Week 3 – All the Single People (HS)
by: todd veleber
Well, we have made it to our third week in this boy meets girl series and we covered this topic of being single last night. It’s an important topic because it affects all of you right now – even if you are in a relationship. You still fall into the category of single, because you are not married.
I know for many of you the pressure seems pretty high to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago since I was in high school, but I say that a lot so I’m guessing it really has been a long time ago. But I still not only remember the pressure to have a girlfriend, I can remember all the feelings associated with that pressure. Some of the pressure was simply coming from my idea that “everyone else had one”. Other pressure was coming from the high school culture of dating/relationships. I even had some good Christian friends that were putting indirect pressure on me to date.
Here was the big problem with my response to that pressure… I had very little truth to work from. I was running into this relationship stuff without a good Biblical framework. I had no idea about dating much less being single. And as I tell you guys each week, my goal is never to try to sway or influence you with what I think. I want to always take you to God’s Word and let you discover truth there.
If you remember, we honed in on some verses in 1 Corinthians 7, where Paul directly speaks about being single. Now let me say, I’m not going to be able to go to the depth I’d like to with this passage, but I’m hopeful that a 30,000 foot overview will give you a Biblical framework and then also whet your appetite to do some further investigation of your own.
truths for application
1. Single-gifted for identity (1 Corinthians 7:7; Philippians 4:11-12)
2. Single-committed to purity (1 Corinthians 7:8-9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:12-14)
3. Single-seasoned for growth (1 Corinthians 7:25-28)
4. Single-minded on the mission (1 Corinthians 7:23-35)
My hope for all of you as high school students is that you will discover truth – God’s purposes for you during this time of your life. As I said last night, you truly have an amazing gift when it comes to the opportunity for growth and also to use your time, talents and treasure for Him. I pray that you would wrestle well on these truths regarding your identity, your purity, your growth and how you are to be living out His mission right now during this season of your life.
to think about
* Why is discovering your identity in Christ and finding your contentment in Him so important prior to entering into a relationship?
* Do you feel the pressure to have a boyfriend/girlfriend right now or to be in a dating relationship? How can good friends and accountability help with this pressure?
* Why do you feel God’s Word speaks so strongly about sexual purity as a single? What are some boundaries and convictions you can develop to help you stay pure? How are you relying on the Holy Spirit to help?
* Take some time to think and pray about how this time can be purposeful when it comes to your growth in Christ and also spending your “t’s” on the mission He has given you.
