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Announcements. Super Bowl Party on 2/2 at the Fire Company Fire Company will be available all day Burgers and Hot Dogs at 5:30 Game starts at 6:30 PM Cards, board games, you get to define it Spaghetti / Ziti Fundraiser on 3/15 Fire Company Breakfast next weekend (no service)
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Announcements • Super Bowl Party on 2/2 at the Fire Company • Fire Company will be available all day • Burgers and Hot Dogs at 5:30 • Game starts at 6:30 PM • Cards, board games, you get to define it • Spaghetti / Ziti Fundraiser on 3/15 • Fire Company Breakfast next weekend (no service) • Pizza and Movie Night on 2/14 at 7 PM
Our life, on earth, is warfare Job 7:1 (Douay-Rheims American Edition, 1899)
Temptations are everywhere • Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:31 • James 1:2-20
They are useful • They are a source of humility • The cleanse us if we are willing to acknowledge them • They teach us our weaknesses
You cannot run away from them, or act like they don’t exist • We are born in our sinful desires– the penalty of the forbidden fruit • Running away from temptation will not allow you to overcome it. Overcoming only happens with forward progress • We must face them in humility and patience • They must be addressed at the root
The process of temptation • It first enters through a thought • 2 Cor 10:5-6 • The imagination is sparked by a thought • We feel pleasure at the fantasy of that imagination, and we entertain it • When it has been imagined, it is easy to engage in the behavior since you’ve already mentally experienced it
Giving in • Giving into temptation DOES yield a temporary pleasure or happiness • 2 Sam 13:5-17 • The temporary joy turns quickly to sorrow, leaving you with pain, disappointment, and negative momentum. • Luke 8:13 – the shallow ground • Jesus faced the same challenges - Luke 4:13
The way to true freedom • James 4:4 gives a very obvious contrast • Long standing habits are much harder to overcome than the new temptation • Matthew 26:41 • Everyone has a one track mind – you can only think on one thing at a time
Addressing the root • Interaction time – give me some common temptations • What lays at the root of that temptation?
Wrapping it up • Jesus holds the keys to overcoming temptation • Ephesians 2 • 1 Cor 10:13 • The last word – 1 Tim 6:7-12