Big Idea: We believe that God offers us answers to life’s toughest questions. Key Question: What’s the right approach to singleness? 1 Corinthians 7:7 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. Singleness, just like marriage, is a gift from God. 1 Corinthians 7:8–9 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. If you’re single, it is good in the state you’re in. 1 Corinthians 7:25–28 25 Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 1 Corinthians 7:29–35 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. Whether married or single, we must live with a missional and eternal perspective. 1 Corinthians 7:32–35 32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:17 17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. Your value and significance come from Jesus not your relational status. Be purposeful and leverage this season of singleness for the Lord! Be purposeful and leverage this season of marriage for the Lord! Recommended Resources: 7 Myths About Singleness - Sam Allberry Not Yet Married - Marshall Segal Party of One - Joy Beth Smith Single, Dating, Engaged, Married - Ben Stuart