The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Some of us are the types who dread an unexpected visit to our homes, where someone drops in unexpectedly, and discovers the mess or the chaos you live in. For some, that’s an embarrassment we’d do everything to avoid. Others just don’t mind whether their home is cleaner or messier, and if anyone sees it. What do we do when Jesus pays an unexpected visit to our hearts? When He opens up all the closets and checks out the garage and our storage areas, and sees what we’ve been keeping in our hearts? What do we think or feel when Jesus lays our hearts bare, with everything to see in His plain sight? Vulnerable? Exposed? Ashamed? Or defensive? Defiant? Or we act as if we simply don’t care? Think of another context—in relationships. Whether it’s a very close friendship, or in your marriage, between you and your spouse. In the best of marriages, a husband and wife can have true transp...

Sermon Outline 1.       Paul addresses sexual immorality, which couldn’t be of greater significance for us today. Marriage being redefined, living together outside of marriage is all but accepted, teens experimenting, marriages in stormy waters, internet has opened a huge private arena for sin and temptation, removing many obstacles once curbing behavior. Which has been the greater influence on how people think of sexuality? Modern culture and the world influencing the church? Or the other way around—the church influencing the way society thinks? 2.       Like today, the church in Corinth had lost a clear testimony to God’s design for human sexuality. Slogans—traction on the street? In the church? Borrowed from Paul’s teaching on other subjects? “All things are lawful for me” (or “All things are in my power”) (“I do what I like”); but not everything is helpful, and what’s more—sin enslaves . Freedom>slavery 3.   ...