July 19th 2026 |Relationship Expert |The Block Church

Devotional

Day 1: Mirroring the Gardener Before the Garden

Stewarding singleness begins by anchoring your identity in the One who shaped you. Before Adam tended Eden, Genesis reveals he was first molded in God’s image—a blueprint for divine reflection. To mirror God means rejecting cultural labels, career accolades, or relational status as your core identity. Like Adam, your purpose flows from bearing His likeness, not achieving societal milestones. When singleness feels isolating, remember: your worth isn’t measured by marital status but by whose image you carry. Contentment grows when you see yourself as God’s craftsmanship, not a project needing completion. [50:01]

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: What daily habit could remind you that your identity is rooted in God’s image, not your relationship status? How might this shift your approach to singleness or dating?

Day 2: The Proximity of Gazelles and Grace

Adam’s first assignment wasn’t work—it was dwelling in God’s presence. Just as gazelles leap freely in open fields, love flourishes when rooted in nearness to God. Singleness becomes a gift when spent cultivating intimacy with Him through prayer, scripture, and fasting. Like John Wesley’s fiery devotion, your closeness to God ignites purpose beyond loneliness. The enemy distracts by making you chase counterfeit connection, but true companionship starts where His presence dwells. [56:56]

“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Genesis 2:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you wandered from God’s presence this week? What one step will you take to return to intentional communion with Him?

Day 3: Tilling Soil, Not Chasing Shadows

God placed Adam in Eden not just to exist, but to work and protect it. Singleness is a season to labor diligently—building businesses, ministries, or character—without idolizing outcomes. Purpose guards against desperation; busy hands leave less room for anxious hearts. The Proverbs 31 woman wasn’t defined by marriage but by industrious faithfulness. Whether you’re planting literal or metaphorical gardens, your labor glorifies God when done with excellence. [01:00:01]

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, ESV)

Reflection: What “garden” has God entrusted you to cultivate right now? How can you invest in it today without resentment or hurry?

Day 4: The Sword Before the Serpent

Adam’s single command—“don’t eat”—was his sword against temptation. Modern dating bombards you with endless choices and compromises, but God’s Word remains your shield. Like Jesus in the wilderness, victory comes through declaring “it is written” over cultural lies about love and worth. Memorizing scripture equips you to spot counterfeit intimacy and protect your heart. Truth isn’t a suggestion—it’s your lifeline when loneliness whispers shortcuts. [01:04:59]

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis 2:16–17, ESV)

Reflection: Which verse will you commit to memory this week to combat lies about your worth or God’s timing?

Day 5: Awakening Love When Mountains Leap

Love awakens not when you force it, but when God declares, “It is not good for you to be alone.” Adam didn’t seek Eve—God crafted her after seeing Adam’s readiness. Contentment in Christ positions you to recognize a helper “fit” for you, not just filling a void. Like gazelles bounding freely, healthy relationships emerge from seasons of surrendered trust. Your waiting isn’t passive—it’s active obedience, knowing the Gardener tends your story. [01:07:00]

“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” (Genesis 2:18, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your singleness or dating life feels hardest to surrender? How might trusting God’s timing deepen your peace today?

Sermon Summary

The stewardship of singleness and dating begins with the simple reality that relationships are not side categories in life. Horizontal relationships get healthy only when the vertical relationship with God is in order. Singleness is devotion to God. Dating is evaluation of another person’s devotion to God. Marriage is biblical unification, and no evaluating season gives a person permission to stop being devoted to the Lord.

Grace for singleness does not mean the absence of desire. Grace means God gives supernatural capacity and sustaining help to obey in a way that would otherwise feel humanly impossible. Biblical singleness is not isolation, because a person still needs family, church, community, and godly companionship. A season that feels delayed is not a wasted season when faithfulness unto the Lord is producing fruit.

Song of Solomon gives a serious charge, not cute romantic advice: “Do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” Love is meant to move like a gazelle across the mountains, free and safe in its rightful place. Infatuation, desperation, and puppy love try to manufacture what God has not awakened yet. Love cannot be forced into its proper time.

