Proverbs 21:17
“He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not become rich.”
Q: What is harmful pleasure?
Psalms 101:3
“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me.”
Q: What is David saying about pleasure in order to avoid great harm to your life and your most important relationships?
Psalms 119:48 & 119:103
“And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love; and I will meditate on Your statutes.”
“How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Q: What would your life be like if you had a heart for God’s pleasure as David did?
Psalm 119:37
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways.”
Q: What prayer do you need to pray today to begin to find your pleasure in God?
Exodus 20:7
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
Q: What does it mean to “take God’s name in vain?”
Psalm 139:19 & 20
“O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain.”
Q: What do these passages tell you about listening to music and watching movies & television that include profanities?
Picture
Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Q: Drug, porn, tobacco and alcohol users always need “just a little bit more” to be satisfied in their pursuit of pleasure. What is it about God that makes him totally sufficient in your pursuit of pleasure?
Paul
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
Q: Contrast “harmful” pleasure and “helpful” pleasure as pointed out in this passage. What makes sexual sin stand out among all other sins?
2 Timothy 3:1-4
“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure than lovers of God.
Q: When does entertainment pleasure become an abominable idol?
APPLICATION: How do these passages relate to me today? What changes do they bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM: Is there anything this week that you have been enslaved to, and how we can help you?
