Weekly Messages

Anyone alive in our society today recognizes that time has become a precious commodity. We hear all the spiritual injunctions to care for others, and we would like to--really we would! But when?! In this lesson we talk about some of the pressure that drives us like...

If we would experience experience this crown jewel of all the virtues... If we would take up the mandate before our generation; restitching the torn fabric of community... ...then it will be necessary for us to see--and step back from--the deleterious effects of the...

The last two weeks we spoke of the comprehensive nature of the virtue of charity. Today we turn to a pressing need in our society. Factors have been at work for some time now that tear community apart. We see it in corporations and congress, but it begins in homes,...

This is the second week in a lesson on the ancient virtue of charity. Today, before we start to apply the virtue to our lives and community, we continue broadening our understanding of the texture of this "crown jewel of the virtue curriculum". Have a listen, Doug...

The meaning of the word "charity" has undergone a big change in the last 500 years. It has been reduced to doing good things for those in need. It is a much deeper virtue than that. It is, in fact, the deepest of the virtues, the greatest of the virtues.  In this...

We conclude this lesson with some remarks on the high cost we pay when we abandon the ancient virtue of chastity. Have a listen, Doug  

Tonight we address a question submitted about sexual compatibility. I'll make the scandalous statement that any time two people try and build a sexual life together, they almost always experience incompatibility. The point isn't to make sure we're sexually compatible...

As we've seen, what we do with our genitals has far-reaching implications. It shapes. Sexuality is that deep a part of us. How we handle our sexual energies, how we make our sexual choices...  impacts even the fabric of the society we are creating for ourselves. And...

Two questions came in that we address this evening: 1.  Is masturbation a sin? 2.  How early do we start speaking to kids about sex? Have a listen, Doug  

So, this may be a bit of a rant.  I'm not sure.  I am posting this before I actually deliver the lesson.  As I'm writing my notes for tomorrow, I'm working really hard not to make it so, but I got a little worked up this week.  I had three experiences, all of which...

Tonight we look at how our culture is masculinizing sexuality and teaching our young women to disregard their own sexuality.  We look at how our lack of wisdom (chastity) is damaging the feminist movement, and women in general. Have a listen, Doug  

Since as a society, we've lost our bearings, have devalued chastity and venerated avarice, today we look at some of the wisdom of our forebears that we've lost along the way.  How do we handle our sexual and erotic desires in ways that works to make our pair-bonds...

We continue on Wednesday evening, what we began last Sunday, a look at sexuality through the lens of the ancient virtue curriculum...  chastity and avarice. Tonight, we begin working through the questions I started gathering last month.  This week:  "My husband looks...

For the next three Wednesdays we'll be talking about sex (6:30 meditation, 7:00 lecture, 7:30 discussion). Today, we lay some groundwork for those three discussions. Have a listen, Doug  

We turn now the the brain science behind the virtue of self-control.  I hesitate to even say some of the practical things we do to help ourselves in the steps we talked about last week. You've heard them before.  However, it may help you hear the science behind them....

After several weeks of background and context, we turn now to the practicalities of self-control.  How is it we hammer out the kind of informed negotiation between our upper and lower brains we've been talking about? Let's talk about what "renewing our minds" might...

Some folks in our community grew up in the Christian Church.  Others didn't but their view of God, sin, and salvation, have been profoundly influenced by common church instincts. Either way, we pick up some toxic ideas as the centuries roll past and from time to time...

We pick up where we left off last week, looking at the ancient spiritual virtue of self-control through the lens of how our brains work - our upper and lower brains. Have a listen, I think these last two lessons are very helpful for helping us move forward. Doug...

We can't really talk about self-control until we talk about self-awareness.  So much of our lives we live by instinct.  The lower brain is all about rote, but when we make the higher brain about rote as well...    we haven't got a chance! Let's talk about the...

Today is part 2 of a lesson on self-control because I (Doug) need more of it! A man (or a woman) without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls (Proverbs 25:28) The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness...