Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible teaching ministry that's here to encourage and inspire you every day.

Well, today we're starting a series called Awesome Relationships.

In this series, Rick Warren shares practical ways to help you take your relationship with family, friends, coworkers, and even God

from ordinary to extraordinary. This is a series you won't want to miss. Hey, let's jump right in

with part one of a message called Fighting for an Awesome Marriage. This weekend, I want us

look at fighting for an awesome marriage. Take out, I want us to look at fighting for an awesome marriage.

Take out your notes and look at the first at the top. Paul says this. Now, Paul was not married.

Paul was a single adult. And St. Paul says this, 1 Corinthians 7.7. We're all given different gifts.

God gives the gift of marriage to some, and to others he gives the gift of singleness.

So not everybody's supposed to be married.

God says in his word that we get different gifts from him.

Some he gives the gift of marriage and some he gives the gift of singleness old

translations call it the gift of celibacy but we everybody knows what it is it's

singleness now how do you know if you have the gift of singleness I know you have the gift

of singleness I know you're waiting with bated breath for this.

And here's the way.

If you have any desire to get married someday, you don't have this gift.

That's the telltale sign.

Okay?

If you say, you know, really, I'd like to be married someday i'd like to have a wife i'd like to have a

husband then you don't have the gift of singleness the gift of singleness when god gives it means

i'm perfectly happy to live the rest of my life not married that's the gift a singleness. Now, whether you have never been married or you're divorced or you're separated or you're widowed or you are currently married, regardless of what state you're in, the next verse applies to all of us.

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