Abstinence

A woman from Omsk, Russia, is reportedly suing McDonald's over an advertisement featuring cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets, which she said caused her to break her fast during Lent. Ksenia Ovchinnikova, an Orthodox Christian, said she was trying to stay away from meat and other animal products during the six-week period leading up to Easter.

She said, “When I saw an advertising banner, I could not help myself. I visited McDonald's and bought a cheeseburger.” In her official complaint, she explains: “In the actions of McDonald's, I see a violation of the consumer protection law. I ask the court to investigate and, if a violation has taken place, to oblige McDonald's to compensate me for moral damage in the amount of one thousand rubles ($14 US dollars).”

Did you know that Emperor penguins spend about 4 months fasting as they watch over, care for, and incubate their eggs? This is a 100 to a 115 day fast! If a penguin can spend 100 days not eating because it instinctually loves and is waiting for its baby penguin, we can spend a meal or a day or a week fasting out of our love for Jesus. Don’t let the penguins beat us!

Possible Preaching Angle:

This can be used as creative tip to engage people in the topic of fasting.

In a series of online messages, Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor Terry Crews opened up about his addiction to pornography, which he says "really, really messed up my life."

Some people say, “Hey, man ... you can't really be addicted to pornography.” But I'm gonna tell you something: If day turns into night and you are still watching, you probably have got a problem. It changes the way you think about people. People become objects. People become body parts; they become things to be used rather than people to be loved. ... Every time I watched it, I was walled off. It was like another brick that came between me and my wife. And the truth is, everything you need for intimacy is in your (partner).

According to Barna Research, more than half of teens seek out pornography, and the numbers are much higher for young adults (ages 18 to 24). Even when they aren't actively seeking it out, nearly 80 percent of teens and young adults say they regularly come across porn. And yet, astonishingly, the vast majority of teens (79 percent) say they have no one in their life helping them to avoid pornography. And those who do are most likely to say it's a girlfriend or boyfriend rather than a parent or spiritual advisor.

In an interview popular blogger Jen Hatmaker was asked, "Do you think an LGBT relationship can be holy?" Hatmaker replied:

I do. And my views here are tender. This is a very nuanced conversation, and it's hard to nail down in one sitting. I've seen too much pain and rejection at the intersection of the gay community and the church. Every believer that witnesses that much overwhelming sorrow should be tender enough to do some hard work here.

But former lesbian Rosaria Butterfield reproved Hatmaker for this "tenderness" that leaves people in sin. Butterfield wrote:

If this were 1999—the year that I was converted and walked away from the woman and lesbian community I loved—instead of 2016, Jen Hatmaker's words about the holiness of LGBT relationships would have flooded into my world like a balm of Gilead … [I would have thought], Yes, I can have Jesus and my girlfriend. Yes, I can flourish both in my tenured academic discipline (queer theory and English literature and culture) and in my church …

Maybe I wouldn't need to lose everything to have Jesus. Maybe the gospel wouldn't ruin me while I waited, waited, waited for the Lord to build me back up after he convicted me of my sin, and I suffered the consequences … Today, I hear Jen's words … and a thin trickle of sweat creeps down my back. If I were still in the thick of the battle over the indwelling sin of lesbian desire, Jen's words would have put a millstone around my neck.

To be clear, I was not converted out of homosexuality. I was converted out of unbelief. I didn't swap out a lifestyle. I died to a life I loved. Conversion to Christ made me face the question squarely: did my lesbianism reflect who I am (which is what I believed in 1999), or did my lesbianism distort who I am through the fall of Adam? I learned through conversion that when something feels right and good and real and necessary—but stands against God's Word—this reveals the particular way Adam's sin marks my life. Our sin natures deceive us. Sin's deception isn't just "out there"; it's also deep in the caverns of our hearts.

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were gorgeous but dangerous creatures who lived on rocky islands. They were part bird and part human. They've also seen them depicted in art as mermaids: from the waist down as fish, from the waist up as strikingly beautiful women. The Sirens sang mesmerizingly beautiful songs that would lure passing sailors to their deaths. As they sang, sailors couldn't help but fling themselves over the sides of the ship and swim toward the enchanting voices, but they would soon find themselves impaled, dying on the jagged rocks on the edges of the islands.

When the mythical hero Odysseus was preparing to sail past the islands of the Sirens, he decided he wanted to hear the Sirens sing, so he had his crew tie him to the mast of the ship, and he instructed them to fill their own ears with wax. When the Sirens sang, Odysseus went mad with desire, but as he was bound and his crew was deaf, they sailed passed safely.

When two another traveler named Jason planned to pass the home of the Sirens, Jason took along Orpheus, the supremely gifted musician. They say that when Orpheus played his harp, his music made the rocks dance. When they approached the Sirens, Orpheus played sublime, heavenly music on his harp, and the Sirens began to sing. Orpheus's music was even more beautiful than the Sirens' song, however, and Jason and his crew sailed past unscathed.

When we are still in the presence of God and hear the more beautiful music of Jesus Christ play in our souls, there's something inside us that lifts and straightens. We are made more whole and less likely to turn to darker addictive behaviors that may bring temporary pleasure, or even to seemingly more noble voices that call us to swim with all our might to achieve success at work: only to find ourselves one day spiritually impaled on the jagged rocks.

Christopher Yuan, a transformed believer whose past includes gay prostitution, says that celibacy is a choice, but singleness is each person's origin and destiny. "[Some] people are called to celibacy but everyone was single (at birth), is single (through their childhood and young adult years), and in the end will be single (in heaven) … . Celibacy is a commitment; singleness is a state of being." Some Christ-followers are called to celibacy as a vocation, but all single believers are called to chastity.

This vision for sexuality applies to every person, desire, and category. Gay, bisexual, straight, married, single, or other—everyone bears the same burden. For some, this may seem a heavier weight to carry, but, nonetheless, God's design for sexuality applies equally to each person.

While it is often stated that 90 percent of the world's pornography can be traced back to San Fernando, California, this material reaches around the globe. Pornography knows no geographical, ethnic, gender, or even religious boundaries. Japanese pornography is popular in Indonesia.

Two developing enterprises are found in Ghana and in Nairobi, Kenya. African and Uzbek leaders are upset over the development of pornography in their areas. And pornography is popular in Afghanistan as leaders attempt to prevent it from being accessible at Internet cafes.

And with piracy and the black markets of the world, videos are even influencing peoples living in remote areas. For example, one news reporter traveled to a village in Ghana where people lived in huts but still were able to watch pornographic movies. When the reporter asked how this was possible, he was told that the men and boys would gather in a hut and watch American-made videos while running a generator to produce the necessary power.

In his book, A Fellowship of Differents, Dr. Scot McKnight describes an eye-opening walk he once took down the Roman roads of ancient Pompeii. The volcano that erupted there in 79 A.D. preserved a vivid snapshot of Roman culture in the century when the church was born. "It is not an exaggeration to say the city was swamped with erotic images," writes McKnight. Explicit pornography was everywhere. "The sexual reality across the Empire, of which Pompeii was a typical example, was a total lack of sexual inhibition."

The normal order of things in the first century was for most men (and some women) to have procreational sex with their spouses and recreational sex with others. Those others often included young boys and slave girls. Pederasty (or the practice of sex with children) was widespread and accepted. Lesbianism was well known, but nowhere near as common as recreational same-sex liaisons between men, many of whom were still married to women. And relations with paid sex-workers formed such a major and enduring industry that Rome's most famous orator, Cicero, asked: "When was such a thing not done?"

Las Vegas or Bangkok has nothing on first century Roman society. This was the world in which the church was born and into which it introduced a more constrained sexual ethic.

Possible Preaching Angles: Dan Meyer adds, "Whatever your personal sexual ethics are or your view of the issues of our times, it's helpful to be reminded of the belief-system out of which people like the Apostle Paul were functioning. It may also help to explain why it might be unfair to criticize anyone who raises questions about sexual mores today. Things didn't end well for Rome and there are legitimate questions about whether we in America maybe be heading for a similar fate too."

An article in Vanity Fair contains some shocking quotes and vignettes about a website that connects people for the sole purpose of having sex. Marty, an investment banker from Manhattan, claims that he's been "racking up girls." He says he's slept with 30 to 40 women in the last year: "I sort of play that I could be a boyfriend kind of guy," in order to win them over, "but then they start wanting me to care more … and I just don't."

"It's like ordering Seamless," says Dan, another investment banker, referring to the online food-delivery service. "But you're ordering a person."

"There is no dating. There's no relationships," says Amanda, a senior at Boston College. "They're rare. You can have a fling that could last like seven, eight months and you could never actually call someone your 'boyfriend.' [Hooking up] is a lot easier. No one gets hurt—well, not on the surface."… It's a contest to see who cares less, and guys win a lot at caring less."

One of Amanda's friends chimes in, "Sex should stem from emotional intimacy, and it's the opposite with us right now, and I think it really is kind of destroying females' self-images."

The reporter says that none of the guys she spoke to want to be in a relationship. "I don't want one," says Nick. "I don't want to have to deal with all that—stuff." "You can't be selfish in a relationship," Brian says. "It feels good just to do what I want."

She asks them if it ever feels like they lack a deeper connection with someone. There's a small silence. After a moment, John says, "I think at some points it does." "But that's assuming that that's something that I want, which I don't," Nick says, a trifle annoyed. "Does that mean that my life is lacking something? I'm perfectly happy. I have a good time. I go to work—I'm busy. And when I'm not, I go out with my friends."

