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Notes
- Describe your best friend and why they are your closest friend.
- Respond to the statement, “Real, enduring friendships are forged over time.”
- What is so meaningful about truly being known and truly knowing one another?
- Read: "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24 NIV). What quality in friendship is this proverb highlighting? Why do we value so highly those who are dedicated to us and stay faithful to us?
- Read: "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends" (Proverbs 17:9 NIV). What quality in friendship is this proverb highlighting? What makes consideration so meaningful to us? How does it act as a key element of a strong friendship?
- Read: "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret" (Proverbs 11:13 NIV). Friends who can’t keep secrets won’t be friends for very long. Describe your experiences, both good and bad, with friends and secret-keeping. Why is confidentiality critical to building friendships that endure?
- Read: "An honest answer is the sign of a true friendship” (Proverbs 24:26 GN). How can we speak the truth in love to each other more effectively and freely? What happens when we speak truth without love, or are loving without being truthful? How would each scenario affect a friendship?
- Read: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17 NIV). When iron sharpens iron, there’s friction which produces heat, and often sparks fly. How is “sharpening” good for forging a friendship that endures?
- Read: "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17 NIV). Describe a situation where a close friend was there for you when you needed him/her. Talk about the importance of dependability in a friendship.
- If we want a friend with these qualities, we have to be a friend with these qualities. In what area are you feeling challenged? What are some of the challenges of cultivating an enduring friendship? In what way is Jesus our model?
- What do you sense God has been saying to you through this study? What are you going to do about it?
