PORN!! This one word stirs up all kinds of emotions, thoughts, opinions and questions! This past Sunday we addressed the issue from a Biblical viewpoint because, believe it or not, God has a lot to say about the subject! In fact, I have received more feedback from this one talk than any other talk to date. If you missed this important conversation, you may still have questions like….
What is really wrong with looking at porn?
At what age should I talk to my kids about porn?
Can porn be considered an art form?
How much is too much porn to be looking at?
How do you flee from something that is everywhere you turn?
These are all great questions, and they are questions that we tried to answer in Sunday’s talk. If you missed our talk, take some this week to listen online. Our main motivation was to get the conversation started, because the truth is, that is the first step to freedom! The problem with porn is that it’s just too easy! It’s done in secret; when no one else is watching. The other problem with porn is that it’s easy to justify when you are living in obedience in every other area of your life. The bottom line is this: God is against porn not because he is opposed to our pleasure, but because He is so committed to it! If you’re struggling with porn, get help…today!
Below are some helpful resources to help you break free now!
Websites
www.xxxchurch.com – facts on porn and other helpful resources, including how to get free
www.x3watch.com – free accountability software for your computer
www.covenanteyes.com – accountability software and filtering
www.pureonline.com – 30 days to purity
www.purerestoration.com – 4-day recovery workshops
www.purelifeministries.org – help-at-home program
Books
Sex is Not the Problem, Lust Is – Joshua Harris
Purity – Kris Vallotton
Every Man’s Battle – Stephen Arterburn
The Game Plan – Joe DallasWeek one of our “Sex Series” was nothing short of epic! Our first week was a talk on Purity, which might be better described as the journey from the battlefield to the bedroom! For those who dare, this is exactly what feels like as we contend for God’s call on our lives as Christ-followers. However, my prayer is that through this series God would ignite a fire of an entire generation to recapture the trophy of purity!
Because of the request of so many I will post some of my notes below:
Why Wait?
1. Because we trust God ( 1Thess. 4:3-5, 7)
I think too many times we (especially single people) read this verse and automatically interpret it to mean that God is a cosmic kill joy...however, if you look closer what you’ll really discover is God’s blueprint for the journey!
Proverbs 5:18 - "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth."
Remember: God will never ask us to give up the greater for the lesser!
Not waiting is risky business…..
STD’s, pregnancy, hurting people, the loss of God’s blessing and future pain, are all things we risk when purity is devalued.
In all my years in ministry and counseling singles and married couple, I have yet to run across anybody who says that they are better off because….
…they have an STD
…because of divorce
…because they had an unwanted pregnancy
…because they gave themselves away emotionally and physically
…Because of their addiction to porn
So what are the benefits? In my journey with my bride, these were what we came up with in terms of the benefits of waiting:
It keeps God first
It cultivates the discipline of self-control
It builds a foundation of trust
It empowers you to pass on a legacy to your children
Why wait? Because we trust God (Proverbs 3:5-6)!
2. Because we respect ourselves (1 Co. 6:18-20)
In light of Christ…my body belongs to God.
Hint: If you treat yourself like you’re worthless, you are inviting other people to do the same.
If you carry yourself like you’re a prince or princess, others will relate to you like one!
Things to avoid:
Runway modeling – dress modestly
Strip Poker – research shows that it’s easier to remain sexually pure when you clothes are on than when you're butt naked!
Avoid playing house – You are only training yourself for divorce because when it doesn’t work out…you take you ball and go home. If you're not married, don't live like it!
Technical virginity – The reason oral sex is called oral sex is because it’s sex! Mutual masturbation is sex!
Tonsil Hockey – The truth is this, will only fuel your fire!
Three life-giving themes to live by:
1. no rang…no thang!
2. My bod is for God!
3. Can’t touch this! (make this your athem!)
Romans 6:13:
"Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness."
3. Because of honor (Hebrews 13:4)
You can start being faithful to your future spouse today!
Remember: The best way to steward tomorrow is by being faithful today.
State your standards up front
Become a student of godly relationships
Find a couple to mentor you
Begin praying for your future spouse daily
Ask the right questions
What can I do about my singleness? (wrong question)
What can I do with my singleness? (better question)
Does my current relationship hinder me from serving God as a single person?
What is my motivation in relationship-pleasing myself, or serving others?
Do I give myself away physically or emotionally in ways that I regret?
Our journey continues this Sunday with week two of our “Sex Files” Series!
What a rich weekend! This week we had our first-ever college retreat up in Ringgold, Virginia. I love seeing the passion of this generation of young people who are living into their destiny! Of course, the retreat weekend was totally made when Will and Janet McFarlane showed up and shared their heart, their experiences, and many great stories of their journey from stoner to saint!!
Obviously, Sunday was an absolute hoot as Will led us in worship and then downloaded all that God had put on his heart (no notes required)! One thing that really stood out to me - and I’m sure to many who were present - was being reminded of how rich many of the old hymns are. I have to be honest; I’ve never been much of a hymn guy myself, probably because they remind me of what I perceived as dead religion growing up. However, yesterday it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the depth and truth that our faith is built on as we sang some old classics!
Another huge truth to take away from Will being with us is how much religion really resides in most of us. The goal of the gospel was never to make us religious! The heart of God is to set us free, so that we would live from our hearts as we pursue the call to reconcile the world to the creator of the universe.
As we move forward, it is awesome to see the church Awaken City is becoming! It was never our goal to launch a church based on a man’s personality or some church model that we read in a book and wanted to copy. Our prayer all along has been that God would build His church! Over the past year, we have seen the progression of Awaken City as God’s people continue responding to his invitation, and it’s simply nothing short of beautiful! It’s not perfect, mind you...but I know that God takes great delight in the child-like heart that marks His people!
