What Does a God-honoring Engagement look like?

You may have already had the chance to read Kendall's blog post  where she re-capped Sam Tyson's message from last week's Awakening. If you haven't, you should. But... I'll go ahead and give you a very brief summary:

Engagement is a time to prepare for marriage. Using the story of Ruth and Boaz, Sam made two main points about preparing for a God-honoring engagement. 1) Lift each other up, and 2) Remove all distractions.

Told you it'd be brief! :) You can listen to (and download) the whole sermon below.

Who Will Pray?

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ... 

(Col 4:2-3).

How do you pray?  Who do you pray for?  When you need prayer, where do you turn?  Do you ever pray for someone, or something, or only for yourself?

I have been thinking a lot about prayer lately, not because I am some prayer powerhouse, quite the opposite actually, I feel I don't pray enough.  It all started with our "Pray on Purpose" campaign where we committed to pray for thirty days.  It rocked me.  I learned a lot about myself, what I value, and honestly, what our community values.  Do we value prayer?

I want to start a prayer team.  I have a few ideas but I'll be honest, I don't want to be the guy leading this.  I want to open it up to our community and see if anyone feels led to lead this team.  In my experience, I've seen prayer teams work in one of two ways.  One way is a team gathers and prays for the ministry that is happening: The upcoming mission trip, the teaching tonight, that God would draw people to Himself.  Another prayer experience I have witnessed was a team of people available to pray for anyone who would come and needed prayer: for healing, for faith, upcoming life transitions, a job.  There are positives and negatives for both types and I've seen both teams work well. 

But, I want to see a third type of Prayer Team: one praying that the Gospel would be seen vividly in our community.  A team that gathers at 6:30 every Tuesday night for 20 minutes and is available to pray for the needs of this community, but is also praying for the Gospel to be vividly seen in our ministry.  Instead of praying blanket prayers, they pray selected portions of scripture to be relevant and active in our lives.  They pray for specific needs in our community and for specific people that aren't. 

What would it look like if the Gospel was more evident at The Awakening?  What if this community  was one that sought the Lord and his will for their lives and the lives around them?  What if the blind did see, and the lame did walk, and those who were hungry were fed.  Can our community accomplish these tasks?  Not without Christ and speaking to him through prayer. 

When the Original CORE team gathered last summer to start this gathering, we prayed.  We prayed a lot.  It is time for us to return to prayer.  In my opinion, this new Prayer Team is the most important team of servants at The Awakening.  So what needs to happen next?

• First, I am looking for one passionate leader to step up to the plate and develop this team.

• Second, I am looking for people to support this leader and gather at 6:30 to pray for 20 minutes every Tuesday night.

Let's start this along with the new series through Philippians on March 8th.  Who's in?  Contact Phil if you would like to lead or join this team. (PhilO@fellowshipdallas.org)

Posted by Phil

Preparing for a God-honoring Marriage...

Last night Sam Tyson spoke about the engagement season of a relationship and how we can prepare ourselves for a God-honoring marriage.


Engagement is a time to prepare for marriage; but how do you do that in a godly manner? Sam shared that man is bent towards selfishness. We all want to be happy, but sometimes we all loose sight of making our significant other happy...or worse, loose sight of making God happy.


As we look at Ruth 3, Ruth became vulnerable due to her given situation. To remind you of what that situation is: Her husband was dead and Naomi, her mother-in-law, was all that she had left. Instead of fleeing back to comfort and returning to her family, she made the decision to honor God and honor Naomi by accompanying Naomi back to her hometown. There, in the land of the Jews, in which Ruth was not, Ruth worked hard in order to provide for Naomi. Boaz, the owner of the land, was very partial to Ruth and recognized her selfless decisions. In turn, Boaz began to pursue and serve Ruth selflessly; he too was honoring God and honoring Ruth.


Sam revealed that as Ruth became vulnerable she started seeing Boaz as the one who could “save” her. Boaz didn’t abuse the situation, exploit her or make her feel embarrassed; instead, he continued to honor her and her integrity, just as he had all along. Boaz never thought about what he wanted, he thought about what Ruth wanted and lifted her up.


So, how do you prepare for a God-honoring marriage? As we can see in these verses, we need to lift each other up.


However, that is not all. We need to remove all distractions. In verse 12, Boaz mentions that there is another man who has first priority with Ruth. Boaz has to “remove” this possibility and explains to Ruth: “Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning” (Ruth 3:12-13).


In today’s world, these distractions could be anything from porn to merely confiding in someone else. These distractions take away from the intimacy and trust that a godly relationship is meant to have.


The most important thing to take away from Ruth & Boaz is that Boaz is not only representing a godly boyfriend or spouse, he is representing Christ and Ruth is representing us. This “redeemer” is pointing to the ultimate Redeemer - Jesus Christ. Jesus removed the obstacle that separated us from Him; He removed all distractions. From dying on the cross, He rid us of all sin and opened the bridge for us to have a relationship with Him and to one day live with Him. He lifted us up because how much he loves an honors us.


