Paul Hegreness was recently elected by our congregation to serve as one of our elders. He and his wife Darcy have been working alongside Sharon and I with the Christian Service Fellowship teen group at our church for the last couple of years. Not only have they been a big help to us but Paul’s ministry through the Word was especially helpful last night as we studied the topic of fighting temptation.

After looking at the first section of James 1, Paul took us through five steps to combating temptations. They are as follows:

1. Pray and be ready (Matt. 26:41).
2. Guard your heart (Prov. 4:23; Phil. 4:8-9).
3. Hide God’s Word in your heart (Ps. 119:9-11).
4. If all else fails, run! (2 Tim. 2:22)
5. Remember God is faithful and will provide a way out (1 Cor. 10:13).