Let's think back on the Diana's temple from the beginning of this series. Whether you’re standing at the door, already inside, or walking out covered in shame—Jesus meets you there. Here’s how to fight temptation, flee entanglement, and heal from the past. The small lion must die before it kills everything you love.

To the Tempted (Curious at the Door)

Temptation isn’t sin—but it isn’t neutral. It trains your desires in a direction. Thomas Watson’s old wisdom still preaches:

• Choose companions wisely. Some rooms are on‑ramps to ruin (Prov. 13:20).
• Guard your eyes and inputs. Entertainment is discipleship in disguise (Ps. 101:3).
• Guard your heart. If a space or friendship cultivates discontent with your spouse, end it (Prov. 4:23).
• Beware idleness. Screwtape loves doom‑scrolling. Build a rule of life that includes worship, work, and real rest (Eph. 5:15–16).
• Delight in the Word. The Faithful One makes us faithful (Ps. 119:9–11).

God promises a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). Look for it. Take it. Tell someone when you do—courage multiplies in community.

To the Tangled (Living Inside the Temple)

If your sin is “working,” you’re trading diamonds for Monopoly money. The pet lion you feed will outgrow your leash. Confess now—before the cage breaks. Take immediate steps:

• Bring it to the light. Confess to God and a trusted believer (1 John 1:7–9).
• Cut off access. Remove apps, change numbers, set filters, move desks, change jobs if you must (Matt. 5:29–30).
• Invite accountability. Not perfection police—gospel friends who ask loving, specific questions.
• Pursue counsel. Wise pastors and Christian therapists are part of God’s rescue plan.
• Rebuild rhythms. Re‑establish worship, service, and friendship. Holiness isn’t a cul‑de‑sac; it’s a way of life.

If you don’t manage your appetites, your appetites will manage you.

To the Haunted (Walking Out in Shame)

Consequences can echo, but the cross silences condemnation. In Christ, the penalty is paid (Rom. 8:1), the power is broken (Rom. 6:6–14), and the presence is on the clock (Rev. 21:3–5). Don’t confuse presence with power. Don’t let yesterday narrate tomorrow. The Father runs toward prodigals (Luke 15); Jesus defends sinners and then disciples them: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11). Same Jesus—mercy and holiness in one voice.

Jesus Is Better

Moses brought the law; Jesus fulfilled it (Matt. 5:17). He doesn’t rinse sin; He drowns it. He doesn’t half‑forgive; He buries the record (Col. 2:13–15). He stands with the betrayed—He knows the ache of covenant‑breaking love. The gospel is strong enough to forgive the deepest betrayal, heal the most broken relationship, and sustain a faithfulness that mirrors God’s own.

Next Steps

• Tell one trusted believer today.
• If you’re married, schedule a candid, compassionate conversation this week.
• If you’ve been betrayed, ask for pastoral care and counseling. Healing is slow; you don’t have to walk it alone.
• Build a small rule of life (Scripture, prayer, weekly community, service, rest) to change your inputs and pace.

Questions for Reflection

1. Where are you—curious, tangled, or haunted?
2. What concrete step of honesty or help will you take in the next 24 hours?
3. What promise of Jesus do you most need right now?

A Simple Prayer

Jesus, have Your way. My body and desires are Yours. Lead me out of the temple and into Your light. Amen.

“You shall not commit adultery” is not a small‑minded "no". It’s a giant "yes" to connection, commitment, creation, and protection. Jesus doesn’t narrow the command—He deepens it—because He wants more for us than behavior management.

Beyond Line‑Drawing: From Loopholes to Lordship

Jesus takes the seventh commandment and presses it into the inner life: “everyone who looks at a woman in order to lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:27–28). He’s not criminalizing noticing beauty; He’s confronting a direction of desire. Lust is rehearsed adultery. Holiness is not the absence of attraction; it’s the presence of allegiance.

