Resurrected
Relationships:
….among
friends
John
15:9-17; 1 Peter 1:3;
First Presbyterian Church,
April 20, 2008 Dr.
Will Jones
Summary: Friendships play an essential role
in helping us enjoy life. We are made to
interact socially with others who are not related to us. Friendships in general are built on mutual
attraction, trust, and support.
Christian friendships exist where believers are united by the Holy Spirit
with the priorities of worshipping God, living morally, and practicing acts of
friendship toward others. Friendships
within the Christian community are a blessing that have eternal benefits.
Outline
I. Defining Friendship
a.
An
unlikely friendship[1]
i.
20
yrs each New Year’s Eve; totally different opinions; disagree most of the time;
very different personality types – one serious, one joking
ii.
ideological
opposites: Antonin Scalia (die-hard conservative) & Ruth Bader Ginsberg
(ACLU lawyer; women’s rights movement of the 70’s)
iii.
“she’s
is an intelligent woman and a nice woman and a considerate woman – all the
qualities that you like in a person.”
iv.
“I’ve
always enjoyed Nino. He can always say
things that make me laugh.”
v.
DC
Circuit Court of Appeals; love classical music; performing arts; respect and
appreciation for each other; “Scalia kills it, Martin cooks it.”
b.
Statistics
and reports
i.
A
topic studied since antiquity….
1.
Plato:
dialogues about friendship in Phaedrus
2.
Aristotle:
2 out of 10 books in Nicomachean Ethics on
friendship: “without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all
other goods.”
3.
Augustine:
Confessions Book IV – reflections on
death of a friend; love for friend leads to love for God.
ii.
Conclusion
drawn: friendship is essential to a life well-lived.
c.
Studies
on friendship; psychological & social; developmental
i.
Sapadin
(1988): 156 people from NY,
1.
Someone
you trust; depend on; with whom you share things; who accepts you; w/whom you
have caring relationship; who comes into my home; I’ve known for a long time; I
can call on for help.”
2.
Men:
go and do things with – activity together; women: talk to and share with
d.
Jeremy
Taylor (17th Cen. Anglican) “When friendships were the noblest
things in the world, charity was little.”[2]
e.
“A
friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.” (R. W. Emerson,
1868).
II. Difficulty in developing friendships
as adults
a.
Think
of a close friend who is not a family member
i.
Who?
How long? Why?
ii.
20
hours of close contact required
iii.
Who
has time for that?
b.
Acquaintances
v. Friendships
i.
So
many acquaintances, so few, true friends
ii.
“
1.
Takes
a long time
c.
Like
v. love
i.
So
many people we enjoy and see and like, so few who we love and are loved by in a
deep way.
III. Christian friendships
a.
“I
have called you friends…”
i.
The
depth of closeness initiated by Jesus
ii.
This
moment shard by Jesus: crisis moment, need them and they need each other;
sharing a new way of being human with each other
b.
Principles
of Christian friendship
i.
Worship
1.
Desire
to know and revere God together; Glorify God together gives us a larger purpose
than ourselves; removes our selfish strain when we seek God together.
ii.
Justice
1.
Moral
foundation:
2.
Accountability:
gentle reminders about what is right v. wrong
a.
True
friends will hear it and accept it
i.
Proverbs:
ii.
Someone
who tells you “yes” all the time is someone who is not taking your friendship
seriously enough
3.
Caring/Compassion
a.
How
do you make it through life’s trials without friends?
i.
Christian
friends support each other
iii.
Practice
1.
Friendships
must be cultivated and cared for within the Christian community
2.
Carry
each others’ burdens (Gal. 6:2)
3.
Worship
elements cultivate friendships
4.
Jeremy
Taylor, “The more we love, the better we are, and the greater our friendships are,
the dearer we are to God.”
For a DVD copy of this sermon, click here …