We cannot enter a godly marriage until we enter the ultimate relationship with Christ. Furthermore, we will not be prepared for a God-honoring marriage until we:


1) Lift each other up. 
2) Remove all distractions.


Share with us your preparations for a godly marriage!


Forever in Him,


Kendall Johnson

Ruth & Relationships continue...

Tonight, The Awakening's series on Ruth and Relationships continues with the topic of Engagement.

Last week, worship leader Cody Kimmel spoke on Dating. You can read a summary of his message on his personal blog, or read Kendall Johnson's blog here.

Due to technical difficulties, the first 5 minutes are missing. But don't worry! You'll be blessed by the rest!

Are You Selflessly Dating?

Last night Cody Kimmel presented the Awakening with an awesome speech on dating...the Christian way

Cody kicked off the message by defining two words - Love & Dating - two words which are very loosely used and carelessly thrown around in today’s culture.

Love - the commitment of my will to your needs and best interest, regardless of the cost.

Dating - the process of helping one another fall more in love with Christ through intentional service and selfless giving, with the hope that as individuals fall more in love with Christ, God draws the hearts of the two together as well.

Our generation and the culture we live in is obsessed with falling in love. So many of us take part in “Self-centered Dating” with the belief that he or she is there solely to make US happy; in our lives as an added “accessory”.

Cody went on to define “Self-centered Dating”:
1. Building an atmosphere of manipulation.
2. Exchanging the subject with the object in a godly definition of love.
        -Believing it is about being loved, rather than giving love.
3. Reversing the order of operations for how couples grow and develop.
        -Starting with the physical, most immediate gratifying connection...then seeking the emotional connection.

As we can see, these tactics are the exact opposite of living a godly life and pursuing a godly relationship. Sadly enough, our culture has defined this as “the norm”; our culture views dating as a way to fall in love so WE (not they) can be happy.

As we look at Ruth 2:3, we are able to read about and visualize the godly courtship of Ruth and Boaz. Cody noted that Boaz first noticed Ruth’s character (Ruth 2:10-12) and then helped Ruth better serve Naomi (Ruth 2:8-18). In today’s terms, Boaz was “perusing” Ruth; foremost, by honoring God, and then by seeking to serve Ruth selflessly. Ruth and Boaz had nothing to hide, no secrets; there was no atmosphere of manipulation between the two. Boaz knew Ruth had left her family to serve and honor Naomi among the land of the Jews, although Ruth was not a Jew or an Israelite. More importantly, Boaz and Ruth were not actively seeking to be loved, but were actively seeking to glorify God and to love. The two continued to establish this connection, not on a physical level, but on a spiritual and emotional level.

Boaz and Ruth not only demonstrated but are prime examples of “Other-centered Dating”: the process of helping one another fall more in love with Christ through intentional service and selfless giving, with the hope that as individuals fall more in love with Christ, God draws the hearts of the two together as well.

Cool quote: “When you know by the blood of Jesus that you have been admitted to the ultimate inner ring (perfect acceptance with the Father, Son, and Spirit), then it allows you to focus on the needs of others in your relationships.”

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2)

Questions to Ponder: 

How can your relationship with God and His people help you date (or be married) in a way that honors God by serving one another? 

How could you help someone close to you serve God this week?

In Him,
Kendall Johnson

Thinking about Love...

We live in a world awash in love stories. Most of them are lies. They are not love stories at all—they are lust stories, sex-fantasy stories, domination stories. From the cradle we fed lies about love. This would be bad enough if it only messed up human relationships—man and woman, parent and child, friend and friend—but it also messes up God-relationships. ... When our minds and imaginations are crippled with lies about love, we have a hard time understanding this fundamental ingredient of daily living, “love,” either as a noun or a verb. 

— Introduction to the Book of Hosea, from the Message Bible.

I think about love a lot. Maybe it's because I'm a girl. Maybe it's because it's what we all, as humans, what we all crave. Maybe it's because... of other things. But regardless of the reasons, I think about it a lot.

What it means. How it's shown. How it grows. How it is lost. What it is.

The Greeks had four different words for love—the one we mostly talk about as Christians is agape love (brotherly love). And then there is philio (friendship), storge (affection) and ... eros (passionate love)—the most misunderstood, yet the one everyone seems to wants.

When we think about eros—that love between man and woman, the romantic love—I think we leave out a huge component to it, which is why it turns out so disastrous for people. I mean think about it: Why should love ever be lost? Why should we fall “out of love” with a person? The love on which people get married from shouldn't be so easily forgotten ... it should be unconditional, just like agape.

