Friendship – Proverbs 18:24
Sermon Text: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. – Proverbs 18:24
“Companion” – someone who “accompanies” – a surface-level and disposable relationship that is often void of commitment, accountability, or reliability.
You become like the people with whom you spend the most time. Friendship…must be carefully, intentionally cultivated through face-to-face time spent together. And in a busy culture like ours, it is one thing that is often squeezed out. – Tim Keller
Marks of a true friend:
Commitment Pr 17:17: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Sensitivity Pr 25:20: Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda
Counsel Pr 27:17: Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another
Discovery 27:9: Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel
Jesus – The Ultimate Friend
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. – John 15:12-17
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you set your face to go to Jerusalem to die. When you got there all hell was let loose upon you, and still you did not shrink back but stood your ground—all for me. – God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life