Asking For A Friend Week 4- How To Be A Better Friend
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Ephesians 4:1-3
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 1:5
5 he predestined us[a] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Galatians 5:22-26
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
Summary
Summary
Welcome back to Community Group, we are in week 4 of Asking For A Friend. This weeks question is, How Can I Be A Better Friend? This is a great questions. I don’t know about you, but at times I have asked, why don’t I have better friends. When we ask that question, we are only thinking of ourselves. I bet my friends were asking why I wasn’t a better friend.
What is a good friend? Do we have a model of a good friend? As usual, we just need to go to the word. The Bible has several examples of good friends, one of my favorite stories is that of the friends that lowered their friend through the roof so Jesus could heal him.
This week we are in Ephesians 4. You will see that these verses don’t exactly talk about being a friend. However, it talks about living a life that reflects Christ. I don’t know about you, but I could love to have a friend who reflects Christ. I would love to hear my friends say that I reflect Christ.
We will be looking at three ways we can be a better friend. We will be looking at Jesus as our model. In verses 1&2 we see our first point, a good friend walks the walk. What does that mean? It means that we do not look like this world, we walk like Christ. We respond to our friends need the way Christ would respond to their needs.
Point two, a good friend pulls his weight, is found in verse 2. Are you a one sided friend? Looking out only for yourself. Do you wait for them to reach out to you? Or are you seeking out your friends. We need to look out for our friends and not expect them to only look out for us. Be the kind of friend you would like to have.
Our final point is, a good friend does the work and it is found in verse 3. Are you the one cultivating friendships? At you putting in the work? Being a friend requires you putting in the work. It may mean giving up doing what you want so that you can minister to another.
Being a friend is not easy, but it is something we all need to do. We all need someone to walk this world with. Someone who will pick us up when we fall down. Someone to lift us up in prayer and support us when we are walking through hard times. We need to be that friend before expecting others to be that type of friend for us.
Discussion
Questions
Are you an example of Christ to you friends?
Have other in the group answer and give examples
Are you one who supports his friends in hard times? Have others answer
Do you make time for your friends? Have others answer
Are you the type of friend that expects something in return? Have others answer
What do you need to change in your life to be a better friend? Share
Announcements
If you are a CG leader, please make sure you are a part of the WhatsApp group! Also, if you don’t hear from your assigned shepherd in the next few weeks, please let us know.
Shepherd Couples:
Herb and Maggie Cuellar
Ismael & Ashley Ledezma
Ozie and Maritza Hernandez
Randy & Yvette Pena
Will and Elizabeth Stewart
Jon and Libby White
You will be hearing from them in the near future!
Pastor Isauro Medina
Cell: (956) 984-9380
Meichelle Vasques
Cell: (956) 566-4762
