DYNAMIC SINGLES

Family Album – Bohol Scouting

Pause for prayer

Time to reflect Masaya ba ako? Fulfilled ba ako? What is my direction in life? How is my relationship with God? Am I involved in the lives of Christians? Involved ba ako sa mga lost souls?

Theme verses His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. – 2 Pet 1.3-4

Theme verses With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. – 2 Th 1.11

Theme verses His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness… With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith…

‘Power’ in these verses From the Greek ‘dunamis’=power/working Shows that God holds power for us God is the source of dunamis (dynamic power)! Want to be a dynamic single? A dynamic single relies on the ‘dynamo,’ the unlimited power of God!

DYNAMIC SINGLES A special teaching workshop Aug 2007 Calamba, Laguna Rolan & Weng Monje

Extra challenge Col 1.11 Eph 1.19 Rom Eph Pe 1.3 Study out power (dunamis) in these passages at home

Today we’ll look at three ‘keys’ to becoming dynamic singles.

Let’s look at the theme verses again His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. POWER OF GOD  everything we need

Imagine the power of God… What are some powerful things God did? All of it to meet our needs Not all our wants Alam niya lahat ng needs natin (mas alam pa niya, kaysa sa sarili natin) God wants us to fulfill our deepest needs

KEY #1 We have a dynamic God who wants to meet our deepest needs.

Today singles find fulfillment in… Work Earning money/developing a business Friendships Love interests/relationships Hobbies/crafts/sports Sexual encounters/affairs Family Various forms of entertainment

Fulfillment as a single Christian Depends highly on your relationship with God Does not solely depend on the things that the world looks at, even if those are important Is the same level of fulfillment as a campus disciple or as a married disciple

Second-class ba ang mga singles? Siyempre...hindi Just as marriage is a gift from God, so is singleness for life (cf Mt 19.12) Both married people and single people have challenges It was wrong (in some church settings) that the challenges for singles were highlighted and the challenges for marrieds were not; similar imbalanced presentation, joys of marriage vs. joys of singlehood

If you are generally unhappy as a single, you will generally be unhappy as a married person – paraphrased from Dr. Harold Sala Point: unless you work on the most important things, getting married will not make you happy!

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. POWER OF GOD  good purposes, faithful acts

Key #2 We have a dynamic God who puts in us good purposes.

Why does the church exist? Because Jesus desired it (Mt ) Because God owns her (Acts 20.28) Because the Church is the fullness of Christ (Eph 1.23)

MMCC Mission-Vision Mission We are a church of disciples devoted to loving God, loving others, and making disciples of all nations Vision For all men to be saved and to come to a full knowledge of the truth

Let’s talk about dating with this biblical mindset.

MOTIVATION Remember our motivation: Main reason = encouragement (Ro 1:12, 15:5; 1 Th 5:11; Heb 10:25). In time, going on dates may lead to looking for a partner for life. Basta, everything done with a spiritual mindset (See 2 Cor 5:16) Dating is only one of many ways to encourage someone of the opposite sex (See Heb 3:13)

CAUTION Rom a NLT And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do..

How dating ends Successful steady dating ends up in two ways: 1.MARRIAGE 2.BREAK-UP

How Christian dating ends 1.MARRIAGE 2.BREAK-UP Both are successful because you don’t end up marrying someone not for you, or marrying when you’re not ready! Anyway, you are brother and sister before you are boyfriend and girlfriend.

A closer look at 2 Cor Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

Saan ba galing ito? Remember, the NT was written with an OT foundation Look at Dt 22:10-11 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

Spiritual & practical direction Lev 19:19 “ ‘Keep my decrees. “ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals. “ ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. “ ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

Historical example - Israel Ex 34:16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same. Dt 7:3-4 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD'S anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you

Historical example - Solomon 1Ki 11:2-4 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

Do not be ‘heterozugeo’ Heterozugeo = to put together in mismatch KVJ …be ye not unequally yoked NRSV …do not be mismatched Darby …be not diversely yoked NASB …Do not be bound together There is a spiritual and practical reason for this command from Paul!

Remember God has good purposes for you You have been specially made and specially chosen for those purposes Walang ibang makakagawa nitong mga layunin na ito para sa atin!

Pause muna for Q & A

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. POWER OF GOD  good purposes, faithful acts

Key #3 We have a dynamic God who works through faithful acts.

Faithful acts Not limited by spiritual age Not dependent on wealth or talent or looks Not dependent on level of leadership Can be done even if you’re weak or struggling Don’t have to be acknowledged or commended E.g.: Kirk, Cynthia, Mike, Tess, Fiona

Faithful acts Glorify God, because the dunamis is not from ourselves, but from God Build up the church, because we get to inspire each other

For personal study (addtoyourlearning.com) Study out the article “Divine Romance” by Rommel Casis Study out the “Immorality” powerpoint by Rolan Monje Study out the article “Christian Dating” by Dave Eastman

In closing, God’s power is for… Meeting needs Good purposes Faithful acts

Conclusion God is a dynamic (dunamis) God! His power is there for us, his beloved. Let’s glorify God by seeing that his power is for our providence, for good purposes, and for faithful acts

DYNAMIC SINGLES A special teaching workshop Aug 2007 Calamba, Laguna Rolan & Weng Monje

Interactive d-group time Round 1: Share one thing that impacted you about the lesson Round 2: Share about a time in your life when God worked to meet a need (any need) in your life Round 3: Share to the person on your right your faithful vision for them (e.g. “Bro/sis, I believe that you ____ / nakikita ko na ikaw ay…)