Starting Sunday, June 5, 2011, I’ll be delivering a series of four messages on The Seven Deadly Sins.  The Seven deadly sins come from a list that began to develop in the fourth century after Christ by Evagrius Ponticus and was developed thereafter and referred to often by different Christian leaders as a helpful reminder of what were “Capital Vices”–that is, the chief sins that lead to other sins.

So what are The Seven Deadly Sins?  Easy:

Pride, Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, and Lust.

You might know that the Roman Catholic Church categorizes sins, differentiating between mortal sins (those sins that take one out of a state of grace) and venial sins (those lesser offenses that could be worked out in purgatory and do not take one out of a state of grace).

The idea of The Seven Deadly Sins is not that they arise from that kind of categorizing  of sin, but that
they are behaviors and attitudes that lead us to spiritual death.  For the purposes of our series, we will focus on opposite virtues while exploring these seven deadly sins.  Instead of just considering pride, for example, we’ll also be looking at the power and possibility of cultivating humility in our lives.  Instead of just thinking about anger, we will consider to grow in patience.

To finish off the series, we’ll be celebrating the freedom found in Christ on Sunday morning, July 3.

We’ll go after the following themes on the dates below:

June 5     Pride
June 12  Envy & Anger
June 19  Greed & Sloth
June 26  Lust & Gluttony
July 3     Freedom Sunday

I can’t wait to move ahead in exploring these themes; it’s going to be a time of self-examination and receiving grace and growth from God!