When I think of love, I want to be loved like Rachel. Jacob barely knew the girl, all he did was see her, and he was willing to work seven years for her. No questions asked. And when he was gypped, he willing worked another seven years. Now that's some love. I want someone who will be willing to wait, regardless of the pain and crap they possibly have to go through first. If I'm worth it, it wouldn't be a problem, right? That’s love.

When I think of love, I think of Esther. Out of all the beautiful girls in the kingdom, King Xerses chose her. To him, all others paled in comparison to her beauty. While I'm sure he found the other girls tempting and their beauty alluring, Esther's had his sole attention. No other girl's beauty could every compare to hers. And I can imagine that many of the girls were less modest that her, more brazen. I imagine she stood there, hoping to blend into the background, not be noticed, not be loved. But she was. I'd want no one to be able to compare to me in my man's eyes. That's love.

When I think of love, I think of Bathsheba. David saw her and was instantly smitten. And although it was wrong and definitely not the right move, he was willing to kill for her. While I'm not looking for anyone to commit murder for me, I want a man who is like that—a man who is willing to go above and beyond, go to any lengths to be with me, lay it all down, do whatever it takes ... for me. That's love.

When I think of love, I think of Gomer. Hosea was willing to be ridiculed and embarrassed for her (granted, it was also God's command). He married a nobody and made her a somebody. He went after her at her worst, kept after her until he won her over (she ran away many times), and made a lover out of a woman who knew nothing of real love (she was a prostitute). When no mercy was shown to her, he showed her mercy. I'd want someone to take me at my worst, bear with me through my worst, and see me through to my best. Edify me. Make me their somebody out of the nobody I often feel I am. That's love.

Redeeming Love.

And all that is God's love. All that is agape love. But yet ... it's eros too, right?

What do you think?

-- Bunmi :)

Lindsey Duncan on Singleness

On Tuesday night, The Awakening's young adult pastor Phil Ogilvie interviewed Lindsey Duncan about how she tries to glorify God as a single. You may have already read Brooke's post about how what Lindsey had to say really spoke to her, and here's a chance for you to listen to the interview yourself in case you missed it. (Or if you were there and just want to listen again!)


We truly believe that God really used Lindsey to speak to a lot of people that night, and the message she shares is one that Christian singles everywhere should hear! Check it out below, and feel free to share it with your friends!





And just in case you don't have the time to listen to the whole 15 minutes of complete awesomeness, here are some of the highlights:

• No matter what you do with your time to make it fruitful, God's going to honor that if you're doing it for His glory.
• There's more to life than having lots and lots of fun; our time is worth more. God can use you--He can take your life and use you to love other people if you open yourself up to that possibility. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
• "I chose not to be defined by what I don't have. Singleness is always this term that marks you as a person without a significant other. And that's fine, but that's not who I am. I am a complete, whole Lindsey Duncan, all by myself." 
• Here's the stake of truth to drive through your heart: Everything you can long for in a husband (or wife), you already have in Christ. The cool thing about that is when he or she finally comes along, it's like icing on the cake! 
• Where ever God has put you in your life right now, know that your life has been so specifically designed for you so that we would best seek Him. 

These points don't even come close to doing any real justice to all the truth Lindsey poured out during the interview, so we hope you take the time to listen to it in full! 

We hope you chose to join us this coming Tuesday as The Awakening continues its series on Ruth & Relationship series. Part 2: Dating. 

Ready...Set...Go! "God Set it all Up"

This past Tuesday night at the Awakening, Lindsey Duncan gave a great exhortation to all singles to live a life that honors God by serving others.  One young single, Brooke Ward was inspired to write about it:

READY? uhh.. not really!! SET! oohhh, not so much  GO!  okay, but where?
Running the race of life as a Christian, especially as a young adult, can be confusing and leave you wondering how to do it and who to share the journey with.  I am so thankful for The Awakening and the inspiration it has brought to my life. Last weekend I had an eye awakening experience with God.  Granted... in my life I have probably had more eye awakening experiences, but this is the one God used to really shake me into a new mindset that will allow me to DO something about it.  Super Bowl Sunday was the day God told me I had to die to my selfish desires, and change my life if I wanted to live the life he set out for me.  I didn’t really know how to do that, because I’ve done it completely wrong for as long as I can remember.  I've had the book A Call to Die by: David Nasser for quite some time yet never really devoted myself to that.  I'd read a chapter here and a chapter there, but definitely did not make it the 40 days.  I skipped out on our bible study last year when things got overwhelming, and I chose not to lead my bible study at work because I didn't think I was well equipped.  I've been choosing to live a life of convenience, pleasure, and fun.  Leading this double life of partying on the weekends, scrambling to church on Sundays hung-over, never committing to anyone, and finally (THANKFULLY) God exhausted me of living this way.
 When I came to The Awakening on Tuesday for the second time it was clear that God set it all up, because I had a million things come up and reasons not to go that night.  God put me there to hear the exact message that just blew me away.  Lindsey Duncan spoke about how she uses her singleness to glorify God, and how she lives her life on purpose.  It was so encouraging to hear someone who is living out what my heart is so desperately yearning for.  Every single thing she said I wanted to stand up and shout "Amen!!!"  It's really interesting too, because I have said 100 TIMES! "I'm done dating.  I'm going to be single for God.  I'm going to be single for one year, or 6 months or whatever...”  I've never had the desire to honestly carry this out in my life even though it's something God has been asking me to do for way too long, and when I heard that message I knew that God was telling me I wouldn't have to run this race alone.  He had not only provided a welcoming community with others who believe in Him, but also young adults that are going through the same exact phase of life as me.  Being in the presence of others who believe in God and live their lives on purpose is exactly what my heart was searching for, and God put me here for this reason.  I look around and see others whose hearts are yearning for friendship, compassion, and more God in their lives and it is so refreshing.  I can't wait to go again.....is it Tuesday night yet?

