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Love Needs Friendship

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense… As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 20:6; 27:9, 17 NLT

Love needs friendship

There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 NLT

A friend is present even when they get nothing in return

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time. Proverbs 17:17 CSB

A friend is perceptive, not emotionally disconnected

Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in
cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound. Proverbs 25:20 NLT

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. Proverbs 27:6 NLT

A friend prescribes what is good

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Proverbs 27:9 NLT

Jesus is the friend we need, to become the kind of friend we want

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:13-15 NLT

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a quiet place free from distracting noise. Allow yourself to relax and not focus on your worries. Pay attention to your inner feelings, asking God to guide you through this reflection exercise. Review the blessings of friendship described in the sermon and reflect on how you have experienced them in your friendships. Include Jesus as one of your friends. What are your feelings as you recall each of these relationships? Thank God for giving you each one of them. What aspect of friendship do you sense you are missing and yearning for the most? Pray that God will help meet this aspect of friendship for you. Ask him to show you an action he wants you to take this week to be a better friend to someone you know.

Discussion Questions

  1. What stood out to you in your personal Bible reading time this week? What have you learned about God or yourself so far?
  2. Proverbs 20:6 Who are the friends you have had that were reliable through a hard time and what do you think helped them stick with you?
  3. Read Proverbs 17:17. In what specific ways has a shared time of need or suffering forged a friendship in your life?
  4. Read Proverbs 27:17. Why do you think it’s pain that seems to bond us tighter together than fun?
  5. Read Proverbs 27:6. Is there currently someone in your life who speaks the hard truth to you? If so, what can you do to thank them? If not, what can you practically do to invite someone in to give you honest feedback?
  6. Read John 15:13. The inconvenient truth about friendships is that friendships are inconvenient. What specific “out of the way” things can you do this week to share your love with a friend?