From the Mars Hill mail bag: At about age 14 I started to masturbate. Over the years, this became an addiction. I struggled with this dark secret for years until at the age of 33, when God spoke clearly into my life and told me I had to seek help. You see, I had heard other Christian teachers tell me that masturbation was fine, natural and nothing to be ashamed of. The reality is that my heart was full of lust and this root of sin was eating away at me, affecting my ability to talk to, look at and have relationships with women even as friends. One Saturday, God led me to Myspace (a curious place to begin ones path of forgiveness, I know). As I looked through friends’ pages, I started noticing names like XXXchurch and Hookers4jesus. It was through their stories and ministries that God began to shine his light into my darkness. I confessed my sin of lust to Jesus, and it was like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I came to hear of Mars Hill Church after Craig Gross of XXXchurch mentioned Pastor Mark during an X3church podcast. The way Mark conducted himself and spoke piqued my interests, so I checked out the website and listened to archived sermons. The rest, they say, is history. I came upon many helpful Bible studies, by searching the Mars Hill media library that have helped me grow in faith and helped me through my struggle with masturbation. I was addicted and I have to deal with the consequences of my actions. Though I have fallen many times since first confessing my sin, I truly believe God can and will bring me to a point where masturbation will no longer be a problem. Thanks to Pastor Mark's dedication to preaching the Word of God fully, my faith has been regenerated. Mars Hill podcasts have become even more important to me over the past year, as I have found myself for the first time in 19 years without a church. I would be completely lost were it not for the dedication of Mars Hill Church to provide quality content freely across the globe. Thank you Mars Hill, and thank you Pastor Mark. Philip Welshpool, U.K. For more biblical perspective on this topic, check out Pastor Mark's book, Porn-Again Christian, available as a free ebook or in paperback. Pastor Mark and his wife, Grace, also addressed masturbation in a post during last fall’s Christian Sex Q&A blog series. (Please note the content is only for a mature audience.)