In the interview with Jonathan Merritt, N.T. Wright said:

We need to remind ourselves that the entire biblical sexual ethic is deeply counter-intuitive. All human beings some of the time, and some human beings most of the time, have deep heartfelt longings for kinds of sexual intimacy or gratification (multiple partners, pornography, whatever) which do not reflect the creator's best intentions for his human creatures, intentions through which new wisdom and flourishing will come to birth. Sexual restraint is mandatory for all, difficult for most, extremely challenging for some. God is gracious and merciful but this never means that his creational standards don't really matter after all.

After almost ten years and six children together, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt decided to tie the knot and get married. This isn't just a Hollywood love story. It represents broader cultural trends. More and more, the major milestones of a relationship are occurring prior to marriage rather than after.

But does this trend even matter? Does it matter if people have sex before marriage? A recent study (2014) at the University of Virginia rejects what they call "The Vegas Fallacy"—the idea that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, or that what happens before marriage doesn't effect our marriage today. The study reports:

Actually, what people do before marriage appears to matter. Specifically, how they conduct their romantic lives before they tie the knot is linked to their odds of having happy marriages. Consider sex. The vast majority of Americans—about 90 percent—have sex before marriage (Finer, 2007). Many of them have sex with multiple partners before finding the person they will eventually marry …

The ghosts of the prior romances can haunt new ones. Those who had more romantic experiences … are more likely to have lower-quality marriages than those with a less complicated romantic history … This doesn't mean that sex before marriage will doom a marriage, but sex with many different partners may be risky if you're looking for a high-quality marriage.

Damon Linker, a writer for The Week, claims that our culture is waging a battle over "two competing, largely incompatible visions of the proper place of sex in a good human life." Linker rejects traditional views of sexuality and marriage, but he argues that those traditional (and biblical) views have a lot of merit. Linker writes: "Western civilization upheld the old sexual standards for the better part of two millennia. We broke from them in the blink of an eye, figuratively speaking. The gains are pretty clear—It's fun! It feels good!"

But Linker also admits that there's a price for our sexual "progress":

[We've] witnessed the rapid-fire mainstreaming of homosexuality and the transformation of the institution of marriage to accommodate it … Thanks to the internet, pornography has never been so freely available and easily accessible. Websites … facilitate extramarital affairs … Smart-phone apps put people in touch with each other for no-strings-attached hook-ups. Then there's the push to normalize polyamorous ("open") relationships and marriages, a movement that seeks to remove the stigma from adultery and even positively affirm the goodness of infidelity.

Linker concludes with some probing questions:

Is the ethic of individual consent sufficient to keep people (mostly men) from acting violently on their sexual desires? What will become of childhood if our culture continues down the road of pervasive sexualization? … [Will children be raised by] three, four, five, or more people in a constantly evolving polyamorous arrangement? Can the institution of marriage survive without the ideals of fidelity and monogamy? What kind of sexual temptations and experiences will technology present us [in the future]? Will people be able to think of reasons or conjure up the will to resist those temptations? Will they even try? Does it even matter?

I have no idea how to answer these questions. What I do know is that the questions are important, and that I respect those who are troubled by them. And maybe you should, too.

Alain de Botton, an atheist philosopher and the author of Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion, made a surprising and entirely biblical observation about the power of sex. He writes:

Sex is not something we can ever expect to feel easily liberated from …. Tame it though we might try, it tends to wreak havoc across our lives; it leads us to destroy our relationships, threatens our productivity, and compels us to stay up too late in nightclubs talking to people whom we don't like but whose exposed midriffs we wish to touch.

Only religions … see [sex] as something potentially dangerous and needing to be guarded against. Perhaps only after killing many hours online at youporn.com can we appreciate that on this one point [Christianity] has got it right: Sex and sexual images can overwhelm our higher rational faculties with depressing ease. [Christians] are often mocked for being prudish, but they wouldn't judge sex to be quite so bad if they didn't also understand that it could be rather wonderful.

Editor's Note: To make this quote more preachable for a Christian "audience" we substituted the words "Christianity" and "Christians" for "religion" and "religions."

Sam Allberry, an Anglican minister from Great Britain, recently shared about his struggle with same-sex attraction. Allberry wrote:

Homosexuality is an issue I have grappled with my entire Christian life …. There have been all sorts of ups and downs. But this battle is not devoid of blessings, as Paul discovered with his own unyielding thorn in the flesh. Struggling with sexuality has been an opportunity to experience more of God's grace, rather than less.

