John Markum

Power of Sin

This past Saturday, I preached a message from Judge 16 on Samson to begin our new series, I Am Sin. Below is a synopsis of the message, just in case you missed it:

  1. Sin is Attractive: You and I don’t stumble over things that we dislike. We stumble over things that are very appealing to us. Scripture tells us that sin is “sweet for a season.” But sin is a lie. It never says, “Come on, have an ugly, bitter divorced because you had an affair.” Instead it says, “Your spouse doesn’t care for you like this person.” It never says, “Become codependent on substance abuse. Ruin your career, and hurt everyone that loves you.” Instead it says, “You need an escape from all this chaos.” Sin lies to hide what it really is.
  2. Sin is Creatively Unoriginal: Samson stumbled every time over the same thing: women. And sin knows your weak spot also. It’s not so much that sin throws us curve-balls; it just finds new ways to throw the same pitch that we can’t seem to hit.
  3. Sin desires to leave you Powerless: The saddest part of this passage is in verses 19-20, where it says, “In this way, she began to being him down, and his strength left him… he didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.” Sin wants to rob you of your power, and leave you empty and broken. Like Samson, sin wants to make you an example of something once very powerful, not humiliated by your lack of strength.

Samson thought that his hair was the source of his strength. And his disobedience to God brought him down. Sometimes we think that if we try really hard, that we can defeat our sin on our own. But our willpower is not the source of our strength to defeating sin: Jesus is. He beat sin on the cross, and He gives us the power to overcome sin from day-to-day.

Join us next week, 5pm for our second message in the series, “There to Here.”

Blessings,

Jonn

 

“I AM SIN” Series

What if the things that get us tangled up were more obvious? If we could see sin for what it really is, we might be surprised at how devastating, and how beatable, it really is. Join us at Edgewood on Saturday nights, 5pm, for a series on temptation, sin, guilt, and forgiveness.

We’re very excited to be introducing this sermon series this fall! Knowledge is powerful when applied correctly. So we’re having a frank series that deals with the our sin issues, puts them into the right perspective, and equips people with the right tools to overcome their sin. We wanted to go with a spooky kind of theme for the end of October without it feeling cheesy. Check out this preview video below for a better look at what’s coming.

Blessings,

John

5 things I want to say to my church family…

  1. I pray for you daily! I love you, and I believe in you and the power God has placed inside of you. My greatest desire is to invest into your potential.
  2. You are not a human being having spiritual experiences. You are a spiritual being having human experiences. Start seeing God everywhere!
  3. Wherever you are with God, I challenge you to take your next step this week. Maybe your next step is joining our church family, getting baptized, serve in a ministry, or tell someone else about your relationship with Christ. Whatever it is, listen to God, and do what He says.
  4. This week our worship team is busting out some incredible new music, I’m delivering a message that’s been on my heart for awhile, and we finish our Re|Church series. Be there at 5pm!
  5. If you are interested in serving in either our nursery or Children;s ministry (Super Church), you must go through a Child Protection Class at Edgewood. We are offering such a class this Sunday at 6pm, at the church.

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain