Who was your first crush? How old were you? What did you do about it?
What’s the Goal?
Jesus gave us a vision for the goal of relationships when he said:
“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. -Mark 10:6-9
Does anything stand out to you about this passage?
What is different about what Jesus says relationships can be, from how most people do relationships?
Jesus taught that God made relationships for a man and a woman to be united in marriage. Why is it important to understand the purpose of dating to be leading to marriage?
What is the difference between each of the following?
- Friends
- Dating
- Exclusive dating (boyfriend/girlfriend)
- Engaged
- Married
Why do you think so many people skip being friends and hanging out with someone to get to know them straight to exclusive dating?
What problems can that cause?
Talking about marriage may seem strange when you are not even graduated from high school. However, what you do now affects your life later. (study now-pass later, exercise now-be in shape later). How can what you do while dating now affect your marriage in the future?
Who You Date Matters
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? -1 Corinthians 6:14-15
What do you think it means to be yoked to someone?
Can you be friends with someone and not be yoked?
Can you be in a dating relationship with someone and not be yoked?
Why should a believer only be in a relationship with another believer?
What problems could dating someone that doesn’t live for Christ cause? What about marrying one?
List the qualities you are looking for in a person to marry. (FYI, these should be the same qualities that you look for in who you date)
Sex
Paul’s command to us on how to stay sexually pure is:
Flee from sexual immorality. -1 Corinthians 6:18
How is this different than how many Christians treat sexual immorality?
What are some practical things you can do to live this out?