Genesis gives the blueprint for the kind of person ready for relationship. The image of God comes first, because identity has to be rooted in the Creator, not Nike, Balenciaga, achievement, salary, GPA, or relationship status. God is not an advisory board for decisions already made. God is the foundation, and every decision is made in and through him.

The presence of God comes next. Adam was placed in the garden, in God’s presence, before anything else was added to his life. A person can lose sight fast, like turning around in a store and suddenly being separated. Sin grips quickly, but daily attention to Scripture, prayer, fasting, and reverence keeps the heart close to God.

Adam’s assignment also matters. God put him in the garden to work it and keep it. Purpose, diligence, protection, craftsmanship, and godly dominion belong to a healthy life before romance. The enemy may not stop productivity, but he loves to corrupt it into control, pride, idolatry, and greed.

The word of God is the final piece before “it is not good for man to be alone.” The kind of person not meant to be alone is the person with identity in Christ, presence with God, purpose in life, and Scripture in the heart. The goal is not singleness or marriage. The goal is contentment in Christ, because Jesus crushes the head of the serpent, reverses death and separation, and calls every person to seek first the kingdom.

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Key Takeaways

1. Singleness is devotion before evaluation Dating is not a break from devotion to God. Dating is the process of evaluating whether another person’s devotion to God has been formed well in singleness. A relationship becomes dangerous when desire moves faster than discipleship. [40:08]
2. Grace does not erase desire Grace for singleness is not emotional numbness or the removal of longing. Grace is God’s sustaining help to obey while attraction, loneliness, and self-control remain real. The weakness itself becomes the place where God keeps giving exactly what obedience requires. [41:24]
3. Do not manufacture awakened love Song of Solomon treats premature love as a serious spiritual danger, not merely a dating mistake. Love is meant to be free like a gazelle, but only when it is safe and rightly timed. Desperation can make the heart call infatuation “love” before wisdom has tested it. [46:27]
4. Identity must be rooted in God The image of God comes before romance, marriage, success, or personal fulfillment. A person is not ready to build a relationship when identity is owned by the world, achievement, style, or approval. God is not added onto a life already built, because he is the foundation from the beginning. [50:21]
5. The Word answers every dart The enemy’s accusations often sound like fear, shame, temptation, and doubt. Scripture gives the believer truth that is stronger than the flaming darts: forgiveness, new creation, faithfulness, and God’s nearness. Jesus answered Satan with “It is written,” showing that the Word is not decoration, but a sword.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:06] - Relationship Expert Series Introduction
[36:32] - Stewarding Singleness And Dating
[39:42] - Singleness, Dating, And Marriage Defined
[41:24] - Grace For Singleness Explained
[46:27] - Do Not Awaken Love Early
[49:30] - Genesis Gives The Blueprint
[50:21] - Identity In The Image Of God
[54:56] - Placed In God’s Presence
[60:01] - Work, Keep, And Protect
[63:37] - The Word Of God As Instruction
[67:00] - It Is Not Good To Be Alone
[68:11] - Contentment In Christ
[69:10] - Jesus Reverses Death And Separation
[71:21] - Invitation To Follow Christ

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Genesis 1:27-2:25
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' [...] The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'” [50:01] [50:07] [54:37] [01:04:02] [01:06:55] [01:07:00]

Song of Solomon 2:7
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.” [46:27]

1 Corinthians 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” [41:39]

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [01:11:21]

Observation questions

In Genesis 1–2, what does God give Adam before saying, “It is not good for man to be alone”? [01:06:55]
According to Song of Solomon 2:7, what warning is given about love, and what picture is used in that warning? [46:27]
In 1 Corinthians 15:10, how does Paul describe grace, and what effect does that grace have on his life and work? [41:39]
What are the three relationship stages described: singleness, dating, and marriage, and how is each one defined? [40:08]

