Read
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
What does this verse say to you about the importance of friendship?
Write about a time in your life when a friend helped you through a difficult time.
Who in your life helps your relationship with God be stronger? Is there someone who you make stronger in faith?
Think Deeper
Friends can help us so much through hard times, and they can make us stronger in faith but sometimes friends can weaken our faith.
Proverbs 13:20 – He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
1 Corinthians 15:33 – Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Sometimes we have friends in our lives that lead us down the wrong path. You most certainly have friends that do not believe in Jesus or follow his ways. How does that sometimes make those friendships difficult?
We certainly want to be friends with lost people so we can reach them and show them the love of Christ. When should you stop being friends with someone?
A thought from PJ: If you hang out with a friend and they encourage you to do wrong things but you are not tempted by it (in other words you have no desire to do the wrong things), then it is ok to stay friends with them. Use your friendship to help them and guide them towards Christ. BUT! If you are constantly being tempted to do wrong things (they ask and it is really hard for you to say no), it is time to distance yourself from them. You are no longer the influencer but the influenced.
How can you distance yourself from people who are having a bad influence on you?
How much time you spend with someone, how much you talk to them, and how transparent you are in your conversations will determine how close you are to someone. How can you use the 3 T’s (time, transparency, and talk) to grow closer to good friends and move away from negative friends?
Make it personal
Is there anyone in your life right now that you need to stop being close friends with?
Transitioning from one friend group to another is difficult. What makes leaving a group of friends difficult?
What can you do to overcome those difficulties?