Friends - Week 4 - Recap

Last night we wrapped up our series on Friends by talking about Identity.

Musician Sarah Kelley was talking at the end about her own self-hate she had for herself when she was in high school.  Do you think that’s a problem today for high schoolers?  (Many answered yes due to who they hang out with, how others treat them, bad parents, and so forth)

Remember her advice – patience with ourselves, keep a journal, think about our like and dislikes, worship God through it all (when you dwell on self-hatred you are dwelling on yourself!  When you are worshiping God you are looking for answers from the Holy God who can help get you through anything).

Turn to the right people for support – not a boyfriend that is trying to help you commit suicide as Sarah had!

 Sean also mentioned 4 principles for building relationships…

1. Take an honest look at your own life.  Who do you really want to be and act as?

2.  Have realistic expectations.  BFF’s aren’t usually made over night.  Neither is “true love.”

3. Be a good friend.  Don’t always look for what you can get out of a relationship, but what you put into it.

4.  Ask God for a true friend.  If you’re centered on God’s will, then it will help you in the searching process and you won't compromise what you want in a friend just for the feeling of having another friend.

I’m guessing that at some point in life everyone has been labeled something…

Somebody’s brother or sister, based on your intelligence, looks, activities…who knows.  But that can't be where your identity comes from.

We broke up into groups of 3-4 and studied these verses. 

Ephesians 2:10 – God has created us for the purpose of doing good. We’re his “work of art.”

Philippians 1:6 – God has begun to work within us, and he’ll keep at it.

Psalm 139:13-14 – God has knit us together, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Romans 12:5-6 – We are part of the body of Christ; we have different gifts.

Colossians 3:12-13 – We are loved and forgiven.  We need to show love and forgiveness to others.

Matthew 5:14-16 – We lighten up the world with good deeds and praise.

1 Corinthians 3:16 – We are God’s temple.  The Spirit lives in us.

Genesis 1:27– We have been created in God’s image.

We finished up with our Prayer Cards
1. Your request for someone/something else.

2. A specific action – that because of you who are and based on these verses, you want to put into action this week. For example: how will you show love and forgiveness? What good deeds will you do? How will you honor God with your body as his temple? Looking for a specific! Whoever gets your card will pray that you accomplish it and hopefully even ask you if you did it!!!

3. Let’s review the 4 weeks of friends, then I want you to write down which of the 4 themes that you need prayer for.   A. Loneliness (Samaritan woman)       B. Peer Pressure (wicked, sinners, and mockers - choose friends wisely – choose areas/times that you can help others without succumbing to temptation.   C. Comparisons (disciples, valuing each other)  D. Identity
To see all 4 lesson recaps of the Friends series click here.

Friends Week 3 Recap

Topic: Comparisons
So, these 12 disciples had 3 years with Jesus and had some ups and downs in “getting what it meant to follow Christ.”
+ Dropped all they had to follow him when Jesus asked them to, left family, job, etc.
- Misunderstood that Jesus would die for them as a way to conquer evil and sin.
- Fought with each other (jealousy, pride).

- Said they loved Jesus to his face and would rather die then deny Jesus, then Peter later denied him 3 times for fear of persecution.
- Doubted Jesus’ resurrection (Thomas had to put his finger in Jesus’ hand).
- Struggled to believe (Peter walking on water, feeding of the 5000, etc).

- James and John asked for special authority to sit next to God (Mark 10:35-45). Jesus’ response was to that if you want to be great….be a servant just as I, Jesus, will soon be.

-Jesus post-resurrection – forgives Peter for doubting him and (John 21:15+) essentially tells Peter that you will die for the cause of the kingdom and to glorify God. Peter’s response…well are the other disciples going to die for you also? Jesus essentially says “what’s it matter to you – you follow me and they’ll do what’s in store for them”

+ Jesus repeatedly taught them through parables, prophecy, quoting the OT, and giving them commandment and empowering them.
+ Through the Holy Spirit they performed miracles, led people to Christ, and spread the Gospel.

A lot of times we view the disciples in 1 of 2 ways:
1. The disciples were the greatest ever
2.They were a bunch of bumbling, idiotic teenagers

The reality is they were regular people who trusted in God, had moments where they didn’t get it, but ultimately came around (except Judas) and changed the world.

