Great night last night, we talked on the topic of physical intimacy. We had reached the point in Song of Solomon where the relationship took a move toward the physical. Nothing was acted on because these feelings and urges were not in the right context. We have all heard that God intended physical intimacy to be present in marriage and marriage alone, I agree. Physical intimacy outside of marriage is like starting a fire where it doesn't belong, at first it is pretty but quickly can spiral out of control. Physical intimacy in a marriage context is like starting a fire in a fireplace, nothing is different about the wood or match but the context/location is different. A fireplace was built to withstand the heat of a fire in the same way that marriage is designed to house physical intimacy.
We then talked about what happens when physical intimacy is present outside of the marriage context:
- Hinders Communication: Marriage is not built of physical intimacy but on the couples ability to communicate, when you become physical before marriage, certain communication skills aren't developed.
- Gives a Disillusion of Health: Like adding liter fluid to a fire makes it bigger but in the wrong context physical intimacy over time just makes that relationship harder and harder to survive in.
- Law of Diminishing Returns: What used to be exciting, isn't exciting anymore. A relationship built on physical intimacy will one day lose its luster.
- Lastly it takes away "first time experiences" that a married couple should get to share with each other.
Key Scriptures
Song of Solomon 2:6-7
In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Success!!! That would be the word I would use to describe this trip. Our students and leaders worked hard. It was awesome, not only did we work hard but everyone had a super positive attitude while doing so. We started our work day at "The Shelter's Right Hand", this is a transition home of battered women in children in the area. You could tell that this living environment was eye opening for a lot of our students. Our job at the shelter was simple..............CLEAN!!! We mopped, swept, scrubbed, ect. and at the end of it all, that place looked pretty spiffy. Next it was back to our home base where the night before we had prepared bag lunches, one for us and one for a friend to be determined at a later time. We then took to the streets, looking to hand out a lunch, a smile, and a few kind words. As an added bonus, the people who got a lunch also got a bit of the life saving word of Our Lord and Savior. (We had written our favorite verse on the bag) Lastly, to thank our host church we did some work for them, cleaning/organizing merchandise for their up-coming rummage sale. At the end of the day we were all pooped but yet somehow we were able to cook up some more energy for the next days activity.............DISNEYLAND!!!!
Disneyland is Disneyland, I mean, how could it not be amazing? Rides were great, lines were short and the kids were happy. We then had a traffic free ride back to Santa Maria, all in all, this was an awesome weekend and I can't wait to do it again next year.........
New series on Sundays out of the Book of Ephesians. The main focus of this lesson was what the people of Ephesus must have felt when reading this letter. We talked about redemption, something the people that this letter was written to had a hard time understanding because to them freedom was purchased by each individual at a price. We continued on to the idea of conformity under the headship of Christ, that he was not only our savior but a figure for us as followers to strive to emulate. Lastly we talked about the importance of a seal. Not the kind that swims around in the ocean, they are cool, but not cool enough. The importance of a seal in the time of this letter, gave a letter or note power or identity. Rulers and leaders had certain seals in which they marked their letters and with that seal each letter carried the weight of the senders status. For them hearing that they were marked with God's seal had to have meant a great deal to them. I have found in my life that when reading it is important to try and put yourself in the place of the story, it makes it all the more real. I hope the students felt uplifted by the fact that we are all personally sealed by Christ, for Christ. Cool stuff!!!
Key Scriptures:
Ephesians 1:3-14
Romans 8:29-30
In His Grips,
Kevin
First night of a new series, "A new kind of love song." This series is made up of 5 weeks of material out of the book of Song of Solomon. Our first week was on the topic of attraction. This was a very lengthy talk but much needed. I feel like the youth of today have been done a disservice. Media today promotes attraction based solely on the physical. We talked for quiet awhile about the fact that looks fade and that REAL attraction should be based on the qualities of a person's character. That should be what draws you close to someone and the quality that trumps all qualities, godliness. Our next topic is dating, this topic is certain to open up a can of worms with a few of our students. Please be praying for their hearts to be open to the lesson.......
Key Scriptures
Song of Solomon 1:1-7
1 Peter 3:1
Proverbs 11:22
Proverbs 21:9
1 Peter 3:3-4
In His Grips,
Kevin
