Purity Ring 3000
Swimming with Sharks
Friday, November 22, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
111313: Current Issues -- Divorce
Message: Divorce
I.
Introduction
a.
The
second most popular topic choice for current issues was, Divorce.
b.
Divorce
is something that tears open families causing deep wounds that take years to
heal, if they ever do.
c.
How many
of you come from a family where there has been a divorce?
d.
When I
saw this as the 2nd most popular vote my first thought was…what am I
going to do? My parents are married,
they have been since before I was born.
There was only one point when I felt like there was real trouble in the
marriage.
e.
My
parents were really fighting, yelling and screaming at each other, and I went
out into the farm area, because I couldn’t take it anymore. All of a sudden my dad came out of the house,
slammed the door, went to his truck, slammed the door and drove off down the
road. It was at that moment I started to
contemplate what it would be like to live only with my mom. Later that evening my dad came home and they
mended their marriage, I still have no idea what it was about. But that was the closest it ever got for me.
f.
I could
stand up here and do a sermon on divorce, but I thought it would be better to
turn to a couple of our leaders who have dealt or are dealing with divorce in
their life. Beyond that I asked the other leaders to be up here to add their
wisdom to the pile. So tonight I am
going to ask questions to this group and hopefully you will leave with some
hope if you are dealing with this in your life right now.
g.
If you
have a question you would like to ask, please raise your hand and I will call
on you.
II.
Body
a. General Questions About
Divorce
a.
Why do you think divorce
is so prevalent?
b.
Do you think it is ever
right to get divorced?
c.
Why is divorce so bad?
d.
Why is marriage so
difficult?
e.
What is a good way to
avoid divorce?
b. Those Who Have Experienced
Divorce
a.
How has divorce affected
you and your life/what is your experience with divorce?
b.
What was the most
difficult part of the divorce?
c.
Did you ever blame
yourself for the divorce?
d.
Did you get angry/sad?
e.
What were some ways you
dealt with divorce?
f.
Did you ever ask God to
stop the divorce? Why didn’t he help?
g.
How have you found
healing after the divorce?
h.
Was there anything good
that came from the divorce?
c. Advice For Those Going Through Divorce
a.
What can I do/should I
do if my parents are getting divorced?
b.
What should I do if a
parent tries to get me to pick a side?
c.
How can I or should I
even forgive my parents?
d.
Does it ever get easier?
III.
Conclusion
a. There are some of you that are having to deal
with a divorce, maybe it already happened or maybe it is happening right now.
b. The things we wanted to communicate to you
tonight are:
a.
You are
not alone
b.
God can
help you forgive and find healing from the pain
c.
When you
get married you don’t have to repeat the cycle of divorce
c. Have leaders stand in front of table, invite
anyone who wants prayer to come and get prayed with by leaders.
Friday, November 8, 2013
110613: Current Issues -- How Far Is Too Far?
Message: How Far Is Too Far?
I.
Introduction
a.
I am a
Christian. By that I mean that I have accepted Jesus as both my Savior and my
Lord. I have asked him to forgive my
sins, but I have also put Him in charge of my life.
b.
The reasons
for doing this are various but one of them is that I truly believe there is an
all knowing, all wise God who cares for me and the rest of humanity. And if he knows everything and cares about
me, that means that if he told me what to do and what not to do, it would be
the best thing for me.
c.
And He
does tell me all kinds of things to do and not do so that I don’t completely
mess up my own life as well as the life of those around me.
d.
I also
believe that these rules are easy to find, because He spoke them in the
Bible. And though the Bible is really
old, it still contains things that we can trust as solid even in our modern
age….because God knew what now would be like, he wasn’t surprised and wrote his
rules knowing they would be timeless.
e.
One area
that God does care about is our Sexuality.
So he gave us various commands to look at, which since he is all knowing
and cares about us aren’t to try and control us and stop us from having fun but
to have fun safely and in a good way.
II.
Body
a.
How Far
Is Too Far?
a.
I have
been the youth pastor here for 11 years now, working on 12, and every year this
is the most popular question we have: How Far is too far? And it is nothing new, this has been a
question that has been asked since Jesus walked the earth 2000 years ago.
b.
How far
is too far? Is it okay for me to? What does God say is right and what does he
say crosses the line where it becomes a sin, thus affected me and my life
negatively as well as those around me?
c.
There is
a problem with this question though…it starts with the idea that we should want
to get as close to the line as we possibly can.
b.
The
Garage Door
a.
When I
was a kid I used to go to a friends’ house and play a game with him, his
brother, and my brother. This game was
one in which we would hit the garage door to close and then we would run under
it before it closed. This game was
banned by our parents, but they were elsewhere so we would play anyway.
b.
As guys
do we would try and one up each other to see who could slide under at the
lowest point. And this particular day I
decided I would win.
c.
So I lay
down on the floor and waited. Just as it
hit I would kick with my feet…but this time it stuck. And rather than coming back up it stuck…and I
was trapped.
d.
They
tried to get the keys and hit the button but to no avail. They finally had to get our moms who helped
lift the door and drag me out.
e.
If had
only listened to our parents I wouldn’t have gotten into this position, if only
I had not tried to get as close to the line as possible, I wouldn’t have ended
up trapped.
f.
If we
play with the line often enough we will get trapped.
c.
How Far
Is Too Far?
a.
