What Does The Bible Say About Friendship?

What does the Bible say about Friendship_ Rach: [00:00:00] Good evening. Hello and welcome to Crowd Church. Um, I'm Rach and this is the wonderful Sharon, also known to me as Shaz. Hi everyone. And, um, we're live today on Sunday the 13th of Feb, on a rather drizzly evening here where we are at the moment. But, um. If you are listening to this elsewhere and you are online, then um, I hope the weather might be slightly nicer where you are, but, um, welcome. It's great to be with you. It's great to connect with you. Um, yeah, we're glad to be here, aren't we Chaz? We are. Yeah. Yeah. And um, it's nice being on the sofa with Sharon today. Um, nice and comfy and, um, yeah. So we just hope you settle in and enjoy this evening with us all. Whatever time of day it is when you're watching. Yeah. So, um, as you probably know, [00:01:00] Crowd Church, well it's been going a while now and um, just massive applause to Matt and Sharon and the whole team for making this work. 'cause I just think it's phenomenal and, um, you know, this is a safe space, a place to explore. Your journey of faith, um, to ask questions, to put comments in the chat about whatever we're talking about, um, to messaging. We share, we'll share details about that later. But, um, we just want you to really enjoy being with us, connecting with us, listening to the talk. Um, being part of the worship. Can you join in as much as you feel comfy with Yeah. Really, isn't it? Because, you know, um. And isn't it wonderful to have this sort of facility to connect online? I still marvel at it and Matt is with us. He's doing the tech. So yeah, because neither of us are have to scratch on that because if, let's face it, if [00:02:00] you ask me or Shaz to actually run the tech as well, we might not actually be online Sharon: right now. No. I struggle with our tv. I have quite often have to get the kids to help. Turn the TV on, so, yeah. Yeah. And we've also got John Farrington in the comments today. Yeah. Who's moderating? Rach: So hi to Matt. Hi to John and, um, yeah, so team in the background, but making it happen. So thank you very much. Sharon: Shall I explain the plan for today? Yes, please. Okay. So we've got, um, a talk on friendship. By Nick Harding, who's one of the founding pastors of the church that we belong to. Um, yeah, he is, the talk is about what does the Bible say about friendship. Um, after that, we are gonna play a song, and then me and Rachel are, we've got Conversation Street where me and r talk about the talk. And we answer any of your questions. We've already got a few questions in, but if you want to add your questions as the talk's going, please feel free to do that. Video: Yeah. Sharon: And then after that we're gonna play another song, and [00:03:00] then we will be finished. Yeah. So lovely and straightforward. Yeah. We're hoping. Yeah. And that, as I've said, the talks about friendship today and we were working out that we've actually been friends for 26 years. Rach: Oh my Sharon: goodness. And we've lived in four houses together, which as Matt, my husband pointed out, is more houses than him and him and I. As well. Rach: Yeah. So, um, we've got, I think we've got loads of examples of our friendship over the years, haven't we? So hopefully we can drop that examples of those things and other friendships and thoughts on it really into, into this evenings. So, um, yeah. But when you said that 26 years, I was like, crikey. Yeah. I, I can, it feels like not that long again. Yeah. Let's face it. Yeah. Hey. Hey. Yeah. So, um, yeah, we hope that you, um, will put comments in hi to everyone that is [00:04:00] already. It's love to love. Oh, hi Matt. And see if I can scroll Sharon: down. See? Yeah. Come on. See this is me. Work the technology. Here. Go sh You can do it. See us. That's all I can see at the minute. Not sure if we've got it all or not. Rach: Yeah. But um, please do put your comments in 'cause we love to, um, read. What you're saying. And um, I always say like, no, no question's a silly question either. Is it, you know, there's things that we all wonder and, um, mu on. So, you know, put those thoughts in as well. We'd, we'd love to read them. So, um, yeah, we're gonna go into our talk now by Nick, like Sharon said, and, um, just sit back and enjoy your brew or. Your sandwich or your tea, whatever. Um, as you're listening to Nick, and please do include your comments in the chat. Okay.[00:05:00] Nic: Hi folks. It is so good to be with you today. My name's Nick Harding and I wanna talk about something that is [00:06:00] very dear to my heart. It's the topic of friendship. What does the Bible have to say about what friendship? Well, we're gonna come to that in just a moment. Uh, but let me first of all say that I have learned to value friendship more than anything else. In the world. Uh, let me start with a story. Back in 2008, uh, Jenny, my wife and I were going through a very, very difficult time, personal time of dealing with some, uh, investments that went wrong and getting badly into debt. Uh, things weren't going well for us, uh, in, in my work. And, uh, things were really tricky in the church as well. And I felt very low. I felt very isolated. I felt. Really down. In fact, I got pretty much to the point of the end of myself. And if it wasn't for a few very dear friends holding my arms up during that time, I would probably have wanted to quit. Uh, but there were friends who I [00:07:00] would meet with other church pastor, friends who would get round me and pray with me and say, we we're standing with you, Nick, you're gonna come through this. Other just local friends who would be there to, to, to cheer me on with some encouragement and some positive words. And there were a few who were around me to speak the words of truth that I also needed to hear at that time. They were true friends. Uh, one of the things the Bible does say about friendship in the book of Proverbs is this. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. And in fact, actually, if you, if your friends aren't able to speak honestly and truthfully to you when you need to hear it, then they are probably not the best of friends. True friends can do that. Friends are people you do life with. They're people you, you laugh with and cry with. You're people, you share your everyday experiences with. And, uh, uh, through that whole time of difficulty, [00:08:00] 2008, oh nine and 10, I learned something really, really important and it's this friendship is probably one of the most important things in the world to get right and to invest in. I'm gonna talk a bit more about those investments in a minute. I, I'm being the age that I am, I'm privileged to have friends who I've been around for 40 or even 50 years. Uh, so one dear couple who are very close to myself and Jenny, my wife, uh, who we've known for 50 years this year, in fact. And, uh, I probably nearly killed the husband on two occasions. Uh, both incidents involving cars, uh, which is another story for another day. Uh, but still the dearest of friends. Friends. We've been on holiday with friends whose children have grown up with our children, uh, friends who've, who've shared in our experience of church life, who still after 50 years live on the same [00:09:00] street as us. It's pretty remarkable, isn't it? Uh, and through those, those difficult years, I, I learned that actually friendships are more important than work. They're more important than making money. They're more important. That success or celebrity friendships are the stuff of life, let's face it. Who's gonna be there at your funeral? I had reason to think about this. On many occasions, who's gonna be there at your funeral? You may get a few work colleagues. But it's mainly gonna be people who are your dearest friends and family. Family of course, is a great place for friendship. Uh, and you know, for a marriage, I've been married for 46 years, I would have to say that you don't automatically get a good friendship after 46 years of marriage, but you're probably not gonna be together for 46 years unless you have a deep seated friendship underlying. Your marriage. And I would say that for, for me and Jenny, Jenny is my my [00:10:00] best friend. You know, we've gone through thick and thin together. Friendship is a place where you learn to love and be loved. Isn't that true of every human being that we want to both give love and receive love? And whether that's the friendship of a marriage, uh, may you may be a single person who's just got good friends around you. That's. That's also a place with those folks that you can give love and receive love. Such an important part of our wiring, how that's how God designed us to both give and receive love and friendship is where that can happen in its truest and purest form. Here's an amazing thing. You can't take many things with you when. Die. In fact, you can't take any physical stuff with you. People say there are no pockets in a shroud in grave clothes 'cause you, you don't take anything with you. But here's an interesting fact [00:11:00] and here's the, the, the second Bible verse I want to mention. I've mentioned the one in Proverbs that says, faithful of the wounds of a friend. Here's one about investing in friendships. It's from Luke, the Gospel of Luke, one of the. Uh, writers who was, uh, around Jesus during his time on Earth. He was, he witnessed the events firsthand. He heard what Jesus had to say, other things he heard from his followers, and he wrote them down really diligently later on. Luke said this in Luke's gospel, chapter 16 in verse nine, he says this, here's the lesson. Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make. Friends. Then when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you into an eternal home. Do you see what it's saying here that actually your investments in friendships have an eternal reward? That when you get to heaven, you will find your friends are [00:12:00] there and they will welcome you in. They'll say, Hey, come on Nick. Come on in. It's great here. Heaven is, everything is cracked up to be and so much more come and let me show you round. Let me explore, you know, come and meet the boss. It's just gonna be an amazing time of reconnecting with friends. Investing in friendship now has an eternal benefit and reward and we invest in so many things. We invest in our careers. We invest in our, you know, doing up our houses. We invest in going on exotic holidays, but what better thing to invest in? Than your friendships. The Bible's very clear that friendships are of eternal value. What about friendship with God? Is that, is that possible? You know, the God who's out there, who's some people would think as you know, distant and unknowable? Well, the amazing thing is this. The Bible says this. Jesus said this himself. He says to [00:13:00] his followers, his closest followers, he says. No longer do I call you servants. I call you friends. That's amazing, isn't it? The son of God, the Messiah, the savior of the world, the one who was not only born as a, uh, as a human being, but rose from the dead, miraculously never to die again, was taken back to heaven to be with his father where he'd come from. That same person who is God himself says this. No longer do I call you servants, but I call you friends. I'm speaking here to some of you who are Christians, some of you who know what it means to follow God, that your relationship needs to be translated from a servant, just kind of dutifully obeying what you think being a Christian is all about, to becoming a friend of God, not the sort of friend where you treat the relationship casually. Not the sort of friendship where you just take it for granted. [00:14:00] You know, there's a sense of awesome respect for the mighty God who he is, but the friendship that means intimacy. A friendship that means sharing our deepest thoughts and feelings with him. The friendship that means he will never, ever leave you. He said that right at the end to his followers, you know, and for I will be with you even to the end of the age. And of course he does that by giving us his spirit, the spirit of Christ who comes to live in us, that makes it known to us that we are children of God, but also that we are friends of God. And that friendship is so precious, it's so powerful. It's a friendship that is greater than any other friendship. Here's another thing the Bible says in the book of Proverbs says this, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And you know, my understanding of that verse is he's talking about friendship with God himself because God [00:15:00] will never let us down. He will never badmouth us. He will never desert us. He will never, you know, give us up as and write us off as a failure. He will always believe in us. He will always want the best for us. He will always be there for us. And even when we walk away from him, he never takes offense. He never walks away from us. He's always there just waiting for us to return. Maybe some of you need to find and know God as a friend. Maybe some of you who have felt distant from God need to come back to him to say, God, I'm so sorry. I've ignored your friendship. I've taken you for granted. Come and fill me again with your spirit so that I can have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the very last book of. One of the letters to the Corinthians says, this talks about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of [00:16:00] Christ, who comes to live in us when we know God for ourselves. And that word fellowship, it's a combination of two things. It's friendship and it's partnership. It's being together, and it's doing stuff together. You see, God invites us into this amazing friendship where we not only have him as our closest friend who is always with us, which means we'll never be on our own. Even when we feel in our most isolated and most vulnerable. He's right there with us, but also he's someone who we, who we do stuff together with out of that friendship. Comes a, uh, desire to do things with him, and we've, we get to discover where's the father working, where's the spirit working? And we get to join in on the basis of that friendship and that partnership. So I wonder whether you have invited God into your life. I wonder whether you want to [00:17:00] do that today. Maybe I could just pray a simple Prayer. So that God could become your friend. Maybe you can just repeat this Prayer after me in your heart or out loud, and it be, might be the beginning of a brand new relationship with God as heavenly Father, with Jesus as his son, as your partner in life with his spirit, with whom you walk with day by day, who you have friendship and partnership with in your life who directs you and leads you. Leads you into God's greatest purpose and plan the thing that you were created for the reason you were put on this earth, he will lead you into that which ultimately is the most rewarding and fulfilling life. Let me pray this Prayer, and if you echo it in your heart, then just say it with me. Heavenly Father, I thank you that you love me just as [00:18:00] I am. And I thank you that you want to be my friend. I'm sorry that I've ignored you and held you at arm's length for so long. I'm sorry that I've tried to live life by myself when all the time you've been wanting to be my friend. Today I turn away from all of that independence, all of that pride that says I can do it by myself. And I invite you to be the Lord of my life, to be the boss of my life, to be the one who directs and guides my life from here on. Forgive me, clean me out on the inside. Give me a clean conscience. Thank you for [00:19:00] your forgiveness and I welcome your peace into my life from today. Sharon: Nick, um, I dunno about you. HI had a bit of a warm glow as he was talking about friendship with people and friendship with God. And maybe some of you had that same reaction, but. I'm guessing there's some also who've had a different reaction. Maybe you actually find friendships quite painful or they've been difficult lately, or, or maybe you don't feel like you have got any friends at the moment. Would love to hear your experience. So please do write that in the, uh, in the comments and also any questions or any thoughts on the talk. In the comments. Rach: Mm-hmm. Sharon: I have noticed there's a few, we've had a look at the comments now. Yeah. We've finally worked out where they're, so welcome to Gemma and to, who was it? Uh, Elizabeth. Elizabeth who's joined us. And thank you, Matt Crew for your lovely comments as always. Yeah. Um, but now we're gonna play a song. [00:20:00] Um, it's a song called I Will Exalt, and it talks about how. God. Um, God gives us meaning and purpose in life and how amazing he is. So during this song, feel free to join in if, uh, if you feel comfortable doing that or if it's a bit strange and it's a bit of a new thing to you, just listen to the words and just take the time to think about what Nick said and yeah, to process that. So over to the. Video: Without [00:21:00] no meaning your present song, I ing without.[00:22:00] The song I.[00:23:00] Like you.[00:24:00] [00:25:00] Sharon: Okay, we're back. Um, this is the part that we're calling Conversation Street. So basically me and R are gonna have a chat about Nick's talk, uh, and also try and answer any questions and just, um, any comments that you've put in there as well. You'll have to excuse us if we end up peering like this into the camera 'cause the comments are down the side and they're quite small and we can't see them. So you might just get our faces close up, staring at you. Apologies in advance. Okay. So, um. Things that stood out from the talk. One of my burning questions, which it looks like Matt has the same question, is how did Nick nearly kill his friend twice with a car? I have no idea. We need to find out, don't we? We do need to find out. Yeah. Well, I'll have to get Nick on and find out for another week. Yeah. But anyway, Rachel, what things stood out to you from that talk? Rach: Well, it was a great talk, but. I was looking at all those books and I was in the background. Yeah. And I was thinking, knowing Nick, I [00:26:00] think he will have read every single one of those books, which is quite impressive probably. Yeah. Do you think? Yeah. Yeah. So that, that stood out to me. But, um, also the, um, yeah, how important friendship is and, um, some of your comments have reflected that and. Um, yeah, that it's a precious thing, but it's hard when friendships go wrong. That was a comment that Matt put in that um, or when you lose a friendship and you know, it's painful. So that sort of struck a chord with me, um, but also how precious friendship is, and then friendship with Gods, which is still one. I must admit that I ponder on quite a lot if I'm honest, because God is so amazing. And yet the Bible talks about friendship with God. But yeah, we can come onto Sharon: that, Rach: I guess. Yeah. Sharon: Yeah. Yeah. One of the things that stood out to me was the importance of friendship, I think, but having to be purposeful in that. I'm not sure if he's actually said that or whether [00:27:00] it was just something that I was Yeah. Mulling over. Yeah. And, um, yeah, I have actually, before this talk, um, I actually written a list of. Friends and people that I wanna be purposeful with. Mm-hmm. I'm not actually always successful in being purposeful, but at least I've got my list there of Yeah. Yeah. Of, because I think it's easy for the important things in life to get crowded out with. Yeah. Things that are urgent but not necessarily important or just daily life and I'm, yeah. Yeah. I. I can get, um, yeah. My attention can shift with whatever's going on and I, I need to be reminded Yeah. Of what's important, but yeah. So friendship with people, but also, Rach: yeah, Sharon: friendship with God, like you said. Rach: Yeah. I mean, I think just for myself, you know, if you've got a busy job, you've got, um, children or other family commitments. Or you know, like if you get a new dog, some stuff. But I've heard that getting a new dog could take up a lot of time and then other things. [00:28:00] But yeah, the life goes through stages and phases. Um, but I know that when I spend time with friends. It does something more for me than I expect sometimes. And it is like, almost like nourishing. Yeah, it's really good for me. Um, and particularly friends that I feel like have a really godly impact in my life. It doesn't really good for me. So it is easy sometimes to go, oh, I'm too busy, but you know, we need. We need those friendships. Sharon: Yeah. Yeah. And when Nick was talking about when he was going through a really difficult time and he needed friends to support him, I think it was probably about that same time that actually I was having a really difficult time and mentally I wasn't doing well at all. And I remember you saying something to me because I've been struggling for months and just not getting anywhere with it. Mm-hmm. And uh, and then one day it was you said to me, are you angry? And that was the first time that I'd stopped and went actually, yeah. I am angry. Yeah. And after [00:29:00] that I actually wrote down another whole list. Yeah, list. List is a bit of thing. We like, we like a list. Don't, yeah, we like a