s culture: in films, magazines and advertising. Such an emphasis will make it harder to establish good relationships and to treat the opposite sex with love and respect. Pornography gives unrealistic expectations of… Read more.
Icons of a man and woman as paper cutouts with the woman icon being held by a persons hand, set against a blue background

Is consent enough?

It’s important to have a full understanding of what consent truly is – but when is it right to give such consent?

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A young woman in her mid-twenties looks back… I was fourteen when I started going out with my first serious boyfriend. He was older than me and he went to a different school, and just seemed more mature. He was quite charming – he was nice to me. After two… Read more.
Laptop computer with finger on keyboard in dark room with pink lighting

Pornography (part 2): Spoiling future relationships

When we separate the act of sex from real people and real relationships, it can distort and confuse our minds and affect how we relate to others.

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Using pornography makes it harder to form a good relationship. Pornography cuts up a person by separating the object of lust from the reality of the person – their lives, thoughts, needs and situation. When we separate the act of sex from real people and real relationships, it can distort… Read more.
Young man and woman shopping happily at an open air market

How can I know if he or she really loves me?

Love is a word we use very often; it describes our feelings for all sorts of things from chocolate to a new car!

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We often use the word ‘love’ to describe our feelings for people in our family: parents, children, siblings. We also talk about the romantic feeling of ‘falling in love’ with someone who is not in our family. But how can we know that this romantic love is true, and that… Read more.
Young woman praying contentedly. Set against out of focus leafy background.

Learning to be content in singleness

Being single can actually be a great blessing, and allow you to be a blessing to others – but this can be difficult to see when we feel lonely. How can we cultivate true contentment?

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Singleness enables many people to achieve things in their lives that would not be possible if they were married and had children. This is particularly true for Christians who remain single and live very fruitful lives for God’s Kingdom. Many single Christians are able to care for family members, fulfil… Read more.
Young womans and man holding hands . Looking intently at each others eyes.

Love or lust?

You feel that you love someone. You want to be with them. You find it difficult not to think about them.

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We live in a very emotion-driven age. We are tempted to think that when we feel something strongly, it must be right. We are encouraged to accept that when we want something strongly, we are justified in having our desires fulfilled. Perhaps nowhere is this more often felt than with… Read more.
Womans hands typing on laptop, on dark wooden table

Making good decisions about pornography

As pornography is dangerous, it is important not to become involved or get caught out by it. Only you can make the final decision about what you choose to look at.

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Be careful. Think carefully about what you watch and read. Often the images and messages, even in the mainstream media, can be sexually provocative and make us want to look for more explicit material. Turn on ‘safe search’ so that most inappropriate content will be filtered out. For more protection,… Read more.
Middle aged couple sitting nest to each other. Smiling at the camera. The woman is on the left and the man on the right.

Tips to help make a marriage successful: Part 3

A crucial aspect of a good marriage is to complement one another: husband and wife each act in different ways for the good of both.

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Remember your role Complementarity is an essential part of God designed marriage. To complement means to act together in different ways for the good of both. One essential element of the first marriage was that God brought Eve to Adam as his “helper”. She was his companion and his partner… Read more.