Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Doing something different tonight
• Not looking at a direct passage but a theme
• The Theme of friendship

1. Friendship is both important and difficult
• Friendship is important
• Facebook - connect with your friends
• TV programs - dominated by friendship
• Friendship is difficult
• Genuine friendship gets more difficult
• Quote
• We have exchanged quantity from quality, screens for faces and intimacy for privacy
2. The church often doesn't have a lot to say about friendship
• No books written on friendship
• In a culture that values friendship the church seems to say little
3. The Bible has plenty to say about friendship
• It has lots of things we can apply in our own and church lives

• The Bible is written as a story
• We will look at what the Bible says about friendship

Made in the image of a relational God

• Gen 2:18
• "It is not good for man to be alone"
• Creation is good, man is very good, but this not good - a shock
• The verse speaks about marriage but also something else
• Why is not good that man is alone?
• Gen 1:26-27 - we are made in God's image
• We are made in the image of a relational God
• "Let Us ... in Our image"
• We are created for friendship and relationship

Broken and Cursed

• Genesis 3
• Two things happen to friendship in the fall
• They break their friendship with God
• Adam names all the animals
• God walking with Adam in the cool of the day
• They doubt His words, break His commands and hide from His presence
• Their friendship with each other is shattered
• Gen 3:16
• "We becomes I"
• The Bible honestly paints these problems of broken friendship
• Gen 4 - between brothers
• Gen 13 - Lot and Abraham
• Gen 16 - Sarah and Hagar
• We can not have a proper friendship/relation with others until our relationship with God is sorted

Signposts of a restored friendship

• There are signs of hope of friendship with God (and thus with each other) in the 39 books of the Old Testament
• Enoch
• Moses
• A covenant relationship with Abraham
• Joshua and Caleb
• David and Jonathan
• Elisha and Elijah
• Proverbs (e.g. 18:24)

Friendship is transformed (in Jesus)

• Romans 5:1-2, 11
• Jesus has reconciled us to God
• 'In whom we now have friendship'
• In the New Testament we see new communities being formed
• John 15:15 - we are friends through Jesus' blood
• Christian friendship is radically different
• Quote from St Augustine
• Quote from an 11th century monk
• Friendship is transformed by knowing Jesus
• Because our vertical relationship with God is fixed, our horizontal relationship with one another is healed
• The first fruit of our friendship is that we love other Christians (John 15:16-17)
• It is the primary way in which we demonstrate our salvation and attract the world outside
• New believers in Acts become a community
• Col 3:12-17
• What difference does Jesus make in our relationships?
• It all flows from knowing Jesus
• Forgive, love ...
• We are not going to be perfect but difficult times are the times to show these qualities
• Quote from St Augustine
• We cannot be 'lone ranger' Christians - we need each other
• Our love for Christ enlarges as we embrace true and deep friendship

Worshiping God

• Rev 7:9-10
• The end of the story
• To enjoy, reflect and worship the God who created it

What does this have to do with me?

1. We should make time for friendship
• Friendship does not just happen
2. Stop doing things alone - do things together
3. Making the first move
• Consider Jesus made the first move
4. Make friends across the church
• Irrespective of age, sex, interests
• Invite people who are not like you
5. Make your friendship biblical - about Jesus