Why I Love the Awakening Part 2

Why do I attend The Awakening? Well, I think the writer of part 1, Joy, did a great job summing up my reasons as well. Community - I need friends. Biblical Truth - I need Jesus. Dating - I need a woman. Pretty simple if you ask me, however if you are like me you may be reading this blog wondering if you should even come check out this thing called "The Awakening". I can't answer that for you but what I can do is tell you some other cool things at The Awakening that keep me coming back.

 
Breakfast - Yes, there is coffee and bagels every Sunday morning. I have to have these especially if I am going to be somewhere by 9:30 AM on the weekend.

Phil - Phil is a pretty cool guy. He is passionate about the Lord and growing the community of believers. The stuff he brings on Sunday morning fuels discussions amongst the group and challenges me with stuff I think on all week.

Real People - By real people I am not assuming you think we have robots at The Awakening. I mean we have real, genuine people come through the doors. People that are interested in each other, want to get to know each other and spiritually grow together.

Opportunities - The Awakening is a great information hub for stuff going on that would relate to a young person living in Dallas. Through the Awakening I have found a small group, learned about missions going on in the church, and ways that I can continue to be involved at Fellowship Bible Church Dallas.

Free iPads - Ok, this one is not true but if your heart jumped a little then you got all the way to the bottom of my blog entry and that makes me happy. I hope that you come check us out! From what I have been told, there is a link to my Facebook on this blog so feel free to friend me, message me, or write on my wall, but please don't poke me because I don't get that concept.

- Christopher Thompson

YOUNG ADULTS AT FELLOWSHIP DALLAS

If you haven't heard already, the Awakening has been re-launched this fall and the community is growing. Young Adults are now gathering during the 9:30 service in
room 202 on the second floor. We are in the middle of a great series discussing the
elements of The Church, what it is, who it’s for.

The Awakening has also been highlighting several Young Adult community groups.
Please join us Sunday morning where we can introduce you to the leaders and help
you connect.

Finally, I must take a moment and introduce our new Young Adult Intern.  Kyle Purcell is leading our discipleship efforts for young men and Sunday morning organization.  He lives right down the street in the Village Apartments with his wife.  He moved to Dallas from Arkansas to get a masters degree in counseling at Dallas Theological Seminary.

On Mission,
Phil

THE CHURCH: How Do We Define It?

We had another great discussion today starting our series about the Church.  Today we started with the difficult task of defining it.  Here’s the Definition that I worked from.  It was created by the collaboration of myself, a missionary named Jon Freeman and a DTS professor.  It probably is not the best definition out there, but it suffices for me. 

The Church is the community of Christ followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit and sent by God to participate in His redemptive mission.

The Breakdown:

Community

“But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Cor. 12:21-26). 

           

Community is important when we talk about the Church.  First off, I like to make people aware that without community, we cannot reveal the full nature of God who himself exists in community being Trinity. It is the community of God’s people that work together to reveal Him and participate in his mission.

Christ Followers

“I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5)

            The Church is a community of Christ followers.  They are people who have been chosen by God to be saved and reveal who he is.  There may be many you attend church, but only Christ followers are part of The Church – the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”(Acts 1:8)          

The Holy Spirit is the bridge that links both the Community of the Church and the participation of the Church in the mission of God. The Holy Spirit is at work in our communities, placing people in the Church and endowing Christ followers with specific gifts to use within the community.

Sent by God

Christ tells his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:19-20)

            From the beginning, God has been a sending God.  From Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Moses and the Israelites into the promise land, to the pinnacle of His sending, His son, the messiah who put on flesh to be the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world.  Afterward, Jesus sent his disciples and we too today, are sent into the world to reveal the Glory of God.

Participate in His Redemptive Mission

            We have a specific part in God’s redemptive Mission, just as Christ had his.  We are to reveal God.  This is how he is glorified.  This is how we participate in His Redemptive Mission.  Though we are participants, we are not necessities.  God will accomplish his will. It is by his grace that we can be participants and experience the joy of doing so.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” (Acts 17:24-25). 

How would you define the Church?  This isn’t a perfect definition, how would change it?  What is missing?  Would you take any of it out?

I hope you can join us this next Sunday as we discuss what makes a local church, really a church.

Blog Post written by Phil Ogilvie, Young Adult pastor at Fellowship Dallas. 

Follow Phil on twitter at @ThePhilO or find him on Facebook 

Smart phones are cool

(image from youversion.com)

The YouVersion Bible app just released a new feature; it will now play audio of Scripture being read by a professional voice talent! I discovered it the other night as I was headed to bed; I was so excited I laid the phone beside me on the bed and clicked play. It seemed like my alarm clock rang instantly and it was time to start the day. Groggily I realized my phone was still reciting Scripture—8 hours worth from where I started—Matthew to John. I was thrilled with the endurance of the app, but convinced I needed a better way to utilize it than letting it tell me bedtime stories while I slept.

So, on my commute to the office I brought along a pair of head phones and contemplated where to start. I picked 1st Samuel. It’s the Old Testament stories of Israel’s first kings—Saul & David. I have heard all the stories before—David and Goliath, David & Jonathan’s friendship, King Saul’s jealousy of David. But being able to listen to the stories connected together as one large narrative brought new richness and meaning I’d never seen before. These were real people who did real things. By the end of the day I had heard every word of 1st Samuel.

One of the strongest themes in 1st Samuel is the contrast between the personality of Saul and of David. Saul is an arrogant, selfish, popularity-driven man. David is “a man after God’s own heart.”

I noticed these contrasts:

David	Saul
Asks God for wisdom before action-every time! (and God answers!) Patiently trusts God’s timing Character-driven leader Honors Saul as “God’s Anointed”	Takes headstrong action and begs for forgiveness Desperately grasps at every “opportunity” Charisma-driven leader Seeks to kill David

These were so clear, but it’s much harder to see them when you just read a single story.

If you have a smart phone, you should download the YouVersion app too. I have already gone through more books of the Bible than I read on paper all last month, and I am seeing it in a whole new light.

[I don’t think just listening to the Bible read is a substitute for studying it, but it offers a great perspective. It’s also a easier way to start if you’re intimidated by the big words and time it takes to read.]

-Michael Degroat

The Three Reasons Why I love The Awakening of Fellowship Dallas!

Connecting to Community 
I don't know about most of you, but I'm not originally from Dallas. Moving somewhere new with no family close by and little resources to connect makes meeting people, especially Christ minded people, increasingly difficult. The Awakening was the social community I needed to make close connections and develop friendships. The Awakening is a wonderful place to meet people AND to chat with someone about finding the right type of group or smaller community to plug yourself into. For me it was a nudge in the right direction to start a small group for young adult women like myself. I have found wonderful ladies in this newly budding community seeing new faces every week!


Spiritual Growth 
This might seem obvious but I have seen significant growth in myself spiritually from the start of The Awakening. The community of people and the young adult pastor Phil, offer loving truth and genuine support to face those tough spots in life. I've grown through the focus on missions work and discussion on how the sermon is applicable in a young adult's life. 


Romance 
Let's face it; most people are excited to see a little romantic plot twist. Well mine started at the Awakening. I went in with some hurt and bitterness from past experiences. I endured unhealthy relationship patterns and they all drew me away from God. I had gotten the idea into my head that what I needed was to call myself to a celibate lifestyle especially after I met Geoff for the first time and noticed my attraction to him. Thinking that nothing good could come of this, God used the community there to help me work through some of the hurt of past failings and be open to God's plan for my life. That is when I saw Geoff again and one thing led to another. God has blessed me with a healthy, loving, Godly relationship with a wonderful man through the community of The Awakening.


-Joy Schrader

DISCUSSION THOUGHTS: Powerlessness

What do you do when you can't DO anything?

This past Sunday we had a great discussion about powerlessness.  We are in the midst of a series talking about the Holy Spirit and how he is active in our lives.  The question we talked about was "How do we see the power of God in our lives?"

We heard great testimonies of God's hand at work. I was struck by the authentic boldness of Joey to share his story of redemption through Christ from his past hurts and hangups. (Thanks for sharing, man.) Kyle talked about an amazing story of God providing $600 for a dental crown given directly to the dentist by an unknown donor, even when they did not make their need known. (Brush your teeth lately?)  I was also moved by Daryl's story of getting into a fender bender this week.  The person she "fender bendered" found out her situation, her ministry at Save The Storks and not only decided to relinquish her from payment, but also told her that he was going to get his Church involved in supporting her ministry financially!


God IS on the move and at work in powerful ways around us.  But, to answer the question we began with, the conclusion we arrived at was, "We must recognize our powerlessness to experience the powerful grace of God." 


The question I left you with as you walked into the worship service was: What powerlessness do you need to own, so that God’s power can be displayed in your life? Any answers?  What did the sermon reveal from our discussion?  How did our discussion prepare you for the sermon?


On Mission,
Phil


Phil Ogilvie is the Young Adult Pastor and the South Area Pastor at Fellowship Dallas.

Special Message from Phil Ogilvie

If you were able to make it out to our last Awakening gathering before summer two things happened, you experienced a pretty stellar tornado/hail and light show, and you also got to hear a quick vision for what this summer is going to look like.  Now I want to share a few more details real quick.

LeverageU @ Epiphany

The Awakening is producing an event tomorrow night, that is Saturday the 11th that is hosted by Epiphany DanceArts and benefits Traffick911.  Use the promo Code "Awakening" to get $10 off your ticket price.  I hope many of you join us as we are blessed by our very own Melissa Nagel who is the leader of this company.  Half of the proceeds go to Traffick911 who seeks to eliminate sex trafficking among children.  For more information and to buy tickets go to the LeverageU website.

The Awakening

The Awakening will continue to meet over the summer by gathering on Sunday's for lunch at Gordon Biersch in the Park Lane shopping center across the street.  Many of you know where it is because we've been there every Tuesday night after the awakening.  IMPORTANT: Come by the Awakening Table on the second floor concourse anytime Sunday morning to get your Coupon for happy hour lunch specials and 10% off the rest of the menu.  This coupon will also include "The Sunday Question" which will provide a starter question so that we can talk about Gary's message.  We will begin gathering at Gordon Biersch at 12:30.

Awakening @ The Park

During the Month of June, The Awakening will be gathering at the Park in the Village Apartments on Tuesday Nights until July 5th to play Volleyball, Hang out, play music and have other great yard games.  This is a great place to meet others and get connected.  After July 5th we will move to Monday nights so that we can start the next initiative.

The Gathering @ Uptown

The Gathering @ Uptown is an opportunity for young adults to gather in a fun, safe, and comfortable environment.  We will be gathering on Tuesday nights at St. John's Wood in uptown. (It's right across the street from Starbucks, next to Rockin' Taco.)  This begins on July 12 with Live bands every Tuesday night for 8 weeks.  This is the place to invite a ton of friends.  They will also have appetizer specials for us as well as a great patio and upstairs lounge.  With the bands we are looking at, you will not want to miss this.  The cover is only that you bring a friend.

There are other great events that we are planning on the side.  To stay connected, you will want to follow us on Facebook, and check out our webpage.

Thanks for being an advocate for what we are doing in Dallas, and being a part of this community.

Please email me personally at PhilO@fellowshipdallas.org for any questions or if you just want to meet up and hear more about our vision for a Dallas wide Young Adult community.

On Mission,

Phil

A Summer of Playing Outside

Fellowship Dallas Young Adult Community is inviting YOU to enjoy a Summer of Playing Outside!

Last night the Awakening met at Gordon Biersch for the last gathering before summer begins. Phil shared with us his vision for the next couple of months and the calendar of activities that have been planned! The Awakening had a wonderful time experiencing authentic, social community outside of the church walls...although the tornado may have scared a few people off. :)

With hopes of good weather for the summer months, below is the calendar of events where you will find the Awakening:

May 31st: Awakening's Memorial Weekend Extension BBQ.

June 7-28th: Awakening @ the Park. Tuesday Night Volleyball!

June 11th: LeverageU @ Epiphany DanceArts Benefit Show. (Produced by the Awakening!)

June 12th: Beginning of Awakening @ Lunch! Every Sunday, 12:30, Gordon Biersch.

July 5th: Awakening's 4th of July Extension BBQ.

July 12th-August 30: Gathering @ Uptown Tour. Tuesday Nights, St. John's Tavern.

There will also be LOTS more events to be apart of! Keep an eye out for guy's night, girl's night, road trips, and local events by staying connected on Facebook, The Awakening at Fellowship Dallas, and our blog!

You know where to find us & we hope to see you there!

Abiding: Part 2

Last week Phil continued with the second part of his series on abiding. At the end of his lesson he interviewed Joy about how she has seen some of these things in her own life. Check out the audio posted below or you can click here to listen on a smart phone or download it.




Nathan

Worship

Last night Cody Kimmel spoke at the Awakening on worship. Audio is posted below, or you can click here to download or listen on your mobile device.




Nathan Totusek

Reversal: Contentment in Christ

Tonight Phil talked about contentment and how our focus on Christ can help us to be content in our current circumstances. As an example he used Paul, who went through many trials while in ministry but was content, no matter what situation he was in he was content through Christ’s strength.

I know for me, I usually try to figure everything out by myself and only turn to Christ when I am in a tough situation. I was really challenged tonight to focus on Christ in ALL circumstances, good or bad. I find that many times I let my blessings like a good job, friends and family be idols in my life and find contentment through those and not Christ. Phil challenged us to think of five things that are really close to us and then take them away and see if we’re still happy. I know I’d have a really hard time if I lost one or two of those things on my list, much less all five. How about you?

Philippians 4:12-13

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Nathan Totusek

Check out the audio below or click here to download.

Peace through prayer

Tonight Jeff spoke on the having true peace through prayer and how we usually deal with stressful situations by trying to please others, withdrawing, controlling others and addictions. He talked about how to achieve true peace we need to pray consistently, specifically, and trustfully.

Check out the audio below, or download it by clicking here.




Nathan Totusek

Awakening Audio for March 29th

Last week Phil spoke on uncovering our craving for Christ. Check out the audio below or you can download it here.

Come back tonight as Jeff speaks on Peace through prayer.

REVERSAL: Giving away what God gave to you.

If Christ is relevant in your life, you should then experience reversal.

This week, Phil Ogilvie taught us how it is better to give away what God gave to you than to keep it yourself: REVERSAL.

God makes a functional faith possible.

He is doing good works within you and it is He who gives you the desire to make a difference in the world and to glorify Him along the way. Philippians 2:13, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” God has equipped you with everything good, all the tools to act out His will and to fulfill his purpose, but the question remains: Are you allowing God to work through you? Are you listening and fulfilling the yearning desire within you, given to you by Him?

The first step is to live out the Kingdom, His word, within your life. By doing so, you will fulfill that desire within you to make a difference in the world. You will be glorifying Him. This defines a functional faith, made possible by God.

Give away what God gave you.

Be a light.“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless,” Philippians 2:14-16. Listen to God and live out his commands, without complaining or questioning.

Your functional faith will function as a light unto others--they will notice something different within you. In this, you will be giving away what God gave you.  Give out the Kingdom, His word, His promise of life. Be a light.


Phil noted that although Paul was in prison, he still sent the Philippians two of this best men to preach the word of God. What inspired him to be so generous, while he was behind bars? Why do you think he said,“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear,” Philippians 2:12.Paul knew the importance of having a functional faith and giving it away. Regardless of his circumstances, he continued to live out and give out his faith and to obey God.

God sent his only son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins--to save us. He gave us a special opportunity to live, but only by the grace of God. Don’t harbor this information, this precious gift. Give it away. We were saved, not to make our lives more comfortable, but to live out and give out the word, to pass it on, to serve.

It is not about us. It is about glorifying God and serving others.

Thank you, Phil, for a wonderful message on Reversal. Join us at the Awakening next week @ 7!

In Him, 


Kendall Johnson



To listen to Phil's message in full, click here. Or hit play below! 

"Community Speaks": Danielle Cody

This past weekend we had a blast on the Veritas Retreat!! Danielle Cody shares a little about what she learned…

Truth. 

1 Peter 3:15-16: "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you..."

Why do we pursue truth? In order to expose the truth to those who oppose it, we must understand truth. Our worship is affected by our knowledge and understanding of who God is and who man is in light of God. As we seek the truth, our worship becomes more meaningful and glorifying to God. 

We first took a look at the characteristics and nature of God. God is three divine persons that make up one divine being. This is also called the Trinity.  Each divine person has unique characteristics and different responsibilities.  Our Father is all-powerful but all good and loving at the same time. Jesus is the perfect example to believers of humility as he became fully man and walked this earth just as we do.  The Holy Spirit convicts, empowers and strengthens believers to live as Jesus did. Each one is God, yet each one plays a specific role. Christians tend to emphasize only one or two forms of God without giving full recognition to all three. It's important for us to recognize each divine being and the role that they play in our lives. 

Next we took a look at who man is in light of who God is. Genesis tells us that man is made in the image of God. What does this mean exactly? Well it can mean a lot of things. Being made in God's image affects our desire for community, our ability to reason and choose good over evil, it causes us to take on the qualities of God. Most importantly, being made in God's image means we were created sinless. Because of the Fall through Adam and Eve, suddenly we were faced with the inability to not sin. We became sinful--in need of a sinless Savior.  Through Jesus Christ (taking on the role of our Savior and Redeemer), we suddenly are given the ability to not sin. You may ask why, since even as Christians we still fall into sin and you're right. Just as we have nothing to do with our salvation, we have no ability to overcome sin--at least on our own. This is where the role of the Holy Spirit comes in. Essentially if we aren't taking full advantage of the Spirit, then we aren't fulfilling our purpose. How do we walk by the Spirit though? 

Our desire and purpose is to live in obedience to God and live a life imitating Jesus. Ultimately we're created to glorify God and enjoy him. This is accomplished by walking by the Spirit, BUT first we must know that we are children of God. How do we know this? 1 John 5 tells us that in order to be born of God, we must believe that Jesus is the Christ. Not only that, we must love his children. How do we grow to love God's children? We already know it can't be done on our own, yet it IS possible. This passage also tells us "by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe his commandments". In order to love the children of God, we must love God first. In order to love God, we must grow in knowledge and understanding of who God is. This brings us full circle. This is why we pursue truth. Not only does knowledge of our Lord make us ready to make a defense and give an account of the hope that is in us, but also it develops a love for God.  As we grow in love for God, we grow in love for his children and observe his commandments by walking in the Spirit. This is how we know we are a child of God. This is how we "overcome the world" (1 John 5:5). Understand your faith. Understand the God you serve. Pursue truth.

By Danielle Cody

"Community Speaks" - Bobby Anderson

Occasionally, we hear stories from within the Awakening that allow us to see God's hand at work within the community.  This is a great opportunity to hear the "Community Speak." This post is told by Bobby Anderson who has been attending the Awakening for a couple months and works in the financial industry.

It was the week after I heard Phil speak about living life with purpose.  What especially hit me was when he was talking about doing your job with purpose even if it is something that you don’t particularly want to do.  Friday that week around 4:30 in the afternoon I was on a conference call with my boss and he told me that I needed to change the format of our internally prepared screening memo that our committees use to make decisions.  The kicker was that I had to completely re-do the entire document by Monday morning. 

What this meant was I was going to have to spend my whole weekend re-doing something that I had already created six months earlier.  Needless to say I was not looking forward to it.   As I started to work on this project I found myself angry with the fact that I was given this task and had to give up my weekend for something I thought was pointless.  Then I looked up and saw the posted note that I had put on my computer screen that read With Purpose.  It hit me that if I was to follow God with purpose I needed to follow through with this project and do the best possible job that I could.  I worked through the entire weekend only breaking for sleeping, eating and going to church.  After I completed the new screening memo I was very proud of what I did and it was honestly some of the best work I have ever done.

