Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hookers & Robbers: Guest Blog by Aurora Mckeehan

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


We often find ourselves questioning our very own existence. We ask ourselves questions like, “What on earth am I here for? Who am I? What am I made to do? Who was I made to be?” Are you guilty of grunting any of those questions on your way to work, school, etc? If so, you’re not the only one.

When it comes to trials, we all face them. Some problems are astronomical, while others are not. Some problems are unclear, yet others have answers that give us more reason to follow an all-knowing God. To some, these problems just don’t make sense. They're “illogical”. The truth is, we serve an All-Mighty God; a God who knows in each and every one of our hearts. He knows WHO we are, WHAT we are and WHO we will become. He meets you wherever you are, no matter what state, no matter what life style, and regardless of the challenges you are facing. He meets you in the deepest of lows and the darkest of places. He is a God who loves us too much to leave us that way.

You are not alone in your sin. Whether it is an addiction, depression, rage, low self-esteem, etc. Jesus has a real plan to grow, move and change you. So often we get caught up in what this world has to give us; more clothes, fancy dinners or a new car. But all of the riches in the world will leave a man feeling empty. Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:25-27).

So if you are a hooker, a robber, a drug dealer, an addict or an everyday sinner like the rest of us, you can still be something greater. You can still pull away from the life you are leading right now and turn to something bigger than what this world has to offer. You are worth so much more than you will ever know. But in order to understand your greater purpose, you'll need to find your confidence and strength in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What I Hope They Won't Say At My Funeral, Pt. 2: Guest Blog by Roberto Comparan

Seven San Diego Church is not responsible for the views of contributing writers and assumes no responsibility for the errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily of the congregation or staff.


Imagine your funeral. Do you picture a sea of mourning faces? Do you picture a group of musicians chanting songs? Do you imagine a priest or pastor speaking words of comfort? While all of those scenarios are likely to be seen or heard at your funeral, have you ever considered what someone might say on your behalf?

The Bible is clear in reminding us that we should be spending more time at funerals than festivals. "For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time" (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Would your eulogy be packed with praise regarding your great party life? Would people shout to the rooftops regarding your excellent career choices? Would they express great admiration for your academic accolades? Although there is nothing wrong in pursuit of hosting a good party, having great work ethic, or doing well in school, it is important that we always keep the main thing, the main thing. Christ should be at the center of our influence.

Concerning human understanding, King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7: 15-18, "In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on. So don't be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don't be too wicked either--don't be a fool! Why should you die before your time? So try to walk a middle course--but those who fear God will succeed either way."

In this passage we find King Solomon pressing our faces into the depths of where we should find meaning to our existence. In his reflections and confessions, Solomon points us back to the God of the Universe. After testing science, philosophy, materialism, and even political power for meaning, he points us back to the God who breathes meaning into our lives. He reminds us that finding purpose in ourselves, rules, or causing people pain only brings pleasure, and not success. In other words he says, "Live a balanced life. Don't be stupid. And seek something bigger and more powerful than yourself--God."

When I die, I hope that people would simply say two things about me at my funeral. I would hope that they would say that my life was 1) in pursuit of loving God and 2) loving other people. Day in and day out, we should reorient our entire lives to making those two things our most important pursuits. In this way, God will help you bring meaning to the meaningless.

Monday, April 20, 2009

I.D. (New Teaching Series)

I.D. is here! In this new six-part teaching series, we hope to help you discover your purpose in life. Did you know God equipped you with spiritual gifts? Did you know that there's a reason God has you right where you are right now? Did you forget you were a part of God's family? Let is help you identify your God given mission. Message titles for each date are as follows:


I.D.: Who Am I Supposed to Be?

pt. 1, Apr. 19 .....What on Earth Am I Here For?
pt. 2, Apr. 26 .....How Can I Please God?
pt. 3, May 03 .....You Were Made For God's Family
pt. 4, May 10 .....How to Become Like Christ
pt. 5, May 17 .....How to Get in S.H.A.P.E.
pt. 6, May 24 .....Your Life Mission-ID'd

Please stop by and visit us. We meet every Sunday at 10 AM at Olympian High School, located off of 1925 Magdalena Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91913.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Holy Week & The Never-Ending Bailout

In case you didn't get to follow our Holy Week Action Steps each day this week via Facebook or Twitter, we have posted them here for review.

Monday: (Compassion) Pray for God to show you a need and then act on it.
Tuesday: (Celebrate) List 10 things you want to thank the Lord for.
Wednesday: (Evaluate) List 5 things you really value that are important in your life.
Thursday: (Connect Spiritually) Spend more time uninterrupted with God. Don't forget to pray for your non-believing friends.
Friday: (Reconcile) Call or write someone you need to forgive or need forgiveness from.


