Lust
Matthew 5
Teaching about Adultery
27 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, 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. 30 And if your hand—even your stronger 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 be thrown into hell.
LUST → CHASTITY
Lust asks us to...
Give up your wholeness for this desire.
Chastity (Jesus) asks us to...
Give up this desire if it costs you your wholeness.
Not the Real Problem
Sin is a solution. Just not a very good one.
What is lust trying to solve?
- Validation
- Control
- Escape
- Affirmation
- Power
- Possession
Lust Consumes What Love Honors
- Lust asks, “What can I get from you?”
- Love asks, “How can I honor who God created you to be?”
Beneath Chastity Is Purity
- A divided heart seeks satisfaction.
- A pure heart seeks God.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8
Practical Purity is Chastity
- Purity isn't just about what we avoid.
- It's about what we pursue.
Chastity is rightly ordered love
Chastity honors rather than consumes
Jesus Is the Pure One
“Purity of heart is to will one thing.” - Søren Kierkegaard
“Seek first the Kingdom of God…” - Matthew 6:33
Stay close to Jesus, the Pure One.
Christ Gathers the Scattered Pieces of Us
“I long to have all the pieces of myself together in one place.”
Purity is not perfection.
Purity is wholeness.
Christ gathers the scattered pieces of us.
Come to the Table
Lust is a kind of hunger.
Validation is a hunger.
Escape is a hunger.
Affirmation is a hunger.
Power is a hunger.
Possession is a hunger.
Purity is learning where to take our hunger.
Communion is coming to the table hungry.
Bring your scattered heart.
Bring your divided desires.
Bring your longing.
Christ gathers us to Himself.
Bennediction
- Purity is not merely avoiding the wrong thing.
- Purity is pursuing the right thing.
- And ultimately that right thing is Christ Himself.
Vice & Virtue
The Seven Deadly Sins and The Virtues that Heal Them
A Litany for Vice & Virtue
Leader: God of truth and grace, You created all things good.
People: Yet we have twisted Your gifts and trusted our own understanding.
Leader: Where pride has distorted our sight,
People: Teach us humility and help us see as You see.
Leader: Where vice has broken communion with You, with others, and with creation,
People: Restore us through the life of Christ and the power of Your Spirit.
Leader: Take what is disordered within us and put it back into Your good order.
People: Redeem our desires, our thoughts, our habits, and our loves.
Leader: Where we have grasped for control,
People: Teach us trust.
Leader: Where we have withheld love,
People: Teach us virtue.
Leader: Form in us the character of Christ.
People: That Your grace may flow through us into the world.
Leader: Sanctify us wholly—spirit, soul, and body.
People: Until Your love is perfected in us. Amen.
Questions to Consider:
- What are you really hungry for right now?
- Where have you been looking for satisfaction apart from God?
- Who do you need to honor instead of consume?
- What would it mean to seek first the Kingdom this week?
- What part of your life needs Christ to gather and make whole?