The next week I was very excited to show my boss and our committee what I created over the weekend.   To my surprise when we were going through a couple of transactions using the new screening memo our committee and my boss informed me that they were going to scrap my screening memo for another one that our team on the East coast was working on.  Their news completely deflated me and I was very discouraged.  Here I was pouring my heart and soul into my work and truly doing it was purpose just to be told it was for nothing.
At the same time I had been interviewing for a new position outside of my company.  The guy recruiting me asked me to provide two writing samples and a financial analysis document I had built in excel.  I ended up sending him the new screening memo and the two transactions that I had worked so hard on over the weekend and that my company scraped. These documents were exactly what the new company had been trying to develop internally and were one of the main reasons that they offered me the job.

Following God with purpose and applying that to everything we do is done whether or not you know what his plan is for you.  His plan for me in this situation was completely off my radar and unexpected.  Point being that is I am not always know what his plan is for me or why I am put into certain situations.  The only thing I can control is that I continue to do things with purpose and trust the God ultimately has plan for me.     

 By Bobby Anderson  

Reversal: What is Unity?

What does it mean as Christians to be truly unified in Christ?

Get ready to have a complete reversal of what you think the answer be as you listen to Sam Tyson's message from The Awakening this past Tuesday.

Reversal: The Relevant Christ

Last week, a new series kicked off at The Awakening. 

Over the next few weeks, we'll study the book of Philippians to discover what a Christ-centered life is all about. And that life is often the reversal of what the world tells us life should be about. As Christian, a life that pursues Christ should be our first and foremost desire.

Below is the audio for the first installment of this six-week series. Join us at The Awakening for the remaining five weeks to see Christ be made relevant to your daily life, and why a reversal my be exactly what you need. 

Questions on Marriage: Phil & Shannon in the Hot Seat

This past Tuesday night at the Awakening, Pastor Phil and his wife Shannon opened themselves up to be interviewed by the rest of us. During Phil's message we got to write down some questions and then Sam Tyson was a moderator in the interview session.

As you will notice in the audio file below, it got really authentic as they shared the realities and difficulties of their first year of marriage, the challenges and growth that happened while they where missionaries in Costa Rica, and the great joy they have as they've raised their son Matthew, who is two and a half years old. Phil and Shannon have been married for six and a half years and look forward to learning from each other for many more years to come.



To download the clip, please click here.

Investing in Your Marriage

Four weeks ago, The Awakening started a new series called Ruth & Relationships. It began with the subject of singleness, moving on to dating, then engagement, and finally marriage.

Now, I was all pumped during Singleness week. It's the stage I'm at right now, and while I'm pretty content in this stage, I'm always interested in learning how I can best serve God and honor Him in my singleness. The night offered a lot of encouragement, as well as some confirmation that I'm on the right track!

I was equally excited about the Dating lesson. I mean, I want to date someday, you know? And if that someday were to be tomorrow, I wouldn't be turning down the opportunity! Haha. But on a serious note, whenever I do get to that stage, I want to make sure I'm equally serving and honoring God as I did when I was single. And that could get tough when you have another person to worry about. So it was another great night of enlightenment.

The Engagement session... was good. But, my table of single ladies kind of checked out during the discussion aspect of it. For most of us at the table, it was like, we're not even dating why are we worried about engagement? And knowing that marriage was coming up the next week, well... you can just imagine where our minds are.

So, I walked into this week's Awakening with a kind of detached. I actually almost didn't show up (horrible, I know!). But show up I did, and I couldn't have made a better choice!

Phil took a different angle on talking about marriage--one that's rarely looked at. A lot of people see marriage as an adventure. And for singles, a lot of us think, "Once I get married, I won't be lonely, life will be better, etc." But you know what's worse than being single and alone? Being married and numb.

Having a good marriage comes from participating in the bigger story--God's story--as a couple. And as singles we can begin investing in our marriage now, the same way we invest in a retirement fund or something (although, the dividends, I hope will be much more valuable and rewarding). No matter what stage of the relationship spectrum we're in we can begin that investment by actively participating in HIS story. And as we're participating in His story, we'll end up living the greatest adventure. And who doesn't want marriage to be one great adventure?

You can listen to the full message below, or simply click here.