Friendship | Food for Thought

 

Suggested Passages

  • Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 | Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

  • John 15:12-17 | “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. 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. 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. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Questions

  • What makes someone a “friend” in your eyes?

    • How do you know if someone is a friend (or isn’t!)?

    • Is there a purpose to friendship? Does having friends matter?

    • How are friendships different from other kinds of relationships you might have in your life?

  • Does friendship look different inside the church than it does outside the church? Why / why not?

    • Are there any “rules of friendship” (things that make or break friendships) that you’ve experienced or heard about?

    • Are the misconceptions about friendship that are easy for you / others to believe? What makes them lies, in your opinion?

  • What’s friendship been like for you?

    • Would you say you have friends right now? If so, how did you build those? What are they like? If not, why not?

    • What’s been difficult about friendship?

    • What’s been really great about friendship?

    • What’s been surprising about trying to make, have, keep, and/or move on from friendships?

  • What does it mean that Jesus is a friend to us (John 15:12-17)?

    • Would you say you experience your relationship with Jesus (in part!) as a friend?

    • Why does he distinguish friendship from servitude?

    • How should Jesus’ friendship with us affect the way we’re friends with others?

  • What does the bible say about friendship (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)?

    • Why is it good to have friends?

    • What are the dangers of not having friends?

    • Is friendship different from being in community with someone? Why or why not?

  • How does Jesus and the gospel change the way we…

    • …define friendship?

    • …make friends?

    • …relate with our friends?

    • …make our friendships about?

 
Redeeming RelationshipsScott O'Donohoe