Abraham offered up his son Isaac and I can hardly wrap my head around it. Now that I have a son, an only son, whom I love. There's a lot more to this story than we catch because we often recoil when we read instead of drinking deeply from the text. As we dig into this story, it will take us to the foot of the cross. May your Memorial Day weekend dwell on the most profound sacrifice ever offered.

 

The shame still exists, but the secret is out. Our country has a serious problem with lust, and so does the church. It's so pervasive that attitudes about pornography are relaxing, but please, don't dismiss it because it's a common struggle, and don't buy into the idea that you are a product of your culture. You are a product of the Spirit of God. Perhaps the hardest lessons to preach are the ones about self-control because they're the bitterest pills to swallow. James makes a great observation in James 1. Sin is not the product of our culture. It's not the product of a malicious God, nor even a cantankerous Devil. Sin is the product of our deepest desires, and those desires will master us, if we do not master them.

 

I Get it. Getting a lesson from a rotund preacher on gluttony is like getting safety advice from a finger less, wood shop teacher. The good news is this: not all gluttons are fat, and not all who are overweight are gluttons. The bad news is this: gluttony is one sin nobody wants to talk about. And for good reason. This morning we will continue our series on Self Control with a lesson on drunkenness, gluttony, and fasting.

 

Few of us are born into being parenting experts. For the rest of us, it's On the Job Training. All we really know is It's not going to be like our parents did to us. This makes parenting even harder. It's tough to know what to do, when you spend all your time thinking about what not to do. This Sunday I want to offer one principle that, if you apply it in your family, will radically transform your house, and will have a lasting impact on your kids, and their faith.

 

Sometimes I think we get the wrong answers because we're asking the wrong questions. Churches spend a lot of time with how people live life. While that's valuable to discuss, it's probably not nearly as valuable as asking why. All of us have the privilege to live life, but few of us will take the time to ask why?

 

This one point is driven home: we are guilty. Often, we think that the message of Jesus is good. And it is! But it has a context. It's good news only when we understand and believe our guilt. In fact, the gospel actually starts out as really bad news before it turns good. Tonight, we will explore the unpopular idea that we are guilty.

 

This is perhaps the most foundational confession about God in our day. God is good. When we see it clearly, believers live courageous lives. They reflect the love and grace of God around them. But when they don't, they become a distortion of the divine image. This morning we will be reminded about the goodness of God.

 

The church has been talking about discipleship for thousands of years. When I was growing up, "Discipleship" was packaged as "growing stronger in your faith" and most of us knew that it could be measured by church attendance and giving. When I was in college, "Discipleship" became relational. after all, relational definitions sound more spiritual than attendance numbers. Everyone wanted to be discipled, the way Paul discipled Timothy. And therein lies the rub. For decades, the church has largely misdirected the conversation about discipleship. It is not a friendship building exercise. Being a disciple is not a crowdfunding project. It will not give you a larger twitter following. It will not draw a crowd to your church. It will radically transform you. Want a new you for 2016? Take your eyes off you. Fix them on Jesus. And become a disciple.