Storyline #44: Ruth 1-2 “Don’t Play the Dating Game”

16Free files for youth pastors:

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (mp3)

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (Sermon Notes)

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (Scripture)

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (Service Order)

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (handout)

1 – Ruth 1-2 – Dating Game (ppt)

It’s the greatest love story of all time!  Every time I hear a Christian say that about this movie, it makes me want to vomit…or smack some sense into them (in the name of Jesus of course).  The Notebook is NOT a great love story whatsoever.  The girl falls in love with a boy, gets moved away by her parents, meets another guy and gets engaged to him, meets back up with first boy, gets into a sexual relationship with him, later breaks up with fiancé, and ends up dying with husband (who is first boy) in nursing home.  That is not a great love story, that’s a story of unfaithful cheating to a marriage commitment.

Relationships, dating, and marriage is always on most every teenager’s mind.  They are in search for a great love story to inspire them.  They need a clear, real, and biblical example of a romantic relationship before marriage.  That’s the book of Ruth!

I see 7 helpful hints (truths) regarding a pre-marriage relationship in Ruth 1 – 2.  Continue reading

Taken: The world’s screams for a loving father

takenA wide-open mouth, a bug-eyed look, a thumping heart, and a desire to chop an evil doer in the neck…these were all my reactions while watching “Taken.”  I think its one of the best movies I’ve actually ever seen.  I honestly don’t say that much.  It instantly went into my top ten list.  I won’t spoil the movies for those who have seen it, nor will I rehash it for those who have.  But I think what made it so unforgettable was, it had pretty much everything.  Both the men and women are loving it.  It resonates with us all.  We all want to feel rescued in some way because we all secretly know we’re lost.  We all want someone who loves us enough to pursue after us.  That might sound really strange for a guy since we’re supposed to be the ones pursuing, but still its true.  Why is this movie such a hit?  Its because it answers the screams of the world from deep within, it rings true in our inner being, and it strangely connects with our souls.

Its true that most of the world either live without a father or live with an unloving father.  With men who are uncommitted to their families, men who just follow their passions from woman to woman, men who won’t stand and do the right thing, men who have no self-control, men who are lazy, men who don’t fight for their families, men who don’t love their children, men who don’t lead their wives, men who don’t stick around, men who don’t work hard, men who are harsh, and men who just don’t give a crap…the world knows all about these men. These pains and hurts run so deep that people continue to feel the affects into their elderly years…and even to their death beds. Continue reading