A new FREE resource is available through SmallGroups.com! The SmallGroups.com Digizine was pretty much my first encounter with a digizine. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like: digital + magazine = digizine! You click on the table of contents, and link to the article. You turn the page, and Erwin Lutzer starts preaching! Will the innovations of this digiworld -- yes, digital + world -- never cease?
I can see this becoming a resource I will return to for fresh ideas and encouragement . The digizine has everything from guiding small group leaders in a right frame mind to a new kind of brownie recipe that I might try soon. Even the ads in the 'zine were helpful! The Resource Review on small group for the kids is something I will follow-up on for our ministries at church very soon.
I hope as singles we are all seeking to be in smaller fellowships like a small group, life group, or home group ... or whatever you call your holy handful. As single adults, we don't have our own families like our married friends, but we should be in fellowship with people in the family of God. So find a small group to join and if you're not in one, start one! Use the great resource available through the Digizine to get started!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
It's Not About Dating
I am just going to put a little blurb out, but first I want to welcome my new followers! The following on the blog just jumped 300%! Thank you for coming and joining in on a topic that I think is a very important one today as Christians. The single population in general is larger than in the past, and the Christian population also reflects that so I think it is a very important topic to be thoughtful about. Thanks again.
So, I had a thought while doing a google blog search to see if my blog came up (it wasn't there!). A few blogs came up in the search for "Christian single" but not one of them was speaking on encouraging each other simply as singles. They all had dating talk on it, which isn't wrong but dating isn't what the Christian single should be about. They were speaking about the dating encounters they had and talking about how to get guys to ask you out more often. It sounds to me like they are perhaps Christian, but still dating the way the world does. I take issue with that only because Jesus told us to be in the world, but not of it.
As single believers, our main goal is not to get married or be in a dating relationship. We should be about our Father's business as modeled by our brother, Jesus (Luke 2.41-52). Sometimes our business here on earth requires that we have a marriage partner at some point, sometimes not. Marriage is not even going to exist in heaven; it won't be essential to eternity (Matt 22.30). God does not emphasize marriage as a single person's goal. Show me the passage in the Bible that proves I'm wrong, and I will silence myself and say no more. God does not even emphasize marriage as a married person's goal! Our relationship with him is the object of our hope, not relationships with others.
So if that's not what our minds should be on, then what's our focus? Colossians 3:3 says, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Jesus said that marriage is an earthly thing. Even though it is important, people who are married shouldn't even be setting their minds on the here and now. I know they have plenty to be concerned about, but Colossians was written for everyone, not just singles. We set our minds on the hope that Jesus Christ cares for us now and that he is returning to claim us, his own. We set our minds to having faith that he not only cares, but that he aids and comforts us. We set our minds on love, his great love that caused him to lay his life down for terrible sinners that he sees as precious children in need of true love.
Until next blog ...
So, I had a thought while doing a google blog search to see if my blog came up (it wasn't there!). A few blogs came up in the search for "Christian single" but not one of them was speaking on encouraging each other simply as singles. They all had dating talk on it, which isn't wrong but dating isn't what the Christian single should be about. They were speaking about the dating encounters they had and talking about how to get guys to ask you out more often. It sounds to me like they are perhaps Christian, but still dating the way the world does. I take issue with that only because Jesus told us to be in the world, but not of it.
As single believers, our main goal is not to get married or be in a dating relationship. We should be about our Father's business as modeled by our brother, Jesus (Luke 2.41-52). Sometimes our business here on earth requires that we have a marriage partner at some point, sometimes not. Marriage is not even going to exist in heaven; it won't be essential to eternity (Matt 22.30). God does not emphasize marriage as a single person's goal. Show me the passage in the Bible that proves I'm wrong, and I will silence myself and say no more. God does not even emphasize marriage as a married person's goal! Our relationship with him is the object of our hope, not relationships with others.
So if that's not what our minds should be on, then what's our focus? Colossians 3:3 says, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Jesus said that marriage is an earthly thing. Even though it is important, people who are married shouldn't even be setting their minds on the here and now. I know they have plenty to be concerned about, but Colossians was written for everyone, not just singles. We set our minds on the hope that Jesus Christ cares for us now and that he is returning to claim us, his own. We set our minds to having faith that he not only cares, but that he aids and comforts us. We set our minds on love, his great love that caused him to lay his life down for terrible sinners that he sees as precious children in need of true love.
Until next blog ...
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