CS Lewis felt that sexual immorality, anger, greed, drunkenness..were just fleabites in comparison to pride. He taught that the sin of pride precedes every other sin and called pride “a complete anti-God state of mind.”

Proverbs 8:13 says that God hates pride…

Proverbs 16:5 says if you have pride you are an abomination to God.

PRIDE is the chief vice of humanity, gospel-centered humility is the great virtue. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, NOT glorify self and enjoy self forever.

The more pride we have, the more we dislike it in others. The prideful person hates the person at the party who gets all the attention, because THEY want all the attention.

Pride is unquenchable thirst, because it doesn’t just want something, it wants to have more of something than everyone else has. Pride doesn’t just want possessions it wants more possessions than everyone else. It doesn’t want power, it wants more power than everyone else. Pride drives us, not to make a comfortable living, but to make such an extravagant living that it makes others feel uncomfortable.

Pride thwarts real generosity because the only reason a prideful person gives is to make them feel superior, not to truly help anyone. Pride will isolate you from having any real friends bc people represent competition. Pride causes us to use people to promote us. Pride is the great community killer.

Pride will not only hurt you personally and socially, the worst part about pride or the absence of humility are the implications on how we relate to God. The proud person won’t submit to God.

Bc the ONLY way to relate to God is in humility.

The world praises pride is disdains humility. If you don’t believe me watch what happens when someone witnesses you responding to criticism with humility, what do they usually say??? Something like, “I wouldn’t let them talk to me like that…are you going ot let them talk to you like that???” now you have a new bout with pride, right?

I’m still praying a prayer that I shared with our church ac couple of weeks ago. God has been faithful to answer this prayer. It’s based on Psalm 139:23-24:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! 

The prayer goes like this:

Search me, God, know my heart and thoughts. Reveal to me any grievous way of PRIDE in me…and to lead me in the way of humility, the way of faith in Christ, the way of life everlasting??

I’ve got a lot of glorious work to, rather God has a lot of glorious work to do, in my prideful heart. You?

We celebrated baptism Sunday!

…buried..with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

James 4:6 says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble

Prov 16:5 says everyone who is arrogant in heart us an abomination to the Lord.

Phil 2:3 says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Prov 16:18 says pride brings destruction.

CS Lewis said that sexual immorality, anger, greed, drunkenness..are just fleabites in comparison to pride…It is a complete ant-God state of mind.

Jonathan Edwards called pride “the worst viper that is in the heart…it is the greatest disturber of the soul’s peace and sweet communion with Christ. Pride is the most hidden and deceitful of all lusts. What a foolish, silly, miserable, blind, deceived, poor worm am I, when pride works.”

Gospel-humility is the great PRIDE-KILLER.

Here are a few resources on the subject of the perils of pride and how the gospel is the way to fight it.

Humility: True Greatness, C. J. Mahaney

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16, The Numbers of Hope.
A…word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible , return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16. He loves. He gave. We believe. We live. The words are to scripture what the Mississippi River is to America-an entryway into the heartland. -Max Lucado

When my son was about 3-4 years old, he was a real turd. Totally unruly. Rebellious. Bouncing off the walls. Tackling everything and everybody. He’d test our patience as parents every chance he got. I thought his momma was gonna have a breakdown before we got him reeled in! We tried all kinds of things to try and slow him down. You know what ended up being most effective? Time. Specifically time with me. Not so much quality time, but quantity time. Just being with me wherever I went. We’d play and wrestle when we could, go fishing, he’d watch me work, run errands with me, stuff like that. Time with dad just had a calming effect on him. It fostered respect in him, even when I wasn’t around. Don’t get me wrong, he still had to have correction, and still does! But to this day, having learned that, I make efforts to carve out TIME for all of my kids to be with ME, the head of the house, the highest earthly authority in their life.

Could it be that you and I, as God’s children, need more TIME with the head of our life, our highest authority, our loving heavenly Father? Time in prayer, His Word, time in worship?

The goal is a spirit-filled LIFE, not just moments of spirituality, but a daily focused devotional time is a great place to start! Do you need a good devotional for daily reading, reflection, prayer? I’d like to highly recommend an excellent daily devotional available via app for both iPhone and Android devices, as well as online. It’s called Solid Joys from pastor and author John Piper. In addition to the daily devotional, on the app, you can search key words for specific topics you might be interested in or struggling with. You can find the devotional, as well as download the app, by clicking here: http://solidjoys.desiringgod.org/en

Whatever devotional or avenue you choose, devote some TIME each day to the Lord and His Word.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.”
As we gather on Sunday mornings, we have an opportunity to express our insufficiency and our total dependence on Jesus Christ for life an salvation. We are humbled by his grace, instructed by His Word, and encouraged by others–the faith family–that He has provided for us.
On Sundays, we come together, and look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.(Heb 12:2)

Voddie Baucham (Voddie Baucham Ministries) reminds us that we need Christ more than our example but as our “federal head.” This allows sinners like us to be both forgiven and declared righteous.

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When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Below is a link to a great read from Jared Wilson. Here a couple of great quotes from the post.

“Christianity is not a life system, a religious code, a set of tips or instructions for more successful living and modified behavior. Christianity is about the raising of the dead.”

“Both irreligion and religion are fundamentally self-salvation projects.”

“…it is much easier to gather up “decisions.” But the work of heart change we are actually supposed to be after comes only from God’s Spirit. The gospel that saved us from sin and death ought to be a reminder that Christianity is sourced in God himself. Christianity is supernatural.”

Read the entire post here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-the-prodigal-church-comes-home

A great overview of the Bible for kids (or adults). Check it out: