…to be continued

Today marked our 10th Sunday back in our post-flood Riverside building and our 10th Sunday since the switch from Saturday nights to Sunday mornings. It’s been a great 2 1/2 months and the best is yet to come…

For the last 10 Sundays, we’ve been going through a series called “The Forgotten.” We’ve looked at the lives of 10 people or groups of people who are often overlooked, under appreciated, or forgotten in Scripture. We chronologically plowed our way through history beginning with Phinehas, the sin slayer, in Numbers 25, through the anonymous saints listed at the end of Hebrews 11. It was a great journey and there was a ton to learn from many positive examples and a few negative ones.

As soon as we begin drawing near the end of a study, people begin wondering what’s next, and today I answered that question. Beginning in 2 weeks – Sunday, September 26, we’ll kick off a verse by verse study through the 5 chapters of 1 Peter – a study I’m calling …to be continued.

1 & 2 Peter were both written to a group of Christians who were under intense persecution for their faith. Nero had blamed them for the fire he had started in Rome and they were being murdered left and right for crimes they didn’t commit. Some were sewn into the skin of animals while dogs were released to rip them limb from limb. Others were rolled in pitch, then set on fire to light up Nero’s gardens at night. Despite the consequences, Peter instructs them to stand up for their faith and consequently use the persecution for good.

A theme that flows throughout the book is the hope that Peter provides by constantly reminding them that life on Earth isn’t the end. As Christians, we’re called to remain faithful despite the cost, because when we draw our last breath, life is …to be continued for eternity in heaven! What a comfort these letters must have been to the suffering Christians as Peter reminded them that the few years we have on Earth are just the appetizer for the main course that’s coming!

I’m excited to begin studying through 1 Peter and I hope you’ll be joining us on  Sundays at 10am. We’ll rock some hardcore Christian doctrine as well as some very practical advice on daily Christian living!

(by the way, if you haven’t voted for which Psalms you’d like to study in our HeartBlog series on Wednesday nights, click HERE and vote!)

I have a past that I’m not proud of.

So did Rahab, but she’s in the lineage of Jesus Christ (check Matthew 1).

So did David, but he went down in history as “the man after God’s own heart.”

So did Paul the Apostle. He used to kill Christians. Then one day, he saw the resurrected Christ and things changed.

I stand with countless others who have a part of their past that they’re not proud of. For me, it’s pornography. I hate that it was such a big part of my life years ago. I hate the pain and the hurt it caused. I hate talking about it, really, but here I am, blogging about it for the world to read.

I talked in a previous blog about my past struggle with it and how I keep it in check today. I talked about a ministry called XXXChurch.com that’s specifically targeted at helping people overcome porn addiction. They’re a great example of a group of people, who, like me, have a past they’re not proud of, but are willing to talk about it to help others.

I was recently asked to begin blogging for a new branch of XXX Church called Heart Support. They deal with addiction in general: sex, money, food, cutting, etc. I’ll be blogging there once a month about my past with porn addiction and how I came out of it.

I know this is a touchy subject and one that no one really enjoys thinking about (me neither), but here’s the reality: it’s part of who I was. One of the biggest hindrances to me stopping my porn addiction was that I bought into the lie that I was the only one who struggled with it. Statistically, I was WAY off, but I had no idea. Because I thought I was the only one, I thought I had to fight it alone. That’s one reason why I love ministries like XXX Church and Heart Support. They’re not scared to speak up, say it how it is, and help people who think they have to fight it alone.

My first blog is now up at HeartSupport.com. It’s not graphic or anything, but let me just warn you: it may not be easy to read. It wasn’t easy for me to write. It’s called “I’m A Pastor and I use Porn.” Read it if you’d like. If you know of someone that it could be useful to, pass it along!

I pray God can use my past that I’m not proud of to help provide hope and healing for people hooked on porn.

What issue have you dealt with in your past that you can help others with now?

Do you believe God is big enough to use your mistakes for His glory? Whether you believe it or not, He is. I’m proof.