Hey...thanx for stopping by...
We are wrapping up a pretty practical and cool series (if I do say so myself) all about guy/girl relationships.
It's called HE & SHE...
And we're trying to help you learn how to properly navigate your relationships and your feelings in a way that pleases God and doesn't get you (or anyone else) into trouble.
So we started off the series by focusing on how we begin to discover who we are. Who does God want you to be? And how are you taking steps to get there? This is important, because until you truly begin to discover who God made you to be, you aren't in a place to see very far down your personal road. The most important relationship you need to build is the one between you and God. And the fruit of that relationship ultimately leads 99.9% of people to the person who they will one day marry!!!
Then we watched a DVD by a pastor and great relationship expert named Josh Harris (author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a book that I highly recommend for all teens 16+) all about "What Love Means". Because what good is a series about relationships if it doesn't linger on the topic of love for a while?
And then last week we talked about "the timing of (romantic) relationhsips"...in a message called "Marshmallows & Me". Speaking of which...below are last weeks notes. Cheers!
He & She
Marshmallows & Me
…the timing of relationships…
When it comes to talking with teenagers about relationships, the hardest part is talking about trusting God’s timing.
Time Magazine – delayed gratification experiment…
If you waited, you’ll get something better…
The tricky part is that the reward of waiting is something that you can’t see!!
You have to believe that God’s timing is best. It comes down to TRUST!!!
God wants you to delay “short–term good” for “long-term better”.
When polled, the down side to not having a boyfriend/girlfriend is – feeling alone, not having someone to talk to, not feeling attractive, feeling like you ‘need’ someone, depressed.
3 Things That Characterize The Life Of A Person Trusting God…
- A person trusting God redeems the time!
Ephesians 5:15:16 (NIV) - 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. “
The NKJV tells us to “redeem the time”.
Make the most of today. Run hard in the path that you can see.
Be patient and obedient in your present circumstances. Be faithful right where you are. And don’t try to rush God’s timing.
British story of Peter…
Make the most of the time that you have.
Be viewing this special season of your life as a gift from God!!
And relax…99.9% of all people are called to be married!!
This special season is a time to focus on Him.
I Corinthians 7:23 (MSG) - 32-35I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master.
Spend some time to become holy instruments of God.
Song….”All I need is the girl”… “I got my tweed pressed, I got my best vest, now all I need is the girl. I got my striped tie, I got my hopes high, now all I need is the girl. I got the time, the place and the rhythm, now all I need to go with em, is all I need is the girl. I’d throw away my striped tie…I’d throw away my best pressed tweed…cuz you’re all I need…All I need is the girl.”
This guy believes that a relationship will make him happy…and we can easily end up here.
Do you ever kind of throw away this season that you’re in by wishing that you were in another season???
Jim Elliot (missionary martyred by the Auca Indians) – “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt everywhere you are to be in the will of God.”
2. A person trusting God is content in every circumstance.
Discontentment seeps into your heart quickly… Story!!!
Complaining really is sin – not a Canadian right!
Complaining says, “God, I don’t like the way You’re running the universe right now!”
· Contentment is not the fulfillment of what want, but the realization of how much you already have.
Phil 4:11-13 (NIV) - 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
If you aren’t content now, you won’t be content tomorrow.
3. A person trusting in God makes Him their source of hope and refuge.
Ask yourself – what do I turn to when things aren’t going well?
a. friends. b. family. c. money. d. ice-cream. e. God.
Psalm 91:2 (NIV) - I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Posted on
Wed, February 23, 2011
by mr j