Interpretation questions

Genesis shows that identity in God’s image comes before romance. Why does that order matter so much for a healthy relationship, and what tends to go wrong when identity is built on approval, success, or relationship status? [51:34]
Song of Solomon warns against stirring up love too early. What are some ways people try to manufacture love before its proper time, and why is that spiritually dangerous instead of merely unwise? [47:30]
Grace for singleness does not remove desire, loneliness, or the need for self-control. How does that change the way a person should think about weakness, waiting, and obedience in this season? [42:39]
Genesis 2 shows that God gave Adam work, responsibility, and his word before bringing him into marriage. What does that suggest about the kind of maturity that should be present before someone pursues a serious relationship? [01:04:26]

Application questions

Singleness is devotion to God before it is anything else. In this season of life, what is most shaping devotion to God in a practical way, and what is distracting from it? [40:08]
Grace means God gives exactly what obedience requires. Where is obedience feeling difficult right now—loneliness, sexual temptation, comparison, impatience, discouragement—and what would it look like to depend on grace there instead of just trying harder? [42:39]
Love should not be forced awake before its proper time. Are there any patterns right now that are stirring up love too early—emotional dependence, fantasy, flirting without clarity, physical compromise, or desperation to be chosen? How should those patterns be addressed? [46:59]
Identity must be rooted in God, not in style, achievement, salary, GPA, or relationship status. What is most tempting to own identity right now, and how can identity be more firmly anchored in being made in the image of God? [51:51]
A healthy life includes the presence of God through Scripture, prayer, reverence, and sometimes fasting. Which of those has been weakest lately, and what simple change would help draw closer to God this week? [57:14]
God gave Adam work to do and something to keep. What responsibilities has God already placed in your hands—work, studies, friendships, family, ministry, integrity, daily habits—and where is there a need for more diligence or protection? [01:01:51]
The goal is not singleness or marriage, but contentment in Christ. If God does not change relationship status as quickly as hoped, what would contentment in Christ look like in real life over the next few months? [01:08:11]

Sermon Clips

48s

#ContentmentInChrist

“``It is not good for that person to be alone. When you follow God's order, he will bring together the best helper for your life. Notice the order of God over your life and mine. But can I tell you something as I conclude that the goal of this life is not singleness? The goal of this life isn't marriage. goal of this life is contentment in Christ. Contentment in Christ and the dedication of your life fully, not partially, but fully to him.”

45s

#GodBringsYourHelper

“In other words, it is not good that this kind of man should be alone. All the other type of men and women, they can be alone. But this type of man, woman, this child of God, it is not fit for them to be alone. What kind of man? The man that knows his identity in Christ. What type of person? The type of person that's in the presence of God. What type of person? The person that has a sense of purpose. What type of person? A person that knows the word of God. It is not good for that person to be alone. When you follow God's order, he will bring together the best helper for your life.”

40s

#ConsiderTheLilies

“Would you consider the lilies how they were clothed in splendor that was greater than that of king Solomon in all of his glory? How much more does he care for you? How much more does he care for who you marry? Apart from your salvation, it's the single most decision that one can make. How much more does he care about your children? How much more does he care about the growth of your marriage? How much more does he care about the relationships that you have with your friends and with your family? Consider the lilies.”

66s

#FamilyIsGodsDesign

“But the family was the first institution that God ever created. It's also the first institution that was deceived. Why is that? Because it's the building block for the entire world. Family is God's ultimate design for this side of eternity. At the end of the day, he's our father. Everything flows from him. Adam and Eve shared this fruit bringing two things, death and separation from God. And there were consequences to this. But in his infinite mercy, immediately after, God laid out this solution when he says to Satan, Genesis chapter three verse 15, a savior of the world will be born to you, and you will simply bruise his heel, but he will crush your head. That's the power of Jesus, and that was Jesus on the cross who defeated death to reverse those two things, to reverse death, to reverse separation from God.”

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July 19th 2026 |Relationship Expert |The Block Church | Full Service