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Friending Part 3

When Friendships Go Bad

Key Thought: Show me your friends, I’ll show you your future.

Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

Psalms 55:4 “my heart is in anguish within me…”

Verse 12-13 “If an enemy were insulting me I could endure it. If a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng in God’s house.”

3 normal reactions to broken friendships.

  1. Lash out.

2. Shut down.

3. Give up.

How should we react to broken friendships?

  1. Seek to understand the other person. 

Old Chinese Proverb “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.”

John Maxwell “hurt people hurt people.”

Philippians 2:4-5 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

Romans 15:2 “We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of others. Let's please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good and thus build him up in the Lord.”

2. Seek peace in the relationship.

Romans 12:17-18 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God.”

Peace keepers: Peace keepers often avoid conflict to keep the peace.
Peacemakers: Peace makers will embrace conflict if necessary in order to make lasting peace.

Tips for seeking peace:

a. I listen more than I speak

James 1:19 “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

b. I admit my part of the problem

James 4:16 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

c. Attack the issue, never the person.

d. Offer grace and forgiveness.

Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

3. Seek God’s perfect love 

2 Timothy 4:16-18 (NIV) At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.

Psalm 142:4-5 "Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. (But) 5 I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Listen to my cry for I am desperate in need. ”

Proverbs 18:24 (NET) “A person who has friends may be harmed by them, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Ephesians 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

Anyway: People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

Friending Part 2

Key thought: Show me your friends I’ll show you your future.

Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

You may be one friend away from changing your destiny.

Acts 9:26 "when Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was really a disciple, but Barnabas, his friend, took him and brought him to the apostles,"

3 different types of friendship that everyone needs.
1. Samuel: A friend who makes you better.

I Samuel 16:12-13 “Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David.”

Proverbs 27:17
“as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

2. Jonathan: A friend who helps you find spiritual strength:

1 Samuel 23:15-16 “While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that[a] Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord.”

Hebrews 3:12-13 “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

3. Nathan: A friend who tells you the truth

2 Samuel 12:1-7 “The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

Think about who are these friends in your life:

1. ___________________________ a friend who makes me better.
2. ___________________________ a friend who strengthens me spiritually.
3. ___________________________ a friend who tells me the truth.

If I don’t have these kinds of friends, who do I need to seek out to be them?

Friending Part 2

Friending

Key thought: You show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.

Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and you become wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”

My closest friends are…


Proverbs 17:17
(FBV) “a friend is someone you may or may not know well who accepts your request on FB. This person is born to like and comment on your posts to make you feel good about yourself.”

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

American sociological review: The average american only has 2 close friends.

1 in 4 americans report that they do not have even one close friend.

The results of an isolated life.

1. Seclusion.


2. Selfishness.


3. Sadness.


4. Sickness.


5. Sin.

Proverbs 18:24 (AKJV) “A man that has friends must show himself friendly”

If I want friends I must start by being the friend. How do I become that kind of friend.



1. Show up

Hebrews 10:24-25 “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

2. Open up

James 5:16  “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

intimacy= into me see

3. Sign up:

James 3:18 (MSG) “You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Hebrews 10:25 (TEV) Let us not give up the habit of meeting together…”

Community is not built on
convenience, but on commitment.





















Vision Sunday


Vision Sunday

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision the people perish.”

Our Vision: “Changing lives in a changing culture with the unchanging truth.”

Our one word: Invest

Ecclesiastes 11:1 “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.[a] 2 But divide your investments among many places,[b] for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. 4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[c] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. 6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

3 important principles of investing.

1. Investing is future focused.

Verse 1
“Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.”

Proverbs 13:11(MSG) “Easy come, easy go, but steady diligence pays off.”

2. Investments are multiplied when they are divided.

verse 2 “But divide your investments among many places,[b] for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
verse 6 “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

3. Investments always require hard work.

verse 4-6 “Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[c] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. 6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

Verse 4 LB “if you wait for perfect conditions nothing ever gets done.”

This year, we are investing in 4 different areas.

  1. Invest in Relationships:

Matthew 18:19-20 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

I Corinthians 13:13 “Faith hope and love, but the greatest of these…”

I Peter 4:8 “Above all, love one another deeply…”

Lifegroups: Begin the week of February 11

New Series on Relationships: Begins February 8

Buffalo Nickel Family Night: February 22

2. Invest in our community:  

John 1:40-41 “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).”

Baptisms and Child Dedications: March 1
Easter: April 5
Grand Opening: April 12

3. Invest in People:  

4. Invest in the next generation:

Proverbs 13:22 “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children.”

The Orange Strategy

Yellow= the light of the church
Red= the love of the family
Together they produce the brilliance of orange.

Every Sunday: God time Cards
Every month: Virtue of the month
Twice a year: FAM JAM