Four Purposes: The “Anothers” of Sex

1. Connection (Intimacy with another). God designed a bonding process that harmonizes body, emotion, and spirit. Your neurochemistry agrees—oxytocin and vasopressin reward trust and union. Within covenant love, sex becomes a language of “I’m with you, fully.”
2. Consummation (Commitment to another). Public vows become embodied reality. Sex is not a souvenir of the wedding; it is part of the covenant glue that makes two become one flesh (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5–6). Detached from covenant, sex eventually becomes hollow and then toxic.
3. Creation (Welcoming another). Pro‑creation isn’t the only purpose of sex, but it is a real and joyful one (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 127:3). We partner with our Creator to welcome image‑bearers. To reduce sex to procreation is an error; to ignore procreation is another.
4. Protection (Defense of another). “Do not deprive one another…so that Satan may not tempt you” (1 Cor. 7:5). Mutual generosity in marriage is spiritual warfare—guarding one another from isolation and fantasy’s lies.

Very little “me.” A whole lot of “another.”

About Porneia and the Bible’s Moral Map

When Jesus lists what defiles (Mark 7:20–23), He includes porneia—a broad term for sexual immorality that covers adultery, fornication, and other practices outside the one‑man, one‑woman covenant pattern of Genesis. The New Testament consistently reaffirms that pattern (Matt. 19:4–6; 1 Tim. 1:8–11). The church has sometimes been harsh or hypocritical; we lament that. But softening the map doesn’t make the journey safer. Clarity is not cruelty. Clarity is kindness.

From Behavior to Belonging

“You are not your own; you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). The commandments are not a ladder for climbing to God but a light for walking with God. We don’t obey to be loved; we obey because we are loved—and because that love is remaking us.

Questions for Reflection

1. Which of the four purposes is most undernourished in your marriage right now?
2. Where are you looking for loopholes instead of submitting your loves to the Lord?

A Simple Prayer

Father, teach me to love my spouse as You have loved me—faithfully, tenderly, sacrificially.

Our culture tells two opposite stories at once—sex is nothing and sex is everything. Add a third lie—sex is about me—and you have a discipleship disaster. Scripture offers a saner, happier vision that treats sex as sacred, situated in covenant, and profoundly other‑oriented.

Lie #1: “Sex is no big deal.”

If we’re merely clever animals, instincts are in charge. Experience becomes enlightenment. “Casual” becomes kind. But Scripture insists sex is more than physical; it’s integrative—body, emotion, spirit (Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:16–20). This is why betrayal hollows us out. You didn’t just break a boundary; a bond was torn. Christians have guardrails not because we despise sex, but because we regard it as sacred. Sacred things have borders. Borders make beauty livable.

Better Story: Sex carries covenantal meaning. The Scripture’s language of “knowing” (Gen. 4:1) signals depth, not mere contact. Guardrails aren’t arbitrary; they protect intimacy, not prevent it. Like fire in a fireplace, sex warms the house; on the curtains, it burns it down.

Lie #2: “Sex is everything.”

Modern self‑worship turns strong internal feelings into sovereign commands. Sexual identity is treated like the highest form of ID. But it isn’t. Your true ID is citizenship in the Kingdom (Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:9–10). When sex becomes a god, it cannot be a gift. We force it to carry identity‑weight it was never designed to bear and then blame God when it buckles.

Better Story: Sex is good, but not ultimate. It fits within a larger calling to love God and neighbor (Matt. 22:37–40). A Costco card is great—just not at TSA. Likewise, sexual identity is a real card in your wallet; it is not the passport of your soul.

Lie #3: “Sex is about you.”

Your urges. Your fantasies. Your performance. Your body count. The world promises fulfillment through self‑focus and then quietly admits we are lonelier than ever. Even secular research keeps bumping into Scripture’s old wisdom: the most satisfying sexuality is radically other‑oriented (1 Cor. 7:3–5). Self‑gift, not self‑absorption, is the path to joy.

Better Story: Sex is for us but (mostly) not about us. God made it pleasurable—yes—but He also made it purposeful: to cultivate unity, confirm vows, welcome life, and protect each other from the enemy’s schemes. The Scriptural picture refuses both trivialization and idolization.

"Christians don’t have guardrails because we think sex is small; we have guardrails because we believe sex is sacred."

Practicing the Better Story

• Name your liturgies. What songs, shows, or environments disciple your desires?
• Pursue friendship. Great marriages aren’t built on sex alone; they’re built on friendship (Song 5:16).
• Choose community. Don’t fight alone. Invite two or three trusted saints to pray and ask real questions.
• Rehearse identity. Say it out loud: I belong to Jesus. My body and desires are not ultimate; He is (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

Questions for Reflection

1. Which lie feels most persuasive in your heart? Why?
2. What habit could you change this week that would move sex out of the “god” category and back into “gift”?

