I DO! I DON’T! I WILL! I WON’T!

“How Do We Find the Two?”

Pastor Duane Cross | 05.05.2013

Key Thought

If you want something that you’ve never had,

you must do something that you’ve never done.

“So here’s what I want you to do,God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life - and place it before God as the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1,2 (Message)

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”    I Corinthians 3:18,19

1) I will have a higher standard on who I will see.

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”  II Corinthians 6:14

2) I will have a higher standard on what  I will do.

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

I Peter 1:14,15

“There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, ‘The two become one.’ Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master; we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever - the kind of sex that can never ’become one.’” I Corinthians 6:16-18

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure...”

Hebrews 12:4

3) I will have a higher standard on how I will live with my Two.

“But you walked away from your first love - why? What’s going on with you anyway? Do you have any idea how far you’ve fallen? Turn back, recover your dear early love.”

Revelation 2:4 (Message)

GOING DEEPER QUESTIONS

These questions are designed to help you go deeper with the sermon during your week-to take a closer look at the Scripture and find fresh ways to live out the main points of the sermon. Going Deeper questions also are used for discussion in all of our Grow Groups at Hope.

Scripture Reading

Romans 12:1,2; I Cor. 3:18,19; I Peter 1:14,15; I Cor. 6:16-18; Rev. 2:4

Getting Started

What is the “normal” path to finding a life’s mate?

Pastor Duane said, “If you want something that you’ve never had, you must do something that you’ve never done.“ Do you agree? Why or Why not?

What does a “higher standard” in a relationship mean to me?

A Closer Look

Read II Cor. 6:14

• What does it mean to “be unequally yoked”? Why is that such a big deal (or not)?

• What standards do I look for in finding the TWO?

• Pastor Duane said we should have a “higher standard on what I will do.” What does that mean? Do you agree or disagree?

• Read I Cor. 6:16-18. How does Paul define the sexual union in this passage?

• What does it mean to keep the marriage bed pure? (see Heb. 13:4)

Digging Deeper

What does it mean to have a higher standard in how I live with my TWO?

If you are not married, how does the principle of a “higher standard” relate to your relationships?

What steps can I take this week to honor and love my TWO? (II Cor. 6:14)