Central UMC Lenoir City
The 7 Deadly Sins - Lust
8:45am Modern 11am Traditional
Locations & Times
Central UMC Lenoir City Tn
301 Hickory Creek Rd, Lenoir City, TN 37771, USA
Sunday 8:45 AM
Sunday 11:00 AM
We are continuing our sermon series on the 7 deadly sins. The goal of this series is that we may learn to live in freedom from these sins by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We all of us struggle with sin. Sin is in all of us and we all have an "it". We can use to deny sin, or hope it goes away but that will not happen unless we come face to face with areas of our life that the enemy wants us to live in darkness and bondage too.
The seven deadly sins came out of the work of the desert fathers in the 4th century, namely John Cassian. These are called deadly because the can kill the life of God within us. The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, lust and gluttony. Today we look at lust.
We all of us struggle with sin. Sin is in all of us and we all have an "it". We can use to deny sin, or hope it goes away but that will not happen unless we come face to face with areas of our life that the enemy wants us to live in darkness and bondage too.
The seven deadly sins came out of the work of the desert fathers in the 4th century, namely John Cassian. These are called deadly because the can kill the life of God within us. The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, lust and gluttony. Today we look at lust.
Today we will talk about:
1) The Integrity of Sex
2) The Challenge of Lust
3) Finding Freedom from Lust to Love
The Biblical ethic Jesus referred to Matthew 5:27 refers to an Old Testament understanding of covenant. Covenant is more than a legal marriage; it is the idea that your spouse's needs are more important than your needs. It is the idea that I will adjust to you because I made a promise to God. As author Tim Keller says, covenant provides a zone of stafety where you can be yourself without fear of performance or rejection. It's a deep commitment that allows the greatest level of intimacy and joy.
Contrasting a covenant relationship is a consumer relationship. A consumer relationship is that you adjust to me, I am committed to you until something better comes along, till I get an upgrade. The problem with sex in a consumer relationship is you share one layer of intimacy without sharing your deepest self. As one person put it, "I am always auditioning until something else comes along." Covenant says "I am exclusively yours!"
The Bible is not against sex. In fact in Genesis 2:23, we see a naked man singing a love song over a naked woman in the presence of God. That is how the Bible starts out. God's instructions are not to deny us but to allow us to experience the greatest possible kind of life.
1) The Integrity of Sex
2) The Challenge of Lust
3) Finding Freedom from Lust to Love
The Biblical ethic Jesus referred to Matthew 5:27 refers to an Old Testament understanding of covenant. Covenant is more than a legal marriage; it is the idea that your spouse's needs are more important than your needs. It is the idea that I will adjust to you because I made a promise to God. As author Tim Keller says, covenant provides a zone of stafety where you can be yourself without fear of performance or rejection. It's a deep commitment that allows the greatest level of intimacy and joy.
Contrasting a covenant relationship is a consumer relationship. A consumer relationship is that you adjust to me, I am committed to you until something better comes along, till I get an upgrade. The problem with sex in a consumer relationship is you share one layer of intimacy without sharing your deepest self. As one person put it, "I am always auditioning until something else comes along." Covenant says "I am exclusively yours!"
The Bible is not against sex. In fact in Genesis 2:23, we see a naked man singing a love song over a naked woman in the presence of God. That is how the Bible starts out. God's instructions are not to deny us but to allow us to experience the greatest possible kind of life.
Definitions for lust is "an intense desire or appetite" or "uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire." Frederick Buechner writes, "uncontrolled lust is one of the most blatant signs of our refusal to honor God." Lust always involves an object.
Forms of lust include: (From Tim Keller and other sources)
1. Porn - This industry which has more gross revenue than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined is self-serving and is about meeting your own needs and desires. It objectives people and alters our brain function similar to drugs. It is addictive and over time requires more and more graphic nature to achieve the same high. Freedom can be found by accountability and starvation (more later)
2. Using Sex selfishly rather than unselfishly.
3. A believe that you cannot be a whole person without sex.
Forms of lust include: (From Tim Keller and other sources)
1. Porn - This industry which has more gross revenue than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined is self-serving and is about meeting your own needs and desires. It objectives people and alters our brain function similar to drugs. It is addictive and over time requires more and more graphic nature to achieve the same high. Freedom can be found by accountability and starvation (more later)
2. Using Sex selfishly rather than unselfishly.
3. A believe that you cannot be a whole person without sex.
Finding Freedom From Lust to Love
1. Flee. Be Drastic. Run from it. Accountability. Realizing the consequences of lust.
2. Whatever you feed grows. Whatever you starve dies.
3. Believe our deepest needs can only be fulfilled by Christ, not people or sex or anything else. Learning to live by the Spirit.
1. Flee. Be Drastic. Run from it. Accountability. Realizing the consequences of lust.
2. Whatever you feed grows. Whatever you starve dies.
3. Believe our deepest needs can only be fulfilled by Christ, not people or sex or anything else. Learning to live by the Spirit.