A Simple Prayer

Pray this simple prayer daily this week: “Jesus, reorder my loves. Teach me to treat your gifts as gifts, not gods.”

If you were to get on a plane today and travel to the country of Turkey and find your way to the Port city of Izmir and then travel south roughly 50 miles, you could walk through the remnants of a ancient Greek temple that was originally built for Artemis around 650 BC.

About 100 years after it was constructed it flooded and then was rebuilt, and then burned down and then rebuilt again.

The Romans later adapted it for their god, Diana.

Diana was the god of many things, but the primary practice of her temple revolved around her role in fertility and childbirth. There are references to this temple in the Bible because of its proximity to the church at Ephesus where Paul's letter to that church, what we call Ephesians, was written. The temple was known for all kinds of sexual immorality, prostitution of all ages, sacrifices, and evil beyond imagination.

The architecture and artistry inside the temple is largely why it was considered one of the wonders of the world. Ancient artists (those who were masters of their craft) could pull off various illusions or tricks of perspective. Perhaps you've heard that if you look at the Mona Lisa or other renaissance paintings that the eyes of these paintings will follow you regardless of where you stand. Similarly, it's reported that one particular painting of Diana at the entrance to her temple when viewed on the way in …carried a soft smile, but upon leaving that smile disappeared 
and in its place …a disgusted frown.

Why is a smile on the way in and a frown on the way out meaningful?


Family Matters (and Why This Commandment Shows Up at All)
Our teaching team recently taught through the Ten Commandments. Twenty percent of them are about the family. That’s not an accident; it’s a blueprint. Honor teaches us how to respond to imperfect authority. Adultery teaches us what covenant faithfulness looks like between husband and wife—and why God cares so much about it.

Facts, Feelings, and “Everyone Does It”
You’ve heard the line: “Half of marriages end in divorce, half of men cheat.” It’s scare-stat math. The real picture is complicated, but here’s the point: when we repeat inflated stats, we normalize betrayal. “If it’s inevitable, why fight?” That’s how despair disciples us.

Why Christians Often Do Better (and Why It’s Not Because We’re Better)
Regular church involvement correlates with lower infidelity, not because Christians are morally superior, but because ideas matter. If faithfulness is named as a high ideal—and you’re surrounded by people who agree—you’re more likely to fight for it. Beliefs form habits. Habits form lives.

The Big Frame
Sex and marriage aren’t small items in the junk drawer of human life. They’re among God’s greatest gifts, which is why evil throws its weight at them. If we don’t understand what sex is for, we’ll mishandle it, baptize it, or weaponize it.

"Ideas disciple us long before actions expose us."

Where We’re Going
In this series, I’ll name three cultural lies about sex, show the better Christian story, clarify what the seventh commandment protects, and speak to the tempted, the tangled, and the haunted. Diana smiles at the door. Jesus tells the truth at the door.

Reflection Questions

1. What “stat” or story about marriage has shaped your expectations (for better or worse)?
2. Who are the people around you reinforcing faithfulness as a high ideal?

Share this post with a friend and invite them to read Part 2 with you—then compare notes over coffee.

A call to worship prayer I wrote and used recently on a Sunday focused on the Passover.

THERE IS ONLY ONE LAMB THAT IS THE RIGHT LAMB.

Is Jesus strong enough to be our lamb and sacrifice?
Yes, he carries the weight of the world, and all our sins with ease. He rises from death in supreme power and strength.

Is Jesus obedient enough to be our lamb and sacrifice?

Yes, he listens to the instructions of the Father, even when it requires pain, discomfort, and sacrifice.

Is Jesus compassionate enough to be our lamb and sacrifice?
Yes, he looks on our lives not with frustration and disappointment but of hope and encouragement. His words are piercing and gentle.

Is Jesus willing enough to be our lamb and sacrifice?
Yes, he RUNS toward us, he is friends with sinners, and he understands our weakness and struggles.