Were you there that night?  
What inspired you that night?

During the Storm

Last week, Dallas was shrouded in snow. Everything seemed to shut down. There was no school, work and church were cancelled, and I couldn't make it to a volunteer project I had been looking forward to. I was stuck in my apartment for four days and didn't get to see a single soul. I never wanted to have a six-day weekend every again. Besides getting to catch up on sleep, I had a hard time being thankful for all the snow and ice.

So it was kind of ironic (or really God-ordained) that the message at Fellowship White Rock would be about the storms in life. The points Gabe made were these: Our Messiah is able to calm the storm, and we should remember to praise Him even if He doesn't. In closing, he said tagged on something that really spoke to me. You never know when the storm in your life is being used to bless someone else.

What made this so cool was that he used Traffick911 and the outreach the group was doing around the Super Bowl as an example. For those of you who don't know, Traffick911 is an organization dedicated to stopping the sale of America's children into the sex slave trade. Based on research that says sex trafficking activity increases by 80 percent during a major sporting event, Traffick911 had set up teams to do street outreach during the week leading up to The Big Game. I was all signed up to volunteer with them, but because of all the snow I ended up not being able to go.

I was really upset about not being able to volunteer, but as Gabe pointed out, what if the storm that inconvenienced me also inconvenienced the sex trafficking industry for the week? What if it kept a lot of girls off the street and kept a lot of kids from being recruited into such a life? What if the storm in my life gave hope and freedom to someone else?

The thing to remember is that God is always working. Even in the storms. And that, alone, is a reason to praise Him.

Season of Singleness

Yesterday I got the ‘Save the Date’ for a friend’s wedding. It officially became Wedding #7 I would be attending this year. I already went to one in January, have two in March, one in April, this one will be in May, one in September, and the last wedding date hasn’t been set yet. Everyone in my life seems to be getting married.

As a single girl, when I share this with others, I tend to get, “Your time will come soon!” comment. Like I’m stating the fact that 2011 holds seven weddings for me—none of which are mine—filled with jealously or something. Which couldn’t be further than the truth. 

Don’t get me wrong. There are moments when I loathe being single. I definitely would love to be in a relationship, to find “the one.” And when I hear about another friend getting engaged, or sit through another wedding (I’ve gone to at least two each year since high school), I do sometimes begin to wish I had a guy too. But to be honest, for the most part I’m pretty content in my singleness.

I’ve dated in the past, and after a lot of heartbreak and tears, I’ve learned one thing: You can still feel empty and alone even in a relationship. Being in a relationship or getting married isn’t going to make me feel any more fulfilled or complete. Only God can do that. So the best thing I can do as a single girl is focus on God, and not on whether or not I’m in a relationship.

This is why I am so excited about the new series beginning at The Awakening. The next four weeks will walk us through four different stages of relationships: singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage. I’m hoping to learn how to best glorify God in the stage I’m in now, and gain some Bible knowledge for when I get to the other stages!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”

God created marriage. And I believe that as humans we were built for relationships, and so it’s only natural to crave one. But until that season in my life comes, I need to make the most of the season I’m in now. I need to embrace my season of singleness, and be purposefully single.

Regardless of what stage or season you’re in, I hope you decide to join us at The Awakening over the next four weeks!  

Bunmi Ishola 

 

Radical Video

Gary Brandenburg, the Senior Pastor here at Fellowship, played this video from YouTube a few weeks ago before his sermon. I found it so powerful!

How does the video make you feel?

We will never reach the bar of righteousness the Bible sets. Isn't it so reassuring to know that because of our relationship with Christ, we have been accepted into God's kingdom?  

Let us know your thoughts.... We hope you are staying warm and enjoying the snow outside!

 

In Him,

Whitney and Kendall