Jesus stayed on Earth for 40 days not only so people could witness that he rose from the dead….but also to make sure the disciples “got it” and knew what to do next. The days of competition and comparison were over. They were all entrusted and had unique roles.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father ,Son, & Holy Spirit, teaching to obey everything I have commanded…”-Matthew 28:18-20

Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” -The Holy Spirit was with the disciples to enable them to do this now that Jesus was ascending to heaven.

When the disciples stopped worrying about comparing which was greater than the other and fighting they were able to do amazing things for God's kingdom.

The comparison temptation happens today in your:
School - Clothes, grades, athletic ability, physical features, future college or major, who your friends are, what activities you’re in,
Home - Sibling rivalry, getting defensive when you’re asked to do something that may be more difficult than whatever your sibling was asked to do
Church - Who drives what, who gives $ or time, who has the best behaved kids, whose church is “doing more,” who knows the pastor the best, who gets to play in the band

All these things keep us off of the focus of serving God and building his Kingdom. Get away from comparisons and use what God gives you.

LUKE 21:22 “What is that to you (what others have or will do)? You must follow me.”

Luke 16:10
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”

Whatever God gives you is what God believes you can do at that moment, continue to use that and he’ll give you more opportunities to serve him.

Friends Week 2 Recap

Friends Week 2 Recap - Peer Pressure
Quote from the video "I think that the friends you hang around have a lot to do with the things you end up doing.”

READ Psalm 1:1
3 Things
1. Don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked – don’t listen to their advice
2. Stand in the way of sinners – “Way” means road or path here. This means spending to much time together on their turf.
3. Sit in seat of mockers – Just because they invite you to their table to do what they do doesn’t mean you should follow suit.

You don't have to give up or alienate yourself from your friends who may be living a life that is contrary to what Jesus shows us (drugs, premarital sex, gossip, etc). You just need to choose wisely when you are around them (during school, practice, public places and not when they are engaging in illegal or immoral activities) and try to show them how you're changed through Christ.

Each line raises the bar.
Wicked – don’t care about God’s ways
Sinners – actively break God’s rules
Mockers – talk openly about how stupid it is to follow God’s guidance

Proverbs 13:20
“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”
-Even if you aren’t listening to their advice you can still suffer by being around the wrong people AT the wrong time.

READ Psalm 1:2 – What does a blessed person do instead of hanging out with mockers?
-Meditates on the law of the Lord day and night (What does God’s word say for me, what does God have in store for me, how can I live out my faith and his mission for me, with HOLY SPIRIT guiding). Recognize things that take away your focus from him!

Lastly, realize negative peer pressure can come from Christians as well.
1. Devoted Christians (Positive) - they dig deep, ask hard questions, and continually push to be closer to Christ and living out his mission. They aren't perfect, but they hold each other accountable and seek forgiveness when they sin.
2. Compromisers (Negative)- they make excuses for why they aren't committed more to Christ or his movement (the church). They ignore parts of scripture so they can live the way they want. These people are dangerous. A few of these in your life is okay as you can help build them up, but you need more of #1 than #2 in your life.

Friends - Week 1 Recap

Friends Week 1 - Loneliness - Recap
Passage: John 4 - Woman at the Well
God works in a woman who is lonely, an outcast, and someone, who in that culture, would never be talked to by a Jewish man (Jesus). The result = she brings more people to come see Jesus and many more believe.

A couple key points from the talk
1. Don't surround yourself with people who reinforce negative traits just because it may be easier to hang out with them.
2. You can be that one person to show love to someone who is lonely. You can point them to Jesus.

Our Prayer
1. Thanking God that he is there for us when we get lonely.
2. Relationships – that we choose wisely and uplift each other
3. God reveals to us someone we need to befriend (think of that person NOW) – contact them before you get to school if you can….start building that friendship now! Pray pray pray.
4. that collectively, we are a welcoming group, caring about all of us.

Jeremiah 31:3 – Lords’ love for us lasts forever
Isaiah 41:10 – Lord is with us and helps us. We need not fear.
Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing can separate us from God’s love
Isaiah 55:6-7 – Lord is near to us, offers pardon for our sins
Romans 5:8 – God loves us even though we are sinners
Psalms 103:12-14 – God forgives us, has compassion, and understands our situation.
Isaiah 40:29-31 – Lord gives us strength to SOAR
Hebrews 4:15-16 – Jesus understands what it’s like to be human (experienced all humans could)
Psalms 23:4 – Even in a dark valley, the Lord is with us.