Description
In 10 studies Ruth Goring leads you through Scripture to find God's vision for the single life. You will learn to listen deeply to God, identify the gifts your life offers, cope effectively with temptation, make space for relationships, and grow into a sense of belonging.
Introduction
Getting the Most Out of Singleness
This section introduces the topic, explains the structure followed in each study and offers tips for those approaching the study on their own as well as those participating in a group.
Session One
Grounded in Love
Paul defines our relationship with God by identifying God as "the Father." What does God's fatherhood mean to you on an emotional level?
Ephesians 3:14-21
Session Two
God's Presence in Broken Relationships
When is it tempting to lean too heavily on human beings who cannot "save" us?
Psalm 146
Session Three
Space to Love
Do you have any models in this realm—singles who "live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord"? What would you like to learn from them?
1 Corinthians 7:25-35
Session Four
Jesus & His Friends
What does it mean to you that in a time of deep suffering Jesus—the Son of God—needed human friends?
Matthew 26:36-46
Session Five
God's Presence in Loneliness
How does the psalmist respond to the silence of aloneness? Do you generally try to fill up silence when you are alone?
Psalm 142
Session Six
Team Works
Silas and Timothy were among Paul's long-term partners. Do you have people with whom you are interdependent? How might God be nudging you to become a partner or teammate to a fellow single?
1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:1-12
Session Seven
Jesus & Temptation
What does is mean to you that you are Jesus' sister, Jesus' brother—and that he is not ashamed to call you so?
Hebrews 2:5-18; 4:14-16
Session Eight
Finding Your Well
What reassurance does God give Hagar, and what commands? Has God led you to a "well" in any place of your own suffering?
Genesis 21:8-21
Session Nine
Receiving Life with Thanksgiving
Paul instructs Timothy to "treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." What hinders the development of such relationships in your life?
1 Timothy 4:1-5:2
Session Ten
Enlarging Your Tent
Is barrenness a plight that feels utterly foreign to you, or do you—literally or figuratively—identify with it? Why is the barren woman called to rejoice?
Isaiah 54
Total number of pages—63
Ruth Goring, formerly an editor at IVP and a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, now works at the University of Chicago Press. Her other books include the Bible study guides Environmental Stewardship, Meeting God in Quiet and Meeting God in Relationships, and the ebook Date Rape.