Today we are in week three in the series of messages we're calling "The OT." I appreciate Pastor Steve handling the first two messages while Anita and I were chaperoning the students in D.C. for Student Leadership University and then enjoying our 30th anniversary trip in Hawaii. We had a fantastic time, but I'm glad to be back.

"The OT" series is a spin-off of the television nighttime soap called "The OC." The OC is a story about fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and a group of teenagers in Southern California. Needless to say, many of the episodes involve behavior that depicts what has become the norm across the U.S., behavior which is moving further and further away from our Judeo-Christian moorings. One season Marissa overdosed on drugs. The next season she explores a lesbian relationship.

The world of The OC is one in which everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes, paying no attention to potential consequences. The music in The OC episodes, which is very popular with today's youth and young adult culture (for example, the music of Mix 4), reflects the same distorted and dangerous point of view.

The kind of living portrayed in The OC is not a new thing. Go to the Bible and you will find story after story of sinful living. The big difference, however, is that the lurid stories in the Bible are set in the context of God's saving power and forgiveness when people are willing to turn from their sinful ways and turn to Him.

Today's message is called Sin City. Which city comes to your mind when you hear these words? Hollywood? New Orleans (at least, before Katrina)? The city which actually lays claim to the name is Las Vegas. One of the local Chambers of Commerce in Las Vegas is actually called the Sin City Chamber of Commerce.

I went to the Sin City Chamber website and couldn't believe what I read there. Here is an example: "Las Vegas like many cities offers adult entertainment and a vibrant gay and lesbian community, as well as a thriving gaming industry. Nevertheless, Las Vegas stands a part [sic] from every city in the world. Drinking, gambling, and a truly adult playground with bachelor parties, gentlemen's clubs, and a short distance drive from Las Vegas ~ Legal Brothels….The adult entertainment scene in Sin City is thriving. You truly feel like Caesar when you enter into the new clubs that are popping up all over Las Vegas. Hidden through out the city, smaller local clubs offer incredible deals and gorgeous companionship. Hit the night clubs with a companion provided by a local licensed escort agency or just gamble the night away in the many themed casinos on the strip. Sin City is better than ever. Some might say Sin City, some Las Vegas. As a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the Sin City Chamber of Commerce supports the businesses that offer products and services that contribute to the prosperity of Las Vegas."

The Bible had its own sin cities called Sodom and Gomorrah. We read the story in Genesis 18-19. Let's read some of the verses, and I will narrate the story as we move along. One day three angels visited Abraham. The main purpose of their visit was to announce to him that his 90-year-old wife was going to bear him a son (Isaac). Verse 16 foreshadows something bad that is about to happen. "They looked toward Sodom." In the next verses God re-clarifies his plans to create a great nation from Abraham's family. But first He must do something about Sin City—Sodom and Gomorrah.

It upsets Abraham when he learns that God is about to destroy Sin City. One reason he is so upset is that his nephew Lot and his family live there. So he began to plea with God, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" (v. 23). Read 24-27. Now Abraham bargains with God. What if there are 45 righteous people? God indicates He will spare the city. Forty righteous people? Thirty? Twenty? Ten? God told him he would spare the city if He found ten righteous people there. Chapter 19 informs us that He must not have found even ten decent people in the city. The three angels approach the city. Lot is at the city gate and talks the three men into staying as guests in his home. Let's pick up in verse 4 to get a glimpse of the wickedness going on in Sin City. Read verses 4-14. But this was no joke. The angels rushed Lot, his wife, and two daughters out of the city so that they could be spared the judgment of God. In verse 17, one of the angels warned, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain."

As they left, God sent a rain of burning sulfur down on Sodom and Gomorrah, killing every inhabitant and all vegetation. Verse 26 informs us that Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Abraham got up the next morning and looked toward Sin City and he could see the dense smoke arising from the land.

We read a story like that and wonder how in the world a people can become so wicked and ungodly. And even though Las Vegas has laid claim to the title Sin City, would you agree that it does not have a monopoly on sin? Sin Cities are everywhere across America. And quite frankly, I grow more concerned every year, wondering how much longer before God's anger explodes. And yet how many of us are like Lot's sons-in-law who thought the idea of God's judgment was just a joke?

Sin City. Chapin. What about Chapin? I love our town. There's nowhere else on this planet I would rather live. But would one be accurate if he called Chapin "Sin City"? We don't have the casinos, strip clubs and escort services like Las Vegas does. And I do believe there are more God-fearers in Chapin than in Sodom and Gomorrah. But if you think that Chapin is God's model town, you've got your head stuck in the sand. The very things that corrupted The OT's Sin City go on around here as well.

Go to the local grocery store on a summer Friday afternoon and count the cases of beer coming through the checkout lines. Party time. Teenage alcoholics. Drug addicts. Sellers pushing drugs in convenience store parking lots. Babies born out of wedlock. Babies aborted from teenage girls. Parents hosting keg parties for their high school sons and daughters. Wife swapping. Unwed couples living together. Adultery. Threesomes. Homosexual activity. Wiccan. Witchcraft. Ouija boards. Cutting. Porn addiction. Sexual predators.

