inspire: Singleness & being a Single-Friendly Church
Speaker: Alice Cornes
Marriage
Singleness
Creation
Good
“not good”
Rest of OT
(Mostly)
a blessing from God
Isaiah 4: ‘a disgrace’,
a widow or an eunuch
Now Jesus has come
broken but still good
Eph 5: ‘submit to one another’
1 Cor 7:
singleness is better (v.32)
New Creation - the Wedding Feast
Creation: Gen 2:24
- ‘it is not good for the man to be alone’ // ‘united’ // ‘one flesh’
After the Fall, 3:16
“Your desire will be for your husband & he will rule over you.”
Rest of the Old Testament: Ecc. 9
- ‘enjoy life with your wife’
Now Jesus has come
1 Cor 7: on marriage, divorce, deprivation (v. 7 - 9, v. 25 - 39)
Reasons why singleness is ...
better because
- Marriage & motherhood will & does tie one more to the world
1 Cor 7, v.32
An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs:
Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.
v.35 “UNDIVIDED DEVOTION TO THE LORD”
- to God himself, a single woman can talk it out, unburden themselves directly to God through conversation & prayer
- to God’s affairs, a single woman can be a spiritual blessing to others; can help move the Church forward
- with each other - supportive quality of friendship, prayer walks
New Creation
Rev. 21: 1-2 - the wedding feast of the Lamb
' “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. '
2. BIG IMPLICATIONS for being a single-friendly church
it's not helpful when people don’t honour the single life
- Persistent questioning which comes from a loving heart,
“I hope she finds a nice man soon..”
- Warning: If God has given you the gift of singleness,
don’t look to nor examine other people’s situations
(the grass as greener; the green-eyed monster)
- Deep, connected relationships ...
so single people do not feel the need nor be prompted towards casual relationships
- to married, family women ... eg: family plus one night, add someone in to things that already happen - film watching, car journeys, washing-up after dinner .. if you ask for a babysitter one night, ask them back for a Family Night another time
" Your future queen awaits you arrayed in finest gold"
O King (Psalm 45) - Matt Searles
Recommendations for thinking more:
Divorce & Re-marriage by Andrew Cornes
w/ long section on singleness working carefully through biblical texts
The Plausibility Problem by Ed Shaw
on same-sex attraction but very helpful for singleness
Singleness 1 & 2 - Andrew Cornes via the Christian Institute
Marriage
Singleness
Creation
Good
“not good”
Rest of OT
(Mostly)
a blessing from God
Isaiah 4: ‘a disgrace’,
a widow or an eunuch
Now Jesus has come
broken but still good
Eph 5: ‘submit to one another’
1 Cor 7:
singleness is better (v.32)
New Creation - the Wedding Feast
Creation: Gen 2:24
- ‘it is not good for the man to be alone’ // ‘united’ // ‘one flesh’
After the Fall, 3:16
“Your desire will be for your husband & he will rule over you.”
Rest of the Old Testament: Ecc. 9
- ‘enjoy life with your wife’
Now Jesus has come
1 Cor 7: on marriage, divorce, deprivation (v. 7 - 9, v. 25 - 39)
Reasons why singleness is ...
better because
- Less attached to the things of this world
- Marriage & motherhood will & does tie one more to the world
1 Cor 7, v.32
An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs:
Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.
v.35 “UNDIVIDED DEVOTION TO THE LORD”
- to God himself, a single woman can talk it out, unburden themselves directly to God through conversation & prayer
- to God’s affairs, a single woman can be a spiritual blessing to others; can help move the Church forward
- with each other - supportive quality of friendship, prayer walks
New Creation
Rev. 21: 1-2 - the wedding feast of the Lamb
' “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. '
2. BIG IMPLICATIONS for being a single-friendly church
- Honour singleness as well as marriage
it's not helpful when people don’t honour the single life
- Persistent questioning which comes from a loving heart,
“I hope she finds a nice man soon..”
- “God is the best timekeeper”
- “My nice man is Jesus!”
- “I’d be really mad if he came now, I’ve got stuff to do”
- Honour singleness as well as marriage
- Warning: If God has given you the gift of singleness,
don’t look to nor examine other people’s situations
(the grass as greener; the green-eyed monster)
- Be church family
- Deep, connected relationships ...
so single people do not feel the need nor be prompted towards casual relationships
- to married, family women ... eg: family plus one night, add someone in to things that already happen - film watching, car journeys, washing-up after dinner .. if you ask for a babysitter one night, ask them back for a Family Night another time
" Your future queen awaits you arrayed in finest gold"
O King (Psalm 45) - Matt Searles
Recommendations for thinking more:
Divorce & Re-marriage by Andrew Cornes
w/ long section on singleness working carefully through biblical texts
The Plausibility Problem by Ed Shaw
on same-sex attraction but very helpful for singleness
Singleness 1 & 2 - Andrew Cornes via the Christian Institute