But over the last couple of years I have felt increasingly concerned that, when it comes to our gay friends and family members, many of us Bible-believing Christians are losing confidence in the gospel. We are not always convinced it really is good news for gay people. We are not always sure we can really expect them to live by what the Bible says. It is simply not possible to argue for gay relationships from the Bible …. God's Word is, in fact, clear. The Bible consistently prohibits any sexual activity outside of marriage.

As someone who experiences homosexual feelings this is not always an easy word to hear …. There have been times of acute temptation and longing—times when I have been "in love" …. [But I have learned that] what we give up for Jesus does not compare to what he gives back …. For me these include a wonderful depth of friendship God has given me with many brothers and sisters; the opportunities of singleness; the privilege of a wide-ranging ministry; and the community of a wonderful church family. But greater than any of these things is the opportunity … to learn the all-sufficiency of Christ.

My main point is this: the moment you think following Jesus will be a poor deal for someone, you call Jesus a liar. Discipleship is not always easy. Leaving anything cherished behind is profoundly hard. But Jesus is always worth it.

Possible Preaching Ideas: Obviously, this quote applies to those who struggle with same-sex attraction, but it also illustrates the need for everyone Christian to exalt Christ as the One who is worth more than every human possession and relationship.

Tim Keller was once asked to identify a few obstacles to revival in the contemporary church. Drawing on his experience in Manhattan, Keller started with one issue—the fact that almost all singles outside the Church and a majority inside the Church are sleeping with each other.

Keller illustrated the point by talking about a tactic, one that he admitted was almost too unkind to use, that an old college pastor associate of his used when catching up with college students who were home from school. He'd ask them to grab coffee with him to catch up on life. When he'd ask about their spiritual lives, they'd often hem and haw, talking about the difficulties and doubts now that they'd taken a little philosophy, or maybe a science class or two, and how it all started to shake the foundations. At that point, he'd look at them and ask one question, "So who have you been sleeping with?" Shocked, their faces would inevitably fall and say something like "How did you know?" Keller pointed out that it's a pretty easy bet that when you have a kid coming home with questions about evolution or philosophy, or some such issue, the prior issue is a troubled conscience.

Keller concludes that if the Church is going to see serious spiritual renewal, especially among the younger generations, we need to present an alternative view of sex that is beautiful, but different than the one offered in the dominant cultural narratives; a view of sexuality that affirms its goodness while placing it within God's intended framework.

If you're sleeping with the person you're dating, you're telling each other two things. First, you're telling each other that your relationship with God is not your primary commitment. Second, you're telling each other that you are the kind of person that will sleep with someone you're not married to. Do you think that repeating vows to each other will somehow change that? It doesn't. You will enter into a marriage, if you end up marrying the person that you're sleeping with, already telling each other that you will sleep with someone you're not married to. What happens when he goes on business trips, or when she goes on business trips, and things come up? You already know that each of you is not first and foremost committed to God.

A pamphlet published in 1951 titled The Gift of Life contains some traditional advice about human sexuality and the sanctity of life. For instance, the first page states, "The gift of life is shown to us with the birth of each new baby." Then on pages 21-22 the authors inform readers (presumably the average American teenager), "If one of the new male sperm meets and unites with an egg cell, a new life begins." The cover has a picture of a happy family—a mom and dad and three children—apparently leaving a church building.

It's all pretty standard stuff for a 1950's-era booklet, until you notice the publisher information. It reads: "Distributed by Planned Parenthood of America, Inc., 501 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N.Y."

Wesley Hill writes movingly about growing up in a Christian home and being taught biblical views on sexuality. And yet, Hill writes, "Confusingly, I found myself, just when all my friends were beginning to notice girls and become interested in dating, having longings to be in that kind of relationship with a member of my own sex." After receiving wise and loving guidance from Christian mentors, Hill writes:

As I discovered more about Christianity's historic teaching, I found myself convinced of the position which the church has held with almost total unanimity throughout the ages—that although many people find themselves, through no fault of their own, to have sexual desires for members of their own sex, this is not something to be affirmed and celebrated but is, rather, a sign that we are broken, in need of redemption and re-creation. Gay people are not uniquely broken—that's a position we share with every other human who has ever lived, or will live—but we are, nonetheless, broken. And following Jesus means turning our backs on a life of sexual sin, just as it does for every other Christian.

He offers this advice to others who struggle with same-sex attraction:

If you're someone living with homosexual feelings, Jesus' message to you … is not primarily a no to your deepest hunger. I do believe that discipleship to him entails giving up gay sex and gay relationships. And that may be more painful than you can imagine right now …. But, ultimately, Jesus is offering you the kingdom. He is offering you eternal life. He is offering you himself in the gospel. Sacrificing your sexual freedom … may seem like a high price to pay—and it is a high price to pay!—but he promises you a joy so stunningly great that if you felt the full weight of it now, you would literally come undone.