Joy in Singleness

Mallory Mathias and Cynthia Brain • August 24, 2022

Being single in the church is something that often gets overlooked. 


Churches often focus on children ministries, youth ministries, newly marrieds, married with children, or those who are married and have grandchildren. It is not uncommon for the church body to ‘forget’ about those who have never been married, don’t have children, or those who are single with children.


If you are in a season of singleness, this can be a really sweet season of getting involved with ministries, building community, participating in something you are passionate about and serving others.


Paul himself was single, and he wished for people in the church to be single (like he was) for their priorities to be focused on the Lord and to limit distractions.


Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 7:32, where he writes, “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to plead the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, and how to please His wife.”


There are advantages that those who are single have and how they can serve Christ and the church. 


In singleness, we can grow to use the gifts provided to us from our Heavenly Father.


A true heart of worship and relationship with the Lord gets to be our highest priority, and how sweet is that we can focus our extra time in serving the Church, serving others. 


During seasons of singleness, we are able to pick up at a moment’s notice to go where the needs are, and to love and serve others within the church, locally and globally as our resources allow. 


Does this mean singles never desire companionship? Marriage? Family? No, it does not! Regardless of what “type” of single you may know or be, we have to remember that this season is a calling from God and that most singles desire marriage, a family, and do life in community. 


There is also the danger of being isolated and forgotten because of the singleness label. It can be come a habit for isolation to occur and to withdraw from church community. This is where the responsibility of the church to look out for others comes into play. In Philippians 2:4-5 it says, “let each of you not only look not only to his own interests, but to the interest of others. Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” 


Community is vital for those who are single.


We were created to love God and to be in community. Even in Genesis, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so He created woman. (Gen 1:27) 


In the first chapter of Philippians we see Paul praying for community to “abound in love” (Phil 1:8-9). We should be praying Paul’s prayer for our community and ourselves, that we will abound in love, so we will approve whatever is excellent, pure and blameless for the day of Christ (Phil 1:10)


For those who are single with a hearts desire for marriage, we know It is not always easy to thank God for being single and to have the mindset of being on mission while we are in this season, God is faithful to show He is all knowing even in our singleness and proves over and over again that He cares about us and sees us in every season of life that He calls us to. This is why we all need community, we need to be the encouragers of the mission God has for every part of the body. 


If you are single, and struggling in this season of singleness, you are not alone. He is for you. He fights for you and He cares for you, most of all He loves you!


Take courage to reach out to your church, find your people, build your community, be involved in friendships and groups of all kinds, get involved with other singles who are walking in similar stages of life keeping Christ in the center. God is the One who has calls us to singleness --whether for a short season or for life -- and when we understand that, He gives us unspeakable joy that can only be found in having a relationship with Jesus.





“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!” - Psalm 34:1-4



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If you would like to get involved with our singles ministry at Crosspoint, contact Cynthia Brain.

Freed to Serve

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Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

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Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

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Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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