Last school year at a local party of high schoolers, two girls engaged in lesbian sex right in front of the audience of their peers. Pastor Ken, you ought not be telling us this stuff. Do you think I'm comfortable saying these things? If I'm not mistaken, I believe God calls preachers not only to comfort and encourage but also to warn and to point out areas where God's standards are being compromised. Amen?

Where I would be wrong is if I referred to Chapin as a Sin City and then did nothing to point you in the right direction. I believe the verses from Genesis 18 and 19 provide us with ample insights on what God expects from His people. Briefly, there are four one-word action verbs I challenge you to consider and apply to your life.

The first verb is stand. Christians, above all people, need to stand for what is right and stand against what is wrong. If Christians do not provide a moral voice, then who will? No matter how wicked a Sin City might be, I believe God always has a remnant of believers who can make a difference. Abraham was a godly man. God spared him the judgment that He brought on the area all around him. Even Lot, although he tried to protect his guests from the lustful citizens of Sin City, as a compromise, offered his two virgin daughters instead. What kind of father is that?

Christians, take a stand. My youngest son Tyler, almost sixteen, wears a t-shirt that says, "It's okay not to drink." I'm proud of him. That's his way of taking a stand against the prevalent problem of teenage drinking.

It takes more than t-shirts, however. Can I give you a very specific way you can take a stand for Christ? Show up for the prayer walk on Saturday morning, the 19th. Join with a band of believers from other churches. It's one way we can say together as the One Church, "We are unified in our efforts to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We stand together as the body of Christ. We will serve together, but we will also stand for Christ together."

The second verb is fear. I'm talking about the fear of God. Even though I believe we live in the greatest country in the world, sometimes I think we're guilty of believing that we are immune from the judgment of God. We need to understand that God will not forever tolerate ungodly living. Sin has been rampant since Adam and Eve. But who would argue that our nation's moral strength has not been crumbling in the last ten years?

In the Sodom and Gomorrah story, Lot's sons-in-law thought the threat of God's judgment was all funny—a joke. Unfortunately, that's the attitude of many people today regarding the sin in our society. We blow off all this stuff, excuse it, and say, "That's just the way things are today." We live in denial and think that God will keep being patient with us. Study the history of the world and you will discover that major empires crumbled from within, making it much easier for outside forces to conquer.

Fearing God does not mean that you can't develop a close, intimate relationship with Him. To fear Him means that you give Him all the respect and honor that He deserves. It means that you understand that He is in control of the world and you are not. It means that you realize that God can rightfully discipline you if you stray from Him. It means that you long to live a holy life because you know that He will not tolerate sin.

Stand. Fear. The third verb is pray. I think we can learn from Abraham in this story. He prayed. Or maybe more accurately, He begged God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe Abraham's prayer honored God. Don't get caught up in needless arguments on whether or not it's okay to bargain with God. To do so misses the point.

What is the point? We must pray. We must pray for God to deliver our nation from its ever-growing industry of immorality. We must seek His forgiveness. We must repent. Concerted prayer always precedes spiritual awakening. Yes, I know that Abraham prayed, but God still destroyed Sin City. But I also read stories in the Bible where God delivered nations because of prayer. Prayer is powerful. God responds to the prayers of His people.

The fourth verb is run. Take a stand for God. Develop a healthy fear of God. Pray for God to revive our land and to spare His judgment. And when you're tempted to engage in matters you know do not please God, run. As you read this story in the Bible, it's easy to sense the mood of rush and urgency. "This city's getting ready to blow, let's get out of here—now!" When evil surrounds you, run! Don't look back. Don't second guess. Lot's wife looked back and she died on the spot. In Luke, Jesus used her as an example in one of the shortest verses in the Bible: "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). In other words, keep running until you know the situation can no longer tempt you.

Imagine the guilt, pain, and shame you could have avoided if you had simply run from tempting situations. Imagine how much more morally sound our nation would be if we stopped justifying questionable behavior and instead ran from it.

God always provides a way of escape with every temptation you face (1 Cor. 10:13). In the Sin City story God provided three angels. Thankfully, Lot, his wife, and two daughters took advantage of the escape plan. Every day pray, "Lord, whenever I'm tempted, please show me your way of escape."

Yes, there are sin cities everywhere you go, including Chapin. The question is: Will you let the world's value system suck you in? Will you live in denial and pretend that everything is okay? Will you adopt the philosophy that says, "If you can't lick them, join them"? Or, as a Christian, will you take a stand for Jesus Christ? Will you fear God? Will you pray, asking Him to bring healing to our land? And will you run as fast as you can to get away from tempting situations? You know the right answer to these questions. So the real question is: Will you be completely obedient to do what God wants you to do?