I’m working on a semon this week about sexual purity. It seems like there is no more relevant message today than Jesus’ call to purity. I think it’s such an important issue because lust threatens to keep us from truly seeing and experiencing the wonder of the gospel. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

John Piper, Future Grace
We must fight fire with fire. The fire of lusts’ pleasure must be fought with the fire of God’s pleasures. If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats alone – even the terrible warnings of Jesus –we will fail. We must fight it with the massive promise of superior happiness. We must swallow up the little flicker of lust’s pleasure in the conflagration of holy satisfaction.

Dr. Al Mohler
Men are tempted to give themselves to pornography – women are tempted to commit pornography. If a couple is driving down the street and they both see a seductive advertisement, they can both be tempted to lust but in different ways. The man might be tempted toward sexual pleasure with the woman in the ad. But women want to look like the woman in the ad because we know men want that.

With the conclusion of the questioning Christianity series, I’m beginning a new one called, “The Jazz of God.” It seems like a rather peculiar title I know. The subheading is, “Finding God in Unexpected Places.” This is a series of studies that I’ve thought about for quite a while. It seems that most Christians only spend a few moments a day thinking about God. It’s directly related to the study of the Bible, prayer or worship. But if all of life was created by God, then all of life is in someway a reflection of Him. I want to explore the way that even the mundane aspects of our lives are charged with the “grandeur of God.” I want to find in the ordinary, the extraordinary. Here is the list of dates and topics I’ll be addressing:

April 6th: Creation/Nature
April 13th: Work
April 20th: Beauty/Art
April 27th: Music
May 4th: Stories/Movies/Literature

May 11th Break
May 18th Food
May 25th Love
June 1st: Community
June 8th: Home