Like I
said before there is a problem with the question: How far is too far? We are often asking because we want to know
how much we can get away with, not because we want to remain pure. We want a line so we can toy with it…but if
we play with the line often enough we will get trapped, we will cross it. The question isn’t: How far is too far? but How can I be pure?
d.
The
Lines of God
a.
Now this
may seem backwards because of what I just said but indulge me, I want to look
at what the Bible says when it says how far is too far, because by doing so we
will answer the more important question: How can I be pure?
b.
There
are 9 lines that God sets up, saying this is too far when it comes to
sexuality, do not cross these or you will be sinning, thus hurting yourself and
those around you.
i.
No
Bestiality – Confine to humans only
a.
Deuteronomy
27:21 – “Cursed is anyone who has sexual relations with any animal”
ii.
No
bisexuality/homosexuality – Confine sex to opposite gender
a.
Leviticus
18:22 – “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable,”
b.
Romans
1:26-27 – “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for
one another. Men committed indecent acts
with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their
perversion.”
c.
I know
this isn’t a popular one among your age group, because you have been
indoctrinated with the thought that love is love and we should celebrate love
in all its forms. (which is actually not
even true of those who say it because there are certain forms of love they
don’t agree with, ie underage with older person, human animal, etc..)
d.
One way
to look at it is a woman, meaning that that is the only marriage he deems as a
real marriage and thus blessed by him.
Since it is impossible then for a same sex marriage that is blessed and
condoned by God, sex between a same sex couple can never be considered as right
as it breaks the rule of no sex before marriage. It doesn’t matter how much they love each
other or how much commitment is there, it is still past the line.
e.
Remember
it isn’t the person that God is condemning but the sexual act, he still loves a
homosexual, just as much as he loves a heterosexual, and wants the best life
possible for each one.
iii.
No close
relatives – Confine sex to opposite gender who isn’t closely related to you
a.
Leviticus
18:6 – “No one is to approach a close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.”
b.
Mom,
Dad, Step-mom, Step-dad, Sister, Brother, Half-Brother, Half-Sister, Your kids,
Your grandkids, Aunt, Uncle, Grandfather, Grandmother, Daughter-in-law,
Son-in-law, Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law
iv.
No non-Christians
– Confine sex to those of the same faith
a.
2nd
Corinthians 6:14-15 – “Don’t be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have
in common? Or what fellowship can light
have with darkness? What harmony is
there between Christ and Belial? What does
a believer have in common with an unbeliever.”
b.
If it is
wrong to have sex with a non-Christian then it is wrong to be married to a
non-christian, and it if is wrong to married to a non-christian then it is bead
to date a non-christian, and the reason it gives is that they are headed in two
directions with two purposes. One wants
to please God, and one doesn’t care, so what ends up happening the one dating a
non-christian is usually drawn away from God.
v.
No sex
before marriage – Confine sex to only the one you are married to
a.
Galatians
5:19 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,”
b.
Fornication
means two unmarried people having sex
c.
Now
remember sex doesn’t just mean vaginal/penial sex, it can mean any action that
brings pleasure to a sexual organ, no matter the means of this happening. Sex is sex, whether it goes all the way or
not
vi.
No
adultery – Confine sex to only one person
a.
Exodus
20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.”
vii.
No
divorce – Confine sex to only one person for life
a.
Matthew
5:30-32 – “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a
certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you
that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes
her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits
adultery.”
viii.
No lust
– Sex isn’t just about the body, it is about the mind
a.
Matthew
5:27-28 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I
tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.”
b.
This
goes for both men and women, if we look at person or some other representation
of a person that causes us to lust, meaning looking, desiring, and dwelling on
then we have crossed the line. Jesus
puts this on the same level of sin as the physical act.
ix.
No hint
– Sex isn’t just about the body or mind, but also how others view what is being
done
a.
Ephesians
5:1-4 – “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a
life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God. But among
you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of
impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk
or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
b.
But it
isn’t just about sex, or just about lust, God then draws a line of not even a
hint of that immorality in your life.
This can be in the way we talk, the way we act, the things we thing
about. So any of the areas listed above:
animals, homosexuality, close relatives non-christians, pre-marital sex,
adultery, divorce, and lust we are not to even have a hint of sin in those
areas.
c.
So much
so that if someone looked at your life they wouldn’t think there was
impropriety going on.
i.
Ex. Living together before marriage
III.
Conclusion
a.
1st
it is good to establish a line of how you will stay pure before you get into
the dating scene, so that you can go back to that line, I won’t go this far,
because I want to stay pure. And I hope
some of you will make that choice tonight of saying I will stay pure by….
b.
2nd
There are some of you in this room that have crossed a line, some of you have
had sex, some of you have are looking at porn, but purity is still available.
c.
When I
got stuck under a garage door, I didn’t just lay there and say, “Well I guess I
will always be under this garage door.”
I got freedom because I did three things:
a.
I
admitted I had crossed the line
b.
I got
help from God and others
c.
I
stopped playing the game
i.
Matthew
5:29-30 – “If your fight eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into
hell.”
ii.
Get out
of the situations or away from the people that are tempting you to cross the line
a.
If it is
the internet, get rid of it
b.
If it is
a boyfriend/girlfriend, break up
c.
Whatever
it is, no matter how difficult, it is better than being trapped the rest of
your life.
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