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BY
DR. SAM SERIO
In a recent nationwide survey of churches, both pastors and parishioners
stated that porn is the top sexual issue in their churches, both
collectively and personally. That same survey reported that almost
half of today’s churchgoers want more Scriptural teaching on
sex.
Most say their pastor only brings up the topic only about once
a year. There’s room for improvement and that’s the purpose
of this article. Below are sermon ideas for pastors to use and develop.
If you’re not a pastor or counselor, give this to them so they
can use these resources. Also use this article to help your
friend, neighbor, co-worker, family or church member.
Speaking against porn is rather easy and doesn’t require too
much tact or intelligence. Preaching to sexually-addicted or wounded
people requires much more skill and wisdom. We need a biblical balance
here. Personal ministry, not public controversy, is a pastor’s
goal. We can follow the example of Jesus. He was at His absolute
angriest at the religious leaders and not at the sexual sinners.
One of the greatest challenges in preaching about any sexual issue,
like porn, is to turn the heart of your hearer towards you and not
away from you. Ask yourself, "Would I be more likely to come
for counseling after hearing those words I said?"
In the Bible lessons below are carefully constructed sentences,
segues, ideas and transitions that tell your churchgoers, neighbors,
and friends not only how to repent but also how to be restored.
Millions of Americans — men, women and families — are
daily affected by porn.
In my counseling practice, I often see ladies whose husbands are
deeply immersed in pornography. Their hearts ache as they’ve
been told that they’re inferior or second best. They’ve
been told that something is wrong with them since they aren’t
willing or able to do what he saw other women do on those Web sites
or in movies or magazines. They desperately need healing, and what
will help them more than God’s Word? We must address the man
who abuses — and the woman who is abused — by porn.
Christians should be the ones who most easily understand how porn
can overpower any individual. God’s people should be the least
surprised at this appetite we have for sexually stimulating or explicit
materials. God tells us over and over that we will be tempted by
our eyes. (Job 31:1; Psalm 101:3-8, 119:37; Proverbs 4:25, 6:24-29,
27:20; Eccl. 1:8; Isaiah 3:16-25; Matthew 5:8 & 28-30, 6:22-23;
2 Cor.4:18; Hebrews 12:1,2; 2 Peter 2:10-19; and 1 John 2:16-17.)
God knows how easy it is for people to get addicted to porn. He
came to set the prisoner free — yes, even from porn. More than
anyone else, God is not shocked nor surprised by pornography addiction.
(Ephesians 4:17-19, 5:3-14; Galatians 5:13-19 & 24, 6:8; Romans
7:5-25, 8:5-14;
1 Corinthians 5:9, 6:12,13; Colossians 3:5-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:5;
James 1:13-16; Titus 2:12-14, 3:3; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 2:11,
4:2-3; 2 Peter 2:18-19.)
Scriptural contexts for counseling or preaching on porn
Achan
Joshua 6:17-19, chapter 7, esp. verses 21-25
No one
would have suspected Achan of privately sinning against the Lord.
He was a member of the congregation of Israel, a fine upstanding
citizen and an excellent soldier. No one suspected him of this sin;
he blended in with all the others.
But God singled him out. He knew what Achan did and what he hid.
It was something he was not supposed to have and that’s why
he hid it. Achan had a secret he thought no one knew about but he
was wrong. God knew. God always knows our secret lives.
Achan got caught. And when he did, he confessed with the simplest
of words: I saw, I wanted, I took, I hid.
These same words and his same story can be repeated every day.
I’m talking about pornography, magazines, adult movies, videos,
bookstores, computers, Internet, pictures, chat lines, dirty talk.
Many men today are much like Achan. They see and want something
or someone that they cannot or should not have. But it doesn’t
end there. They think they must have it, so they take it.
Some want it so badly that they take — or rape or molest —
innocent children, teens, or women in order to have what they saw
on the computer, in the movie, or in the magazine. What Achan saw
was not enough — he decided to take and hide it. Men, you know
where you’ve hidden yours. Like Achan, you think no one knows,
but God does. God knows everything about you. He’s in your
hard drive or in the closet.
Achan’s whole family was affected in verse 25. Maybe you don’t
see what your habit has done to them or to yourself. But your wife
probably knows. She pays the price by being told how inferior or
inadequate she is. Other people also pay the price for what you
are doing.
It was too late for Achan. But it’s not too late for
you. Come clean now; confess your secret today before your world
comes crashing in as Achan’s did.
Wives and women, if you know that your man is hiding something
like this, go speak with him first and if he doesn’t listen,
consult a trusted counselor or pastor. Don’t allow yourself
or your children to continue to suffer.
The new believers at Ephesus
Acts 19:17-20
What a wonderful day that must have
been at Ephesus as the community there watched the public burning
of books and scrolls. What a relief it must have been to be rid
of these books that had caused so much headache and heartaches.
These people really were converted. They became new creatures in
Christ. They began to obey His commands and change their lifestyles.
