Recent Sermon Notes on Dating

So, I listened to 2 sermons today by Ben Stuart with Breakaway Ministries and these are the notes I got on them.
Sex and Dating Part 1- 1 John 4:7-11
Dating- It can either be a stressor or great thing. You will make it one or the other.
Anyone can get a date if you really want one..you just have to drop your standards, which is NOT a good thing to do. Questions people ask are: How do we date correctly? How do we glorify God through dating? Can you build something that will last?
People tend to freak out when it comes to dating. There are bigger things happening in the universe than dating. They do not see the bigger picture. It it like their hand is directly in front of their face and they are like "Wow! My hand is huge!" and you tell them, "Move it away from your face." And then BOOM! It is not that big of a deal anymore.
Marriage is to be the picture of how Christ loves the church. Singleness allows you to be fully devoted to God without distractions.
1- You HAVE to get your relationship with God right first. If you do not have a growing relationship with God, then you do not need to be dating. Adam and Eve had a great relationship going until they took their eyes off of God. So, without God in the relationship it will never be right.
2- God needs to be the One to fill your heart, not man.
3- Love is when you put someone else's needs before your own. God is love and if you love God then the rest just comes naturally. We are all called to love one another.
4- We have to be obedient to God. We are to obey His Word and commandments.
5- You do not want to date/marry a guy who you are having to drag to be the spiritual leader. Older women are to train the younger women. We are to chase after God no matter what and never stop. God will send someone who will chasing Him right alongside of you.

Sex and Dating Part 2- Matthew 6:31-34
We exist to know God and to make Him known. We are to bring God glory. Dating is meant to bring marriage, which is supposed to be the picture of how Christ loves the church. Dating is intended for the purpose of marriage. Any other type of dating is just stupid.
Who do you date?
1- A believer and follower of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14 Deut 22:10 You both need to be chasing after God.
2- Someone morally submitted to God. Watch this person's fruits of the Spirit. Girls- You need a Psalm 1 and 1 Timothy 3 guy. Guys- You need a Proverbs 31 woman. Guys you need to be the Psalm 1 and 1 Timothy 3 guy and girls we need to be the Proverbs 31 woman! You do not need someone perfect, but someone perfectible. The experience of dating is not always the mechanism you need to use to evaluate a human being. You should hang out in groups to see how this person interacts with others. Anyone can put up a front for 2 or 3 hours.
3- Someone who is moving at the same pace as you.
4- Someone theologically compatible.
5- Someone socially compatible. They are headed in the same direction as you. What you want to do with your lives mesh well together.
6- Someone who you are physically attracted to.

How do you date?
1- Date with clarity. God is not a God of confusion. You do not play games with people. Do not go into the relationship uninterested. Be honest with the other person. **Guys should be clear with their actions/intentions. Guys should not confuse girls. If you are interested in pursuing the girl, just tell her. If you start spending a lot of time talking to a girl and especially about spiritual stuff..the girl is going to think you are interested in her. Tell her your intentions. Do not go around asking each other's friends, just be truthful and clear. And ladies, let the guy initiate everything. Be patient.
2- Date with autonomy. You are brothers and sisters in Christ. Let people make their own decisions. You are not married to the person yet. Do not force the other person to do anything. You are not bonded with that person in dating.
3- Date with purity. Being impure can sabotage your evaluation efforts. Have God's love for this person and that will build your friendship. You want the person you marry to be your best friend, so make sure there is friendship there and not just physical attraction to the person. 1 Corinthians 7:4.
4- Date with wisdom. Be private in public. If you are going to be alone with this person, then be alone in public. Do not expedite the romance.
5- Date in community. Have your family and friends watch your relationship. Make sure you each have accountability partners to keep you accountable on everything going on your relationship and have them call you out on the things you do wrong.
6- Do not rush into forever. Give things time. Be patient and wait.
7- Pray and trust God. Seek first His kingdom and everything else will come later and in its' perfect time.

You can go to breakawayministries.org and look at their podcasts or look these sermons up on itunes. Itunes is how I listened to them. :)