If you're new to Awaken, here are some things that you need to know:
Homeless Ministry – We have a homeless outreach every Sunday morning at Center City Park in downtown Greensboro. We would like to invite you to join us any Sunday morning at 8:00AM to see all the incredible ministry that takes place as we simply love our homeless friends by serving them breakfast.
OFY – OFY (On Fire Youth) is the name of our youth ministry here at Awaken City Church. If you have a teenager, then you know that with the God-ignoring culture that we have to raise our children in...we could use all the help we can get! OFY is a perfect opportunity for your family to take advantage of. It’s amazing what happens when God captures the heart of our teenagers! If you’re a parent, we invite you to come see for yourself all the awesome things that God is doing in the youth ministry here at Awaken! You can contact Jacob@awakencitychurch.come for more info.
Stay Tuned because next week I’ll give you more info on some of the other incredible ministries here at ACC.
What another amazing Sunday here at Awaken City Church! God seems to be continuing to draw us into deeper waters as we respond to the deeper hunger that turns within us. As we see God for who he is, our appetite for more increases!
As we finished our series “It’s Your Move,” what we discovered was that sometimes, what we really need is the motivation to actually take the first step. The reality is, information simply isn’t enough. Just take a look at our culture today: how many know they need to lose weight, or get out of debt, or drop a bad habit? Having the right information is certainly the starting place, but what actually gets us to apply action can be something altogether different! If you weren’t able to hear this week’s talk, then just log on www.awakencitychurch.com and listen. Just remember, as we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8)! If we will give him what we have, he will give us what he has!
If you missed Sunday, then you also missed an incredible time of worship with Ember! There is nothing like gathering with the people of God to worship him in absolute freedom!
The morning ended with several people receiving Christ….and you know what….. that never gets old!
Here is a quick reminder of some of things going on here at Awaken City:
This Sunday, February 13th – Will McFarlane will be with us
College Retreat – It’s not too late to join us on our first ever college retreat. If you are a college student and are interested in going please contact Alex Yonjof at Axyonjof@earthlink.net. Don’t forget the retreat is THIS WEEKEND!Well, I have to say that I am totally jacked! What a Sunday morning here at Awaken City Church! If you missed it than I’m sorry, but there is simply no way my words will do justice to what we experienced as a church as we gathered to worship the true and living God.
We started by beginning a brand new series called, “It’s Your Move.” What we discovered it that we are not saved by our deeds; we are saved to do good deeds! The second discovery was that usually what God requires is something very simple! Simple, but profound! And finally, we discovered that we have to know what season we are in to truly follow what God is asking us to do! Sometimes all we know is to take one more step forward!
As we responded to as a congregation, you could since the grace of God overwhelming us again; giving us the courage to step into his call and destiny on our lives! There were about 10 people who responded to receive Jesus this morning along with many people being healed emotionally and physically! The overwhelming sense was that God is truly in our midst!
These are truly exciting days as we are experiencing the acceleration of what God is doing here at Awaken City Church! My prayer is that we would continue to have the courage to embrace all that God desires to do in His church in these days! This is the greatest hour the church has ever known…the real question is, “How much do we want?” For those who are hungry, get ready…God is about to blow your mind!!
What will happen next? Come next Sunday to find out!
Jacked!!
Wow! What an incredible Sunday as we gathered to celebrate Awaken City’s 1st birthday! As I think over the last year there are so many stories that point to God’s desire to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things! For those who have been around for any length of time, you know that is the story of this incredible church! Sunday wasn’t us celebrating someone’s personality or persona! It wasn’t a celebration of all that we have accomplished! No, it was simply a celebration of our gratitude to the creator of the universe who has graciously invited us to join him in what he is doing all over the globe! Thank you to everyone who made our birthday bash so special! To all the volunteers who gave so much time and energy to make the day special for everyone else….THANK YOU!
As we look to the future, we must continue to celebrate the process! We can’t ever forget that in between the “promise” and the “palace” there is the process! It’s the process that us prepares us to live into the promises! The process is that which is preparing us for the day that is coming! As happy as I am for our future, I am totally amazed by the beauty of the process! As I witnessed the video that recapped our first year together, I was overwhelmed! As I stood among all the others who gave their testimony, I was overjoyed! God has truly been faithful! Here‘s to one year under our belt! Happy Birthday Awaken City Church!!
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, "Great is the LORD!"- Ps. 40:16
Well, we ended our series “worship?” this morning with a talk on “How we worship!” What we discovered is that
1. Halel – to rave, boast, celebrate…to be clamorously foolish.
i. (Psalm 22:26) “…they who seek the LORD will praise him.”
2. Yadah – to acknowledge in public..literally by lifting your hand
i. (Psalm 138:1) “I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart.”
3. Barak – to bless by kneeling or bowing
i. (Psalm 103:1) “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”
4. Zamar – making music to God with strings. (Literally to do it loudly)
i. (Psalm 92:1) “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High.”
5. Shabach – to address in a loud tone, to shout.
i. (Psalm 63:3-4) “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
6. Towdah – to lift hands in adoration.
i. (Psalm 50:23) “He who offers praise glorifies me: and to him that orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.”
7. Tehilah – exuberant singing.
i. (Psalm 34:1) “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips
Yes, I would say that we are not only traditional, but Biblical as well! Let’s continue to be a church committed to Biblical worship as our response to God demonstrates His worth
Don’t miss nest week when we have a special treat line up! You’ll have to come to hear for yourself! It will be a perfect follow up to this series!
Don’t forget our homeless ministry continues to meet the needs of the homeless here in the city of Greensboro! Please continue to stand and believe with us for a building downtown so that we can expand all that we are currently doing!
I’m as jacked as I have ever been as we move closer to the vision and destiny God has for Awaken city Church!
See You Next Sunday!!
