The EPIC Dating Series Begins _INTRO

Hey just wanted to post the sermon notes from dating series incase anyone missed it or wanted to come back to what we talked about. This past Wednesday was just an Intro to the dating series so I've taken the notes and wrote them out alittle more. I'll try to post each weeks notes on the blog so you can follow along. Feel free to comment, leave questions or even pass them along to a friend. We'd also love to see you on Wednesday nights if you can make it!
So......HERE WE GO!

Epic Dating (Intro)                                        

Have you ever seen an Epic movie? You know the best of the best; maybe it was love, drama, action packed or just straight up legendary. Well that's kind of where we're going with this series. As those were epic in their own way we'll focus on Epic Relationships, Love, Marriage, and Sex. 

But let's look at what Mr. Merriam Webster thinks of the word...

EPIC:

A: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope

B: HEROIC

1: a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero

2: a work of art

Now how we see it in our Dating Series and how it relates to the definition.

EPIC:

A: We'll look at the entire picture, nothing left out: from what the world says dating is to what its not, to things like getting serious (you know those words that we're embarrassed to say in front of people or our parents), to the ultimate love you can have for someone.

B: The kind of Love that can fulfill you and can only be found in Christ Jesus. Heroic? Yes! He layed down his life for you and me. (No this love isn't like Titanic where Jack gives Rose the door to float on while he froze to death. She could have slid over and saved him as well.  Or Edward stopping the out of control van from smashing Bella in Twilight.)

1: Best selling book of all time. It’s called the Bible, God's love letter to us.

Now it may not tell you the best pick up lines or every detail of dating but as we open it up, we'll hear what love is all about and how it will help us in a our dating relationships and ultimately marriage.

2: Created in His Image, we are made perfect, male and female. God created us percect and that's art!

Other works of art…well His creation of marriage was an art, God did conducted the first marriage ceremony in the garden. As for sex; well he educated Adam on that as well. So not only is it a work of art it’s Epic!

But does the bible talk of love beyond Creation of Adam & Eve and the Love of Christ….

Yes it does because the whole thing is a love letter.

(I'll post the composed love letter to prove my point on a different post)

But to get into the hot and heavy stuff we went straight to the book...Song of Solomon 

I actually read it from my phone with out telling the students where it came from. I've never seen so many blushing faces before. Some must of thought I was reading from one of those romance novels but their jaws dropped when I told them it was from the bible.

So why is this in the Bible? Well God created sex in a marriage so it’s the world that made it a bad thing. Sex was pure before the world got ahold of it and took it out of marriage. This was just their expression of love, now days its explicit language.

 We ended the night with what the Dating Series is not about!

1)This is not a series about how dating is bad.

2)This is not a series about how if you have sex before marriage you will burn in hell… That’s a Myth

3)This is not a series of me telling you to break up with you boyfriend or girlfriend, I want to tell you how to have a successful relationship with that person.

4)This is not a series to learn how far you can go in a relationship before it becomes sex. If that’s what you're looking for there's a good chance you've already crossed that line. But this is a series that will explain how through Christ we can get those things straight.

5)This is not a series that will point out people and say one is better than the other because of their purity or impurity: Honestly we're all impure...

1 Corinthians 6:18  Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Galatians 5:19-21 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

2 Timothy 2:22  So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and falling short of the glory of God

Well that wraps up the first night, hope you stay connected to see what else God has instore for us during this Dating Series. Remember, feel free to leave a comment or question.