"The Friendship Factor", Tim Dannatt, Thames Valley churches of Christ

Being a Christian is about our relationships with people and God .

1. Seeing Jesus as our trusted friend

• Jesus describes us as friends, John 15.15. How do we see this in scripture?
• He takes the initiative
• • "Tell Peter”, Mark 16.6.
  • He washes their feet in John 13.
  • He asks Peter, “Do you love me?”, John 21.15-17.
  • Might be healthier to see Jesus more as a friend than an authority figure
  • Makes him more approachable in prayer
  • Jesus took the initiative with us
• Introducing people to our friend Jesus is more attractive, than introducing friends to him as an authority figure.
• Invite people into our homes as well as church (Acts 18:24ff)
• • Befriend people to help them have a more accurate picture of God.

2. Making friendships (Luke 16:9-12)

• Important to be good stewards of our time and other resources so that people can be helped to know God.
• What can we do to help people know our friend Jesus?
• • Bring friends to church
  • Invite them into our homes
  • Study the Bible with our friends
  • Help them to mature in Christ
• Let us aspire to be excellent at building new friendships, not just old ones.
• What barriers do we have to building friendships?
• • Can discover other people’s needs which may be overwhelming!
  • Jesus is described as, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” (Matt. 11:19 NIV11) 
• Jesus saw needy people as his friends, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11 NIV11) 
• Let’s think about how we can be friends to those God has placed around us and in our path
• Perhaps we don’t need to overthink making friends. It could be as simple as saying “hello” to a new person once in a while.
• Lack of time might appear to be our enemy, but God will make a way if we have a loving attitude of faith. We still have a choice as to how we prioritise our time. Are we being intentional about the allotting of our time?

Thank you for listening to this podcast. You can find more episodes in our feed. Our web site is http://www.tvcoc.org.

 

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.

 

Do you have a question about the Bible or the Christian faith? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send us your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: tvcochrist@gmail.com.

 

Thanks again for listening. Have a super day.

 

God bless,

 

Malcolm

 

 

Reading, tvcoc, Thames Valley churches of Christ, ICOC, Tim Dannatt, Malcolm Cox, ICCM, Lower Earley, Southampton, Winchester, High Wycombe, Oxford, Banbury, Deepcut, Frimley, Basingstoke, Salisbury, Amesbury, Sunday School, Reading University, Youth Ministry, Bracknell, Bracknell Leisure Centre, Shevvy Dannatt, Mark Abril, Rachel Abril, Churches of Christ, Christian churches near me, tv coc, International church, churches close to me, Thames Valley, Thames Valley location, Thames Valley church of Christ, the Thames Valley,