The church of Christ on McDermott Road

It is hard to understand biblical sexuality without understanding what Scripture teaches about the human body, soul, and spirit. Scripture does not teach that the human body is an encumbrance or something separate from our true self. Scripture teaches that our body is good and that we are our body.

How often do we rush past people on the street, at work, at school, in the hallways of the church building, or even in our own homes, and not really see them? Our “to do” list is always spurring us on to the next task. And when we do have a moment of free time, we are often too spent to spend time serving others. Jesus, on the other hand, moved at a different pace. He took time for people in need. He saw them, touched them, helped them, spoke to them, and loved them. (Scripture: Luke 5:12-16)

God’s love is true love. Our passions, desires, and loves become disordered when we attempt to love apart from God. In order to love truly, we must first know the love of God. Everything else in this series will be ordered around the true love that comes from God.

After 40 days in the wilderness with nothing to eat, Luke says Jesus, “was hungry.” When we are hungry, literally or metaphorically, we tend to grow impatient. We not only want our hunger to be satisfied, we want it to be satisfied immediately. And our impatience almost always leads to sin. Jesus, on the other hand, did not grow impatient. He patiently waited for his Father to feed him and care for him. We must embrace the patience of Jesus and learn to be hungry, but not hurried. (Scripture: Luke 4:1-15)

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

Paul’s critics “measured themselves by one another and compared themselves with one another.” This made them proud and arrogant. They boasted and commended themselves, because they were choosing the standards of measurement and what qualities and traits should be measured. They were confident, but their confidence was misplaced. Our confidence should never come from comparison, but from the Gospel. We should boast, but only boast “in the Lord.” (Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:7-12)

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

Paul was constantly compared to others and many found Paul to be lacking. It would have been easy for Paul to participate in this preacher comparison contest. He could have easily critiqued, criticized, and condemned himself for his own shortcomings. Many of us do this very thing. However, Paul said, “It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself.” Rather than condemning or acquitting himself, Paul surrendered judgment to the only rightful judge, Jesus. We must learn to do the same. (Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5)

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

When the church is what the church is supposed to be, we see others at their worst. We see  them when they are struggling and when they have failed. We are called to help them and restore them. However, seeing others struggling with sin can create a comparison problem for us. We may think that we are too good to help them, or that we are better than them in some way. When we see someone weak and struggling, we must keep watch on ourselves, lest we also be tempted. (Scripture: Galations 6:1-5)