Jesus offers a radical solution to the problem of lust - a disordered desire that is a parasite upon love. The solution calls for radical, severe, and resolved discipline. It demands that we guide all our desires by the supreme desire of love for God. "This is not 'repression', as people sometimes suggest. It is more like the pruning of a rose, cutting off some healthy buds so that the plant may grow stronger and produce better flowers. Choosing not to be swept along by inappropriate sexual passion may well feel on occasion like cutting off a hand or plucking out an eye, and our world has frequently tried to tell us that doing this is very bad for us. But, for neither the first nor the last time, we must choose to obey our Lord rather than the world." (N. T. Wright).
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Matthew 5:27-32 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell »more
[Mp3]
Matthew 5:27-32 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell »more
In the Song of Songs - just as in the opening chapters of the Bible - we encounter a man and a woman in a garden, naked and unashamed. Just as in Eden, God pronounces a blessing on the delightful and fulfilling love of eros. Our human experience of eros is a faint glimpse of God's passion for us. Only eros can communicate the intensity of divine love. 
Eros is passionate love. The deep feelings that accompany eros are often exclusively associated with sexuality, but eros is not limited to it. Though eros is motivated by self-interest, one should not conclude that eros is always selfish. Eros, when rightly ordered with the other loves, is a deeply spiritual expression of love.
This is a compilation of summaries from the National Pastor's Convention 2007. It includes notes from sessions on innovation, prayer, spiritual transformation, solitude, the church in the 21st century, the emerging church, worship, pastoral ministry, spiritual disciplines, wisdom from the sages, and the sacramental end of sex, and more!