Is Jesus holy enough to be our lamb and sacrifice?
Yes, he is perfect in every way, never choosing sin over the will of God the Father.

Reformed churches are fond of talking about the "already, not yet" nature of our Christian life. I have nothing against that and believe it's certainly a biblical and helpful concept for us to reflect on and remember as we face challenges every day. If we forget that some of the promises of God are on their way, and falsely believe they should be in our laps now, we are far more prone to disappointment and disillusionment with the kingdom of God.

One aspect I have reflected on recently is around the "already, not yet" nature of our gratitude. That we have not only things in our lives at this very moment that we can surely be thankful for, but that we can have future gratitude for the things that are on route to us now.

Today, we thank him for:
-the power to refuse sins invitation
-freedom from sin's penalty
-access to the person of the Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us, seal us, and empower us
-a local church where we belong and can be built up

We can also with full sincerity be thankful for those things coming to us in the future, such as:

-the final death of sin and its effects on this world including us
-the power to beat death like our big brother Jesus
-the remaking of the earth and heavens in even more spectacular beauty than what we see today

what comes to mind for you when you think about gods promises being fulfilled in the future? What do you have the most passion or excitement about? What would you want to thank him for some thing that is guaranteed to transpire and cannot be canceled or rerouted? Anything God sends, is a guaranteed delivery.

We recently walked through, arguably, the most familiar parable in the New Testament. Even though we may find it familiar, it's very possible we have a missed Jesus' central point. It is not first and foremost about the size of the younger brother's sin, but the contrast of how the father and the older brother, respond to the younger brothers return.

Read this slowly.

God has immense joy in redeeming sinners.

As you gather for worship this Sunday, start by remembering the way God celebrated when we first received his grace. Remind ourselves that this passion doesn't wane. We haven't burned up our chances.

Listen to the words of the second verse 2 of an equally ubiquitous song, "How Great Thou Art":

And when I think, that God His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

How many of us have skipped too quickly past that word, "gladly". It's incredibly important, and captures what the scriptures teach over and over again. That God is not hesitant or apprehensive or annoyed to meet us in our weakness and serve our needs, not just our daily nourishment but even to die in our place because of our inability to save ourselves. God does not despise you. God is not frustrated with you. He has immense joy in redeeming you and watching you each day, even on those days that are more filled with struggle than victory.

Part of what worship leaders do is to keep a compelling vision of why the gathering, and more specifically, why our time together singing, is beneficial and significant in the life of the believer.

It's been said by many leadership gurus that every vision bucket has a leak. The bucket (the containers that hold our vision) can be too small, or two scarce, or maybe the vision itself is "thin" and runs through every possible crack or puncture in the bucket. No matter what you engineer or design as far as rhythms and expectations, you will always as a leader have to return to high level vision for those that you lead.

Over the course of the last ten weeks, we've taught through the Song of Songs at our church. In preparation for the series, I zoomed out and asked what we needed from our Call-to-Worship moments in the gatherings right now. The vision leak I sensed was a robust understanding of why singing is incorporated into our gatherings.

Below you'll read the summaries we used to begin our gatherings over the series. They might differ a bit from what was actually delivered on stage, but the heart of the idea is there.

1. We sing because it helps us remember.
   God uses music to attach the things we need to hold in our minds and hearts to us. It serves as a glue that binds our most important beliefs and convictions to our hearts. The repetition that is often mocked in modern music looks similar to the repetition of the psalms, and certainly like the prayers of the Jews in the OT who would repeat the same tents for their own memory and edification.
   
   
2. We sing because it helps us desire God.
   Worship through song reminds us of the glory and power our hearts long to be connected to. We grow in our desire for Christ as a person when we are clear about how unmatched he is, how far over all worldly things he is, and how he meets our needs exceedingly. It is near impossible to enjoy our walk with Christ when he are detached from everything that is attractive and compelling about the nature, character, and works of God.
   
   
3. We sing because it helps us obey.
   When our hearts are replenished and we come back to the Gospel truths that saved us, we are pointed in the right direction to follow Christ everyday. We are far more likely to obey Christ when we treasure Christ.
   
