Contentment As Testament

CONTENTMENT AS TESTAMENT

I Corinthians 7:7-8

S: Contentment (singleness and life situations)

Th: My Life as God’s Light

Pr: WE CAN ONLY TRULY BE CONTENT IN THE LOVE OF GOD.

?: What? In what?

KW: Circumstances

TS: We will find in our study six circumstances that show contentment is only found in the love of God.

The _____ circumstance that shows contentment is only found in the love of God is…

I. NEVER MARRIED

II. NOT MARRIED YET

III. MARRIED, BUT DIVORCED

IV. SEPARATED BY DEATH

V. MARRIED

VI. SPECIAL SITUATIONS

RMBC 18 November 01 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Contentment: (C & H—if tigers weren’t content)

Calvin and and his pet tiger, Hobbes, are walking in the woods, when Calvin says, “I wonder why people are never content with what they have.

Hobbes responds with, “Are you kidding? Your fingernails are a joke, you’ve got no fangs, you can’t see at night, your pink hides are ridiculous, your reflexes are nil, and you don’t even have tails! Of course people aren’t content!

Calvin answers, “Forget I said anything.”

To which Hobbes responds, “Now if tigers weren’t content, that would be something to wonder about.”

Do you struggle with contentment?

I think that it is interesting that as human beings, the more that we have, the less content we are.

Have you ever noticed that?

I have found that true in my life.

So…it makes me ask…what is the secret to contentment?

Well, before we go any further with this line of thought, let’s take a moment to review…

TRANSITION:

This is the third study out of three that has been considering the stations of life that we may find ourselves in.

1. Review: Two weeks ago, we discovered that we need our older people.

The older citizens of our congregation must not consider that their time has done.

For those of you who are older, there is still much for you to do.

Your continued participation in this church is a must for our survival.

2. Review: Last week, we established the importance of marriage.

There is a design for marriage that is to be respected and honored.

It is God’s design.

Not only that, it runs an evangelistic parallel, demonstrating the same relationship between Jesus and the church.

God, through the Son, loves us and commits to us for eternity.

An interesting thing happened to me last week as I looked out among you.

As I was speaking about marriage, the thought crossed my mind of how many singles we have in our church family.

There is probably more of you than you think.

And what I am especially thankful, is that so many of you are active and involved in this church.

You are not sitting on the sidelines.

You are a part of this place.

3. Today, we want to elevate the significance of the single life.

The single population in the United States is booming.

A few years ago, 37% of adults over 18 were single.

Today, that percentage is only increasing.

The percentage is increasing, yet from time to time singles in the church find that they are sometimes unfairly and unkindly treated, an oddity of sorts.

It happens because sometimes the church’s attitude is that if you’re not married, you’re either out of the will of God or your true love is still on the way.

But the truth is, if you are not married, it is not a failure.

Listen here…marriage is not the ultimate goal of life.

ILL Notebook: Single (uncle Frank)

Dean Sims’ Uncle Frank, at 78, was a healthy and wealthy man, a lifelong bachelor. He courted a lot, he said, but “never boiled over—just simmered.” On a whim, he decided to take a trip around the country to look up nearly a dozen old girlfriends.

Upon his return, he exclaimed, “Whew! Thank goodness I never married any of those women. They’re all widows now.”

Well, you can see Uncle Frank considered it an advantage to stay single.

For him it was matter of life and death!

But you know…

4. The reputation of the single life is a state of restlessness.

This is the reputation, of course, a generality.

It is not always true.

Yet, it often is, especially when we think of younger singles.

It is a time to have fun before settling down, being wild and carefree.

Some say it is a time to “sow wild oats.”

I have always found it interesting to note that Jesus was single.

He celebrated life.

He enjoyed healthy relationships.

He was comfortable with Himself.

He had a sense of purpose.

Jesus models how to live as a single.

For Him, it was never a time of restlessness.

Instead, it was a time to radically live out His purpose.

It was a time to not hold back.