They didn’t keep their books and scrolls stashed away at home;
they knew they had to destroy all of them. If they kept them, they
would have been tempted to return to them. So they burned their
bridges behind them by burning these bad books. What a pleasing
aroma went up to heaven that day. God was pleased and honored by
this.
The same needs to happen today. Some books need to be burned. How
so? Some of your pornographic magazines, videos, DVDs and movies
need to be burned. You know which ones, the ones that don’t
help with your walk with the Lord. The Ephesians knew this; do you?
Are you willing to destroy the things that are destroying you? Are
you willing to go get that matchstick right now?
You might think of all the money you’ll waste if you do that.
The text here says that the value of these scrolls and books was
about 50,000 drachmas. A drachma was a silver coin worth about a
day’s wages. Get your calculator out, as I did, and you get
137 years of money that was burned as a love offering for the Lord!
I don’t know how much money you’ve spent on your porn
Web sites or print materials. It doesn’t matter. Your walk
with the Lord is worth more than any amount of money.
You also need to burn them from your mind and memory. That won’t
happen overnight, just like these believers didn’t forget their
years of having their books. But you need to make a start, and God
will honor that act of obedience. See verse 20 where the fire of
the Holy Spirit descended when the fire from those evil books ascended.
Isn’t that what you really want today? Isn’t that what
you really need to do today?
King Herod
Mark 6:21-29; Matthew 14:6-12
Yes, Salome danced for
Herod but the Greek word here implies a sensual or suggestive dancing.
Herod lusts for his dancing centerfold here and says he’ll
give anything in return.
What he sees, he wants. He’ll give away anything to get it.
He is hooked and now Herod becomes a slave instead of a king. He’ll
do whatever she wants as long as he can look and lust. He gives
away someone’s life as a result and was willing to give away
half of his kingdom. Herod becomes a slave to his passions and to
pornography.
Many men today are like King Herod. Women dance in their heads
and beautiful bodies remain in their memories from the magazines
and Web sites. Like Herod, the are enslaved to a lifestyle of looking
and lusting and will give away anything to look — their money,
time, wife, innocence, job or marriage.
A lot of innocent people get hurt, too. John the Baptist was punished
unfairly here. Today, many others end up like John the Baptist and
suffer as a result — women, wives, children, younger boys and
girls.
Oh, the news headlines won’t tell you that the man who molested
that child had pictures of children in his magazines or on his computer
files. You’ll never hear that the rapist imitated behavior
from the movies he rented at the video store. Maybe you’ve
been seriously hurt or victimized because of a man’s lust.
You identify with John the Baptist in this text. Seek help from
someone you trust.
Maybe you identify with King Herod here. You know you’ve gone
too far and made promises or done things you wish you could take
back. It’s not too late. Give it all up and ask Jesus to give
you the self-control you need. He can change you and forgive your
sin.
The Moabite Women
Numbers 25
In this story, we see men of Israel engaging
in sexual immorality with pagan Moabite women. The women invited
the men and they quickly went, hook, line and sinker. Instead of
remaining with their wives, they went after other women. Zimri even
brought Cozbi, a Moabite woman, back to his family and into his
own home.
I see this story re-enacted with men in our churches today. Pagan
women seduce them, too, and now these men of God are bringing them
into their own homes and hiding them wherever a magazine, DVD, disc
or video might fit. They try to hide them deep inside their computers.
They bring Cozbis into their homes through the computer, TV, VCR,
or DVD player. And like the family who ended up seeing the adultery
of their dad in Numbers, the children happen to stumble upon those
magazines or movies and see their own Cozbis that Dad brought home.
They forget that these women who appear in their videos are Moabite
pagans and enemies as verse 18 says. Have you hidden those women
in your home? What do you watch on TV late at night? God knows about
the Penthouse and Playboy women in your life. Are
you so infatuated by them that you bow down and worship the goddess
of lust they represent? Who is your Cozbi? Might your name be Zimri?
Instead, you need to be a Phinehas. He was not seduced or tricked
by those women. He stood strong. He was angry and did something
about it. He didn’t sit around complaining about pornography.
How can you be like Phinehas? Start at home. Clean out your house
first. Get rid of the Web sites, magazines or movies. Cancel that
cable channel. Go talk to owners of local stores that degrade women.
Maybe you need to tell your husband, father, or friend about the
dangers of bringing those women into his house. God approved of
what Phinehas did, and He’ll also approve of your courage.
Get help for your son, boyfriend, father, husband, or for yourself
— for whomever you know that’s ruining his life through
pornography. God can restore any ruined life.
As leaders, we must ask God to give us the words that will help
people confess their sexual sin, pain or suffering. God is surely
able to tear down any sexual strongholds, bondage or addictions.
He’s also able to comfort those who mourn and heal broken
lives. Pornography is powerful stuff. But God’s power is much
greater. Preach both messages.
Dr. Sam Serio has pastored churches in Pennsylvania,
Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is currently involved
in business and is the director of Heal My Hurt Ministries, www.healmyhurt.com.
He and his wife live near Atlanta, Georgia.
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