Purposeful Relationships // Week 5: Purposeful Singleness // Sophie Lockhart

Key Points: • Singleness is an opportunity to live a life of undivided attention and devotion to the Lord. • A life of singleness is an invitation to become more like Jesus. • A life of singleness is a good and holy thing in the eyes of God. • A life of singleness is not less valuable or less important than a life of marriage and / or parenting. • Marriage is not the main goal for those who follow Jesus. • Singleness is not better than marriage, and marriage is not better than singleness. The Church needs healthy married people and healthy single people. • Many single people in the Church feel like their singleness is a problem to fix rather than a life to be lived. • There is no "single experience" of singleness. • Ways to love single people well: • Don't assume that you know what it's like to be us. • Invite us into your life. • Help carry the load. • Value what singles bring to the Church. Questions: • What if we could acknowledge that it is possible to love the life you have, and still grieve something you deeply desire but do not have? Stats: • Only 23% of active churchgoers are single. (Barna Group) • 46-47% of adults in the USA are single. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2025) • On Amazon, there are 298 marriage books for every 1 book on singleness. (Heart of Dating Podcast) Scriptures: • 1 Corinthians 7:7-9. 26-28, 32-35 • Matthew 19:8-12 • Isaiah 56:4-5 • 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 • Ephesians 2:19