Dan Rowe - Sunday, 14 May 2023
Singleness
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 7:17-35, 1 Corinthians 7:7-8, Psalms 18:30-50, Isaiah 56:1-5
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CloseSingleness… its a phase of life that all will experience and yet not a topic we often think through well. Having seen God’s good plan of marriage for His people, we must ask, ‘what about those who are not married?’ The Bible has a high view of singleness calling it a gift (1 Cor 7:7). Paul encourages us to think wisely about how we can best serve God in the state of life we find ourselves, not seeking the alternative. For some, that might mean choosing to remain single so that they might serve God, free from the distraction of married life. As a church, we should be affirming the gift of singleness in our family and supporting and encouraging those who are single. So often we overlook single life, seeing it as a transit lounge on the way to the ‘real’ destination of marriage. God, however, is less concerned with your marital status as He is your commitment to growing as a disciple of Christ. Whether we are single or married, God’s desire is for all His people to be living holy lives that glorify Him.
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 7:17-35, 1 Corinthians 7:7-8, Psalms 18:30-50, Isaiah 56:1-5
Related Topics: Sex | More Messages from Dan Rowe | Download Audio
We love a turning point. Whether it is a story or a football game. Hope dawning at the darkest time. Where is the great turning point in Esther? It could be our memory verse, when Esther is persuaded by Mordecai to act to save her people. It could be when the king looks with favour upon Esther and holds out the golden scepter to her. It could be when Haman is forced to lead Mordecai through the city mounted on the king’s horse and proclaims that he is the man the king delights to honour. They are major events in the story of Esther. They are turning points of a sort. But the writer of Esther points us to another event. That looks so trivial.
Esther is such an exciting story! There are evil plots. There are interesting yet flawed characters. There is risk and sacrifice. There is heroism and villainy. Today, we are introduced to the villain of the plot, and what an evil scheming villain he is! He spins lies and concocts murderous plans to do away with the Jews, God’s covenant people. How will the people respond? Will he get away with his evil plan? Will God, who is not mentioned at all, intervene to protect His people, to live up to the promises He made to Abraham, the people at Mt Sinai, and to David?
There is so much that sounds familiar in these first two chapters of Esther: the world is dominated by loud and brash and imposing and degraded power, the people of God are small and struggling and faced with ambiguous decisions and actions and God seems so far away he is almost absent (at least to our minds and hearts). As we read this book, we will need God’s revelation to help us navigate its strangeness, its ambiguity, and its confrontational narrative. In this, we have the key to the book—the lack of God’s name in letters does not mean the lack of God’s presence.
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