This Easter, make sure to visit a church near you. Our message this week is titled, The Never-Ending Bailout. Join us for worship and celebration of the Cross this Sunday at 10 AM. We are currently meeting at Olympian High School located at 1925 Magdalena Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91913.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Your Questions; Our Answers: The Best Sex-EVER


As promised, here are the answers to your SEX QUESTIONS from last Sunday's message "The Best Sex Ever" pt. 3, The 7-Day Sex Challenge.

Although we answered some of your text messages during the worship service on Sunday, March 15th, we still had several questions that could not be answered within the hour. And so, the ones we didn't get to are now answered here and posted on our blogs and website. We hope you find this helpful.

Q: If married, is flirting bad?
A: Not if you’re flirting with your spouse. Flirting with your spouse is highly encouraged. In fact, it is true that women are like crock pots, but men are like microwaves. So men…get the crock pot started early with lots of flirting.

All other flirting outside the marriage is inappropriate. If you are tempted to flirt with someone who is not your spouse you should pour that energy into your relationship with your spouse. Flirting is the first step toward adultery or great sex with your spouse. See Proverbs 4:25, Prov. 7, Matt. 5:28 (applies to husbands and wives)

Q: What should we single people do for the next 7 days? (referring to the 7 Day Sex Challenge I gave to married couples which was for married couples to have sex each day or as much as possible for seven days).
A: The same thing you should do for the 7 after that. No sex until marriage (for further study listen to pt.1 of Best Sex Ever). Also, be praying for God to bring the right one into your life and make sure you use the parameters I gave for single people in part three of “The Best Sex Ever” when I talked about how to Recognize a Potential Mate. Click here for the listen to the message http://www.sevensdchurch.com/sermon/pt-3-the-best-sex--ever/

Q: How much viagra is too much?
A: If you have an erection that lasts longer than four hours you should see your doctor.

Q: Is masturbation ok in marriage? What does the Bible say about it?
A: If agreed to by both husband and wife as part of the sexual “fun” and arousal in bed YES, it is ok. If it’s something apart from the husband and wife’s fun time in bed it could become lustful with thoughts of others (thus committing adultery according to Jesus) and extremely selfish. The Bible says nothing about masturbation, but plenty about looking out for the needs of your spouse before your own 1 Corinthians 7:3-4, Hebrews 13:4, 1Peter 3:7.

Q: Is porn ok inside of marriage?
A: It is not OK, it enters “others” into the marriage bed, is Orgie “esque” and leads to deeper darker sexual misconduct. Even if both husband and wife agree it still is sinful in the sight of God and degrading and demeaning to both husband and wife. It brings lust to a whole new level and is an extremely difficult habit to break. If you are struggling with this please visit xxxchurch.com

Usually it is the husband requesting this and the wife may begrudgingly go along with it at first. Often the husband will start to see his wife as less and less valuable and unable to compete with what he is seeing on the television or computer. He is falling into Satan’s trap and continuing to devalue his bride by comparing her to the women he is seeing in the porn. This is the beginning of the end of The Best Sex Ever between the husband and wife. Radical steps must be taken to cleanse themselves of this and move forward in their sexual relationship without porn. It’s a long road some have made it, many have not.

Q: Can or will God bless a gay marriage?
A: The short answer is no, because it goes against what God has already said about homosexuality. If you would like to listen to a message I gave recently about homosexuality and marriage please click the link http://www.sevensdchurch.com/sermon/txt-pt-4-what-does-the-txt-say-about-being-gay/

However, all people whether believers or not, homosexual or not, experience what is called “common grace” and experience God’s blessings of living on earth, experiencing sunshine, rain, good days and bad…that is common to all humanity and in that case…a blessing.

Q: What about 1 Corinthians 7:14 where the unbelieving husband will be sanctified through his wife and vise verse?
A: This is a very interesting situation. The context is that Paul is talking to married couples where one person has become a believer and the other has not. Understand, they are already married and one has decided to be a Christian, the other has not. This is not a situation of a believer deciding to marry and unbeliever. We know from Scripture that this is forbidden by God (2 Corinthians 6:14-15).

He says that the unbelieving husband or wife is “sanctified” through the believing spouse. The question had come up in the Corinthian church about believers being “contaminated” by their unbelieving husbands or wives. By contamination I mean their sin and unbelief.

Paul makes the distinction and says that the believing husband or wife is not being contaminated with the bad or sin of the unbelieving husband or wife but the unbelieving husband or wife is being “contaminated” by the good or holiness of the believing husband or wife. He says they are being sanctified through their marital bond because of their faith in Christ.

Something very mystical and real happens when the two become one. It is more than just skin on skin. That’s why God considers sexual sin more serious than other sins (1Cor. 6:18-20). It is a unification of both body and soul.

