Who do you consider your real friends? What factors do you look for to know that someone is your "real" friend? Real friendship is something we all long for. Some of us have really great friends and some of us have felt like we have been "alone" most of our life. Yet, we have been hard-wired by our creator to experience deep meaningful relationships. Share this Bible Study with your group and encourage each other to be a "real friend."
"Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes. 4:9-12 (NLT)
1. REAL FRIENDS ARE LOYAL
"A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need." Proverbs 17:17
"There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
"Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father's. Then in your time of need, you won't have to ask your relatives for assistance. It is better to go to a neighbor than to a relative who lives far away." Proverbs 27:10
2. REAL FRIENDS LISTEN
"Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life." Proverbs 19:20
Listening validates your friendship and increases your wisdom
"Fools think they need no advice, but the wise listen to others." Proverbs 12:15 (NLT)
3. REAL FRIENDS SACRIFICE
"And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends."John 15:13
True friends focus on giving rather than receiving
4. REAL FRIENDS ARE SENSITIVE
"Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy." Proverbs 27:6
"If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse!"Proverbs 27:14
- Choose the right audience
- Use the right attitude
- Give helpful alternatives
5. REAL FRIENDS FORGIVE
"Disregarding another person's faults preserves love; telling about them separates close friends." Proverbs 17:9
"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32
"And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement." Philip. 4:2
Application: Who are some friends in your life who need your
Loyalty _____________________________
Ears ________________________________
Sacrifice ____________________________
Sensitivity ___________________________
Forgiveness __________________________
