August 20, 2023
Swipe Right
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
How do you know if you found "the one"?
One of the beauties of early relationships is the pursuit of the other person.
Song of Songs 1:9 NIV
I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses.
Song of Songs 1:10 NIV
Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.
Song of Songs 1:11 NIV
We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.
Song of Songs 1:12 NIV
While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.
Song of Songs 1:13 NIV
My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.
Song of Songs 1:14 NIV
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.
Song of Songs 1:15 NIV
How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.
All of this intense pursuit and conversation back and forth creates the perfect scenario for explosive passion!
Song of Songs 1:16 NIV
How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.
Song of Songs 1:17 NIV
The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.
Song of Songs 2:1 NIV
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
Song of Songs 2:2 NIV
Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women.
Song of Songs 2:3 NIV
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
"The woman felt completely safe in Solomon's presence: "I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste" (Song 2: 3). She was entirely at ease with Solomon. She experienced no threatening or unsettling moments in his presence. The apostle Paul told us that a man should nourish and cherish his wife. (See Eph. 5: 29.) The woman experienced that in their premarital relationship. In his "shade," she was cherished. By his "fruit," she was nourished. And note: this must start before marriage. Never trust a future mate to do a turnaround after marriage." - Tommy Nelson, The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy
What would happen in your relationship today if you were to use your words to make the other feel totally safe?
Song of Songs 2:4 NIV
Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love.
Song of Songs 2:5-6 NIV
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
Song of Songs 2:7 NIV
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
The same God who created a passion for marriage also created the power for restraint until it's time.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
James 4:4b-5 NIV
Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
James 4:6 NIV
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."
James 4: 7-8 NIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:9-10 NIV
Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Father in Heaven, I know you are here with me. I know you love me. I know you want what is best for me, and I believe that all your ways are good. I have not always resisted temptation when I knew I should. I have sinned against you, and I confess this to you. I ask you to forgive me, heal me, and take away my sin in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen