Friendship-Staff

 

Proverbs 17:17

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Q: Why is true biblical friendship so important to you?

Example: “I know I can always count on my friends that love the Lord because our relationship runs deeper than surface friendship.”

Proverbs 18:24

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Q: Why do you need to be careful in calling just anyone “friend”?

You can get hurt calling anyone your friend since most will prove to be unreliable and will not reciprocate the care in friendship.

Q: Describe a BIBLICAL friend.

Like the fruits of the Spirit, a true, biblical friend is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

Q: What is your personal standard for allowing someone to be your friend?

Example: “Someone can be my friend if they care about spending time with me and hearing about what is really going on in my life; most importantly, their ultimate goal in the friendship should be pointing me closer to Jesus.”

Proverbs 15:22

“Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.”

Q: Why is it important to listen to your “true biblical friends?”

Friends who have a biblical foundation will give me good, sound advice rather than leading me astray to make bad decisions.

Psalms 71:4

“Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man.”

Q: Describe someone you are befriending or have befriended who is/was a bad influence on you, and describe the rise and fall of the friendship.

Example: “Johnny was my friend, and we used to hang out on the weekends and go to parties together. Our relationship was never deep and now he does not care about what is going on in my life since I have quit the party scene.”

Picture

John 15:12-14“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

Q: Describe Jesus’ friendship. What does His friendship mean to you?

He has and will always sacrifice everything to be our friend. Example: “His friendship means everything because He is the only one in my life who has remained constant.”

Q: What can you learn from His friendship, and how can you use His example to be a better friend?

His friendship is unwavering. To be a true friend, I need to die to myself and sacrifice my needs for others.

Q: How do you show your friendship to Jesus, and how can you improve that friendship?

Example: “I can improve my relationship with Him by repenting my sins, praying and reading God’s Word daily.”

Paul

2 Timothy 1:3I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day.

Q: Why is praying for your friends so important? Why should you have a daily prayer reminder to pray for your friends?

This is the greatest way to love your friends! You are literally going before God in prayer for whatever prayer request they have asked!

2 Timothy 2:2“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Q: Describe the importance of teaching Jesus’ Word to your friends and investing deeply into their spiritual growth.

If I care about my friends, then I will point them to their Lord and Savior by sharing God’s Word. If I do not know how to teach them about God’s Word, I could invite them to youth group.

Peter

1 Peter 4:3-5 “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Q: What is Peter asking you to do in this passage?

To stop running with the old friends who are living in constant sin.

Q: Do you have any “friends” that you need to distance yourself from? Why?

Example: “Yes, because they are tempting me to do things that I know does not please God.”

APPLICATION: How do these passages relate to me today? What changes do they bring to my life?

 

LOCKER ROOM: Is there anything this week that you have been enslaved to, and how we can help you?