It does not mean the unbelieving spouse is admitted to heaven upon death without confessing Christ, but it does mean that the believing spouse does not need to worry about being affected spiritually through an unbelieving spouse, rather the unbelieving spouse is being affected spiritually through the believing spouse. Their “holiness” or “goodness” is being “caught” by the unbelieving spouse when “the two become one.”

Q: Do I have to do premarital counseling?
A: If you would like myself or one of the other pastors at Seven San Diego church to marry you the answer is YES. You will need to do pre-marital counseling. It usually lasts 4-6 weeks for an hour per session with homework and life skills lessons that will give you a head start in your marriage. Believe me, you don’t want to miss out on pre-marital. I once had a guy give me a hard time about pre-marital counseling saying, “I’ve been married three times, I don’t need this stuff!”

Whether you’ve been married before or not YOU NEED PRE-MARITAL COUNSELING.

Q: Is oral sex ok?
YES. Again, in the marriage bed, it is all good between the two of you.

Q: Where in the Bible does it say that premarital sex is a sin/wrong?
A: The Bible refers to premarital sex as “fornication” in some of the older translations of Scripture such as the King James Version (KJV), New American Standard Bible (NASB) etc. More modern translations preferred the words “Sexually Immoral” or “Adultery.”

Below is a list of the verses from both the Old and New Testament where the Bible says pre-marital sex is a sin/wrong using the words fornication, sexually immoral and adultery.

1Cor. 5:9 1Cor. 5:11 1Cor. 6:9 Heb. 12:16 Heb. 13:4 Rev. 21:8 Rev. 22:15

For Further Study
2Chronicles 21:11 Isaiah 23:17 Ezekiel 16:26 Ezekiel 16:29 Matt. 5:32 Matt. 19:9 John 8:41
Acts 15:20 Acts 15:29 Acts 21:25 Rom. 1:29 1Cor. 5:1 1Cor. 6:13 1Cor. 6:18
1Cor. 7:2 1Cor. 10:8 2Cor. 12:21 Gal. 5:19 Eph. 5:3 Col. 3:5 1Th. 4:3 Jude 7
Rev. 2:14 Rev. 2:20 Rev. 2:21 Rev. 9:21 Rev. 14:8 Rev. 17:2 Rev. 17:4 Rev. 18:3 Rev. 18:9 Rev. 19:2

Q: What are some examples of clear boundaries that help in relationships?
A: Clearly stated boundaries in relationships are key to healthy relationships. The problem is most people don’t take the time to communicate when concerning boundaries. Don’t wait for the other person to talk about boundaries, you take the responsibility.

The reality is you will be more respected and appreciated if you clearly state your boundaries. I’m not saying on the first words out of your mouth to your date are, “We’re not doing this, this, or this, nor are we going here, here, or there!” When the time is right discuss it, but don’t wait too long.

Let’s take dating as an example. When you do discuss boundaries here are some guidelines. Boundaries should be clear that you won’t be alone in the dark, late at night, when no one else is around. Why? Very simply…temptation. Boundaries will help you stay pure before God as you walk toward marriage.

Boundaries help you have a plan when you’re dating. You will either go by your plans or your glands. If you’re in the back seat and it’s getting hot and heavy…it’s too late…you’re going by your glands. If you’ve discussed boundaries and agreed you won’t ever get in the back seat, nor go to a dark, private place with no accountability, no friends, just the two of you, then your boundaries will help you stay pure.

Other boundaries include no “sleepovers” or “I’m just going to sleep on the floor.” Why? The Bible says to avoid the appearance of evil. You may have the best intentions but it sure looks like you’re sleeping with her or him. The only thing people know is that your car was there all night. They don’t know you slept on the floor. And, besides, the temptation that’s just down the hallway is too great a trap.

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Best Sex--EVER! (Teaching Series) Returns on 03/15

We are currently interrupting our teaching series, "The Best Sex --EVER!," to bring you special teachings from Pastor Ray Benton. This week he continues his two-part message titled, "The Big Question of Life". Our sex series returns on March 15th.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Delicious (New Teaching Series)

"La vida dulce," the sweet life. It's something we all crave. Yet so often, we live with a gnawing hunger for the one ingredient that we think might be missing; an ingredient that we can almost taste but can't quite grasp.

In this new teaching series, we will discover just how to experience a fully delicious life. And we find that a life of full flavor and true satisfaction is something that God desires for us to have every day in every area of our life. Join us for "Delicious".


Please stop by and visit us. We are meeting at Wolf Canyon Elementary School every Sunday at 10 AM, located off of 1950 Wolf Canyon Loop, Chula Vista, CA 91913.