Temptation

What can we do when we're confronted with temptations around us or unwelcome thoughts and emotions within us?  How can we guard against such "unwanted invaders"?  Throughout this 6 day plan, we will consider five practical ways in which we can guard the place where the battle will ultimately be won: our hearts.

Guarding Your Heart Against Unwanted Invaders

Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, you have undoubtedly experienced recurring sin. In most cases, we desire to change but are unable to defeat the sin that causes us to keep failing and filling us with shame. We want to walk you through scriptural truth and encouragement to help you become the person God created you to be.

Breaking Free from Habitual Sin

In this world, we war against three main enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The most difficult and personal enemy we face is what the Bible calls our flesh. The flesh cannot be conquered in any other way except by denying the wrong desires that entice us. Surrendering our lives to Christ gives us a new nature, and our old nature is to live in subjection to it.

How to Beat the Flesh

Temptation is not a new question, but rather an old question which is faced across cultures. Tackling temptation will require you to understand the source of your temptation. 
When one gives in to temptation things can get bad quickly. Join me to explore the 3 sources of temptations singled out by St. Thomas Aquinas as implacable enemies of the soul and develop a strategy to overcome them. 


Three Sources of Temptation

For many Christians, the root cause of sin is temptation. We sin because we fell victim to a tempting situation. But where does temptation come from? What lies under every sin we commit? In this series of teaching videos David Bowden explains why every sin actually comes from our desires, lackings, and unbelief.

Why We Actually Sin - James 1:14-15

We live under a daily assault of thoughts and ideas–some true and some false. And perhaps the most dangerous ideas we allow to live in our minds are the lies we believe about ourselves. They magnify failure, steal our joy, keep us from love, and prevent us from realizing all of God’s plans for us. Join us as we call out the lies and replace them with God’s truth.

Lies I Believe Part 5: God Won't Give Me More Than I Can Handle

As we look at the life of David this week, we see the power of sin and temptation and how one night of pleasure can lead to a lifetime of pain. We all have clay feet. Therefore, let us confess our sin before the Lord, give it to Him, and ask Him to protect us and fill us so that we can flee temptation.

[Life Of David] A Night Of Passion Becomes A Life Of Pain 

The spiritual life is a battle, especially for those who are attempting to make disciples, and the man or woman of God must be prepared and armed and ready for attack.  Let us help you understand the spiritual armor available to us.

The Armor

2nd Samuel depicts the establishment of the Davidic dynasty as God made the covenant with David that his house would endure forever. However, David had soon fallen into sin by committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah, incurring punishments among the nation. The books of Samuel show us that our ultimate trust is not in rulers who can conquer nations, but the foreshadowed Messiah who can conquer sins. 