   
4. We sing because it helps us know the Spirit's voice.
   The Spirit interacts with us in unique ways in the gathering, and as we participate in singing together, if chosen wisely, we become increasingly familiar with the tone and content we would expect to find in the Spirit's voice. Rather than chase emotionalism and an experience, we chase God himself. We long to hear from him in our singing and times of prayer because He is what we need most.
   
   
5. We sing because it helps us connect our bodies to our hearts/minds.
   We are meant to be integrated beings, with body and heart/soul not being disconnected in our lives and certainly not our worship. Offering God praise through the posture of our body and hands as we sing about adoration, helps connect us more deeply. It is a small way that we worship more genuinely, and reminds us that singing, is always meant to be tied to our physical response or raising hands, helping the poor, and making choices to love others everyday.
   
   
6. We sing because it helps us awaken our hearts to receive from the gathering.
   Walking in to the worship center is not enough to prepare our hearts for gathered worship (though physically being there is HUGE). We all walk in with different anxieties and frustrations, from the small squabbles in the backseat on the drive in to the big news from the doctor we didn't expect, it's our default to begin the gathering distracted. Singing together recalibrates our focus and opens up our heart to disengage the speed of life to hear the Lord speak to us.
   
   
7. We sing because it helps us level out our highs and lows.
   We are quick to worship our circumstances, both up and down. Worship brings us to a steadied and constant state, remembering that the most important things do not change. Biologically, singing removes anxieties, lowers stress in the body, and provides a ton of other physical benefits. Spiritually, it re-centers our hearts on the things we do have control over.
   
   
8. We sing because it prepares us for and reminds us of Heaven.
   We don't know a ton about the details of heaven, but it's clear that singing is on the agenda. And not just singing, but unfettered, untainted, unbelievable adoration is poured our through many ways, including SONG. There will be no theological concerns or key concerns or melody concerns or grumpy critics with their arms crossed protesting the song they have issues with. Singing today is a taste of the adoration that will jump out of us tomorrow in glory.
   
   
9. We sing because it displays the unity God desires.
   Different lives, stories, backgrounds, races, ages, and economic status...joined together by common melody and lyrics. A picture of the level playing field we serve our God from, and a beautiful moment of unified activity, minimizing if even for a few minutes our differences. It is a declaration that the most important thing about us is the God we were made by and not the differences in his creation. Singing together also sends us on a common mission.
   
   
10. We sing because it is commanded.
    Ultimately, we want to obey our King that commands us in multiple places to sing. He knows the benefits far better than we do...and he commands every local church to include and prioritize the singing of truth as a central ingredient in our gathered worship.
    
    
    BONUS: We sing because it is a training for families and communities
    When we sing together, we practice the discipline and gift of worshiping through song that can be included in our worship at home, and in the gatherings we participate in throughout the week. Missional Communities and DNA groups always have the opportunity to sing together. Families can worship together over a few songs as part of their connection spiritually to each other.

My hope would be that these concepts could be contextualized and used by other worship leaders in these key moments in our gatherings, where we have the great privilege of reminding our fickle and ever-changing people of the Savior and His good news that is constant and unchanging.

¹I love you, Lord, my strength. ² The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ³ I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,    and I have been saved from my enemies.

Vending machines are still around. That's weird to me.

If you had asked whether the pay phone in front of my high school or the vending machine would be there in twenty years, my money was on (and occasionally, in) the pay phone. But I would have been wrong.

Using the vending machine in the break room of my Mom's workplace growing up was a highlight of going there. The ping pong table was always lacking a ball that wasn't dented. The TV was small and turned to news channels. But the vending machine was, in a silly way, a small form of adventure. I didn't love the machine, mind you. Just those delectable CornNuts.

There is a profound difference in loving Christ and loving what He provides for you. I'm not sure I always keep that straight and I am beyond certain that many of the Christians I speak with know how to either. Ask someone what they love about Jesus and hear how much of their answer has to do with what they get as opposed to who He is.

In reflecting on this, I wrote this prayer for our gatherings as we studied Psalm 103 together.

We love you Lord,
because you ARE a powerful God
not just because you give us strength

We love you Lord,
because you ARE unchanging
not just because you steady us.

We love you Lord,
because you ARE a protecting and kind God
not just because you protect us.

We sing because you ARE worthy of praise
despite our circumstances,
despite our preferences,
despite our evaluations,

You alone are worthy.