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Exposed: Celebrating Singleness
Senior Pastor Jeff Maness
January 19, 2025
Big Idea: Singleness is not a season to endure; it’s a status to celebrate.
Big Question: What is there to celebrate about singleness?
Main Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7
But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. —1 Corinthians 7:7-8
What is there to celebrate about singleness?
1. Singleness is a gift from God.
When Paul speaks of singleness as a gift, he isn’t referring to some unique ability some people have to be content while single. Rather, he’s speaking about the state of being single itself. As long as you have it, it’s a gift from God—just as marriage will be God’s gift if and when you receive it. —Vaughan Roberts (The Gospel Coalition)
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 25 Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in His mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems. —1 Corinthians 7:17, 25-28
Having now spent more than forty-one years single, I have learned that it is indeed a gift. Not one I would choose. Not one many people would choose. But we do not choose our gifts, remember? We are given them by a divine Giver who knows the end from the beginning and wants, above all else, to give us the gift of Himself. —Elisabeth Elliot
What is there to celebrate about singleness?
1. Singleness is a gift from God.
2. Singleness is a gift for God.
But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away. 32 I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. —1 Corinthians 7:29-35
A gift from God is never meant to be kept for yourself—it’s meant to be given to others. So many people expect the gift of romantic love and marriage to be the gift that completes and fulfills them. But marriage is actually an earthly image of Christ’s self-sacrificial love as a gift to His Church. Married people are called to give self-sacrificial love, not only to one another but also to others outside of their marriage. Similarly, this same calling applies to singleness. As a single, celibate man, I give myself self-sacrificially to others. I do that with perhaps different expressions and capacities than my married friends, but in our particular gifts, we are called to the same purpose. —Laurence Koo (The Navigators)
What is there to celebrate about singleness?
1. Singleness is a gift from God.
2. Singleness is a gift for God.
3. Singleness is a gift by God.
Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” 11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. 12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” —Matthew 19:10-12
❤️ If you have decided to follow Jesus today, we’d like to celebrate with you and help you with some next steps. Please text LIFE to 855-725-2939 or click here.
Recommended Resources:
🔹 Breaking the Marriage Idol by Kutter Callaway
🔹 From This Day Forward: Five Commitments to Fail-Proof Your Marriage by Craig and Amy Groeschel
🔹 Outdated: Find Love That Lasts When Dating Has Changed by Jonathan Pokluda
🔹 You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity by Francis and Lisa Chan
🔹 The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy and Kathy Keller
🔹 An Impossible Marriage: What Our Mixed-Orientation Marriage Has Taught Us About Love and the Gospel by Matt and Laurie Krieg
🔹 Notes on Love: Being Single and Dating in a Marriage Obsessed Church by Lauren Windle
🔹 Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex by Mike Todd