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  • Grace, Singleness, Dating and Relationships:

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    Life Group discussion notes for 04.03.12 from guest speaker Katia Yeghnazar.

    Grace, Singleness, Dating and Relationships: - primary image

    Grace, Singleness, Dating and Relationships:

    1 Cor 6 and 7 provide some of the bible’s longest portions of teaching on sex and relationships.

    1 Corinthians 7 v 17-23

    17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
    21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

    v17: Each of us should focus in on the situation that God has assigned to us. So often we’re quick to compare ourselves to the ‘left and right’; thinking another person has a better situation in which to serve God. Each of us has a responsibility to find out what God has called us to and live in the good of that. Using Katia’s card game analogy… We need to ‘play the game’ relative to the dealer not the other players.

    v18-20: External markers no longer define you [circumcision]. It’s not your external circumstances that define you. Society is quick to define us by our relationship status but God would say otherwise.

    v23: You were bought for a price; do not become slaves of men.
    All humanity is born into slavery. We were therefore bought from slavery not from a position of freedom. It’s an amazing truth that as Christians we have been bought out of slavery into a kingdom where we are sons of God. Our identity is not in singleness, it’s in Christ.

    We must know the price that has been paid for our freedom because only then do we understand our true value. The price determines the value. We have infinite value before God. Jesus life was infinitely valuable and our life is not junk bought in a pound shop.

    The Devil lies to us that we are “easily forgotten” but God’s very own son has been sacrificed for you. He will not forget you. James 1 says ‘do not be deceived….’ The heart of the father has not changed for you- he loves you and is committed to you. We can live in peace because we were bought for a price

    v23: Do not become slaves of men…
    Beware of thoughts like ‘God can only use me when I’m married…’ We can run right into God’s purposes at any stage of life. Don’t let the devil deceive you of this. Jesus is the adventure- not marriage. The gun has gone off… are you running the race?

    Some questions:
    1. What pressures does your relationship status put on you?
    2. How much is the ‘left and the right’ a distraction or hindrance to you? What in particular that you see in others do you struggle with?
    3. How valuable do you believe you are?
    4. The gun has gone off… what kind of race is God calling you to? What’s impeding you in the race?

     

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