Dating for

Marriage

Discovering God’s Way - Teen/Adult, Year 3, Book 4

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Dating for
Marriage
Written by Dee Bowman

Editors: Layout & Design:

Robert Harkrider Lauren Mayeux
Arline Harkrider
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lesson 1: Getting Acquainted With Yourself........................................1

Lesson 2: Human Sexuality...............................................................6

Lesson 3: You and Your Life............................................................12

Lesson 4: Where Are You Going?......................................................17

Lesson 5: You and Your Thoughts.....................................................22

Lesson 6: You and Temptation.........................................................27

Lesson 7: True Love: What is it Anyway?...........................................32

Lesson 8: Dating............................................................................37

Lesson 9: Dating II..........................................................................41

Lesson 10: Marriage: God’s Arrangement.........................................44

Lesson 11: Preparing for Marriage...................................................50

Lesson 12: Watch Out!....................................................................57

Lesson 13: A Review.......................................................................61

 1
Getting Acquainted
With Yourself

introduction
A young boy had been naughty and had been punished on account of it. Retiring to
the back yard, he sat on the stoop of a porch at the back door and looked at the clouds
passing overhead. He was sad and dejected, and felt sorry for himself. He began to think
as the clouds passed over the sun: there must be some reason for all of this, but what
is it? Why me? What is life anyhow? I wonder who I am, and what I’m here for. He didn’t
understand, but he asked wise questions.

There are three basic questions everyone faces early in life: Who am I? Why am I
here? Where am I going? Your early answers to these questions will help you handle situ-
ations that arise throughout the course of your life. They
seem so simple, but they’re so important. And the an-
swers are not always easy. Furthermore, it takes thought
and time to answer these questions, but it’s your life and
it’s worth the investment. Too many people didn’t take
the time to deal with these simple questions early on
and as a result, they don’t have a happy, productive, and
satisfying life.

focus
The focus of this lesson is to get acquainted with yourself. That may sound a bit
strange, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t really know themselves. They’ve
never really faced themselves and so they are often confused about what to do and how
to live. It’s not easy to get acquainted with yourself. It takes a good deal of work and con-
centration. To do so you must begin at the beginning. At the beginning you will find these

Lesson 1: Getting Acquainted With Yourself | 1

 three fundamental questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? The answers
to these questions will form the foundation for our study in this lesson and will have con-
siderable impact on the entirety of our lessons for this quarter. If we get acquainted with
ourselves, form good concepts about who and what we are and where we’re going, the
other considerations having to do with dating and marriage will fall nicely into place.

Let it be carefully noted that we are

interested in what God says about who and Let’s begin with the follo
what we are, and about what He says about wing
questions:
dating and marriage. The voice of the people
is not the voice of God. Culture is a poor men- Who am I?
tor when it comes to determining our course
of action. We are determined to let God speak
to our needs. After all, He is our Creator and
our Judge. So get you Bible out and get ready Why am I here?
for an exciting look at dating and marriage
and how you can make a secure, happy life
by following the dictates and suggestions of
the word of God. Where am I going?

discussion
Now, let’s take a look at what God’s word says about these questions and how His an-
swers may differ from ours.

Who am I?

Genesis 1:26–What does this suggest about who I am?

2 | Dating for Marriage

Genesis 2:18-24–What does this suggest about who I am?

Acts 17:24-28–What does this suggest about who I am?

Discussion question: How am I different from animals?

Why am I here?

Genesis 1:26-28–What does this suggest about why I am here?

Proverbs 2:9–What does this suggest about why I am here?

Ecclesiastes 12:13–What does this suggest about why I am here?

Lesson 1: Getting Acquainted With Yourself | 3

 Romans 3:23–What does this suggest about why I am here?

Discussion question: How do I fulfill the purpose for which I am here?

Where am I going?

Ecclesiastes 12:1–What does this suggest about where I am going?

Ecclesiastes 12:14–What does this suggest about where I am going?

Hebrews 9:27–What does this suggest about where I am going?

Discussion question: How can we avoid making poor choices about where we’re going?

4 | Dating for Marriage

 conclusion
Let’s read James 1:22-25. Here is the perfect means of getting acquainted with yourself.
It speaks of a mirror into which we can look and find an accurate reflection of who and
what we are. If we are honest about what we see, we can make our lives into something
productive and satisfying. If we ignore what we see, we are sowing the seeds for unhap-
piness and self-destruction.

Learn this: “Know thyself”

Remember: Ecclesiastes 12:13

Lesson 1: Getting Acquainted With Yourself | 5