list. I, I wrote down a list of all the things that I was angry about and it went on for pages. I think it was at the time, um, not long after it'd had us. Third child and like, you know, the sleeplessness and I'd let things build up and get on top of me. And because of the lack of sleep, I wasn't thinking properly. And yeah. Whereas normally I'd have kept on top of those things I hadn't done. Yeah. And this whole stuff had built up and actually that was a real turning point and me being able to deal with that and actually get to a place of good mental health again. So thank you h if I've not said it before. Rach: Yeah. So I know we've been thinking about different questions, haven't we? And um, can I just look at your notes? Yeah, yeah. So like one question, like what is God, the friendship and what makes a good friend? Yeah. These are, Sharon: uh, questions that we've had come in. I'm not sure where from, we've just been told that they're questions. Rach: Yeah. Sharon: So have [00:30:00] you got any thoughts on that one? Rach: Well, yeah, I mean, so the Bible uses maybe like phrases that, um. Sometimes we can think, well, what does that mean? But Nick said it in his talk, like, faithful of the wounds of a friend. And I was like, well, that, that sounds like quite an odd phrase. And what does that mean? And does it mean that I can punch you, but I can go, Sharon: no, Rach: I'm, I'm hurting you, but I'm being faithful by hurting you. I don't think it means that. But what, what do you think that can Sharon: mean, Chaz? That I think it means that a, a good friend, uh, good friend, actually. Tell their friend the hard stuff in life. So if they see their friend doing something that's wrong or not helpful, or just they're going in the wrong way, that actually a good friend is able to pull you up. Mm. And just go, hang on a minute. What you doing? Right. Okay. And for you to actually listen to that and go, hang on a minute, they love me, they're my friend. They're not gonna say this just because they wanna hurt me or [00:31:00] because they're spiteful. They're actually doing this for my own good. Yeah. And at the time, it can hurt. Yeah. But in the long run it's actually for good. Yeah. Rach: Yeah. I, yeah, I, I agree with that. It's like you can have a bit of internal ow that really hurt a bit like, alright then, but actually it, it then really helps you. Yeah. Yeah. What. Oh gosh. I've just seen Matt, I've just read Matt's comment. Yeah, we'll come back to that. Um, so yeah. Um, well, what, what do you think about godly friendship? What, what is godly friendship versus ungodly friendship? What, what does that mean? I looked Sharon: up some verses earlier. Okay. So there's um, a verse that's, uh, in Proverbs, which is a book of the Bible and it says, the righteous choose their friends carefully. But the way of the wicked leads leads them astray. And I take that to mean that there's good friends and bad friends, and the good friends are the ones that lead you towards God and lead you towards truth and to all things that are [00:32:00] good. Rach: Mm-hmm. Sharon: And bad friends lead you in the opposite direction. Right. So it's like we need to be careful who our friends are. Yeah. But also to make sure that we are being a good friend and that we're, we are actually doing those things for people and not Rach: Yeah. Sharon: Not leading them down the wrong path. Rach: Yeah. I mean sometimes it does sort of make me think about, you know, like maybe you're trying to come outta something in your life, like even an addiction or something like that. Drugs or alcohol. And I know one of the challenges can be your friendship group. Mm-hmm. Because if all your friends are doing something and you are trying not to, it's almost like you need to pull away. And it doesn't have to be something maybe as, um, addictive as that, but it might be other stuff or even just. I suppose like hanging out with people that aren't lifting people up. Maybe they're really gossipy or harsh or Yeah. Even mean, do you think maybe sometimes, and yeah. You might not Sharon: wanna carry [00:33:00] on that way, I guess. Yeah. And that, there's a verse again in the Bible that I found earlier talking about gossip, um, also from the book of Proverbs. And it says, A perverse person stires up conflict and a gossip separates close friends. Mm-hmm. And I think. Um, just thinking about the whole thing of gossip, it's like, Rach: mm, Sharon: if someone is gossiping about your friend and you are listening to it and not actually checking out the truth of it, that can bring real separation. Yeah. But also as a friend, if you are gossiping about your friend Video: Yeah. Sharon: That's also, it's like who wants a friend that's gonna gossip about them? Yeah. You don't want that, do you? You want a friend who's actually gonna stick up for you and Yeah. Say positive things about you and not just gossip and tell your business. Rach: Yeah, totally. I have to say that's a real strength of yours that you Yeah, you don't, you don't talk about anybody. You know, if you wanna say something, you'll say it to the person. You don't talk behind them by behind their backs, and definitely try not to. Yeah. So I'm always Sharon: [00:34:00] successful. Rach: Yeah. And. You know, when I talk to my daughters about, um, different things, um, you know, they're very clear. They don't want to talk about their friends behind their backs. I'm just like, that's a good, that's a good quality to have. But I think it's easy to get drawn into gossip, isn't it? Yeah. So, and Sharon: it's easy to do if you are really frustrated with someone. Yeah. And friends do frustrate each other, don't they? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Even if you're good friends, sometimes in the spur of the moment, you can just wanna go ba Yeah. And let it all out to whoever's there. Rach: Yeah. But these Sharon: verses talk about, about kind of reigning that in and not Yeah. Not allowing yourself to do that, I think. Rach: Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, that, that's great. And um. What other ones are we looking at? Gotta hear about. So, yeah, what do, what do you think that means? There's a verse in the Bible that says Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends. I mean, what do you think that means? It's, Sharon: well, yeah, there's, uh, I mean, it, it could mean. To the point you [00:35:00] lay your life down in terms of you would die for them if you had to. Mm-hmm. In that, and Jesus demonstrated that. Mm-hmm. In the, in the sense of that Jesus died for us. Mm-hmm. So that to take the punishment for all the rubbish stuff for our rebellion against God. Mm-hmm. So that we could be forgiven and have that relationship with God. So I think it can mean that on one extreme. Rach: Mm-hmm. Sharon: But I think it can mean. Uh, on it is like a whole scale, isn't it? Yeah. If you, when you're, you are, um, doing things to help your friend thrive, even if it. Sometimes you have to go out of your way a little bit or, yeah, yeah. I dunno. What are your thoughts on it? Rach: Yeah, well, I, I think if you do something that's a bit like, sort of sacrificial, I guess, it's like you're not doing everything to please yourself, but you're like, yeah, I will go out of my way to, I don't know, maybe make a meal for a friend who's really tired if they have to cook for a few people or, um, maybe even give them. A bit of money to [00:36:00] support them, if that's gonna help. Or, um, another example with Sharon and her family is they let us live here whilst we were getting our house renovated. I mean, that was amazing because we were prepared to go and rent somewhere else and they let us stay. You know, I mean, that was. Sacrificial with a little brood of kids being with this as well. So it was, and Sharon: it wasn't okay. It was, it was great fun. And it was like all the jobs were shared, so That's true. You know, with the cooking. Yeah. Rachel's fabulous at shopping online, whereas I'm rubbish at it. So Yeah, it was. Yeah. Yeah. In in some ways, yeah, you give something up. But in actual fact, I think we probably gained, gained more back. Gained. Yeah, that's Rach: true. I'm just looking at the comments here. So, um, Sharon: can you read them so Sadaf Rach: for saying sound, Luke 16 now, and it sounds like we've been given permission to buy friendships through worldly wealth. This sounds very contradictory to the rest of Jesus' teachings. That's sad. I've always ask fantastic Sharon: questions. Rach: Oh, [00:37:00] good. Fantastic. So, um, I'm gonna look up Luke 16 nine 'cause I can't actually remember what that Sharon: means. I think it was, it was in the context of a parable that Jesus told about somebody who had been fiddling the books and his master had come to, um, um, take account of the books. Yeah. And this guy realized he was gonna be found out Uhhuh. So he, rather than just, um. He was like, okay, I'm about to lose my job because I've done this wrong. So what can I do? And he basically let lots of people off their debt. Oh, I think this is the right one. So I found reverse wrong. Rach: Yeah. Here's the lesson. Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to eternal, to an Eternal home. So it's almost like saying literally, does that say go out and buy friendship? Do you think that's Sharon: what it means? I think it's talking about how even people, um, [00:38:00] well this, this guy, he wasn't a godly guy, but he had enough wisdom to know that actually with friendship to you, you need to put into them and you need to, to give. Mm-hmm. And so I don't think he was Yeah. Necessarily saying, yeah, yeah, you should buy friendship. I think he was saying it was all about the wisdom and. Knowing what's important and Rach: mm-hmm. And I think, to be honest, I think in friendships we're all on a journey. Sometimes our motives, um, might be really good and other times they might not. So I think. Um, I, I, I guess as you grow in friendships mm-hmm. You wanna make sure you are not doing stuff to manipulate. Yeah. Um, I always think of, um, you know, when you hear of people that are really loaded and have got loads of money and everybody wants a bit of them, and when they lose their money, their friends walk away, I think a true friend would be there, whether you are rich or poor, regardless of [00:39:00] your wealth. So I don't think Jesus at all is encouraging us to buy friendship rather than. Be generous and give rather than hold onto your wealth. I think that's what I take from it, but I do think we have to. Um, put into friendship as well as maybe take as well. Um, you know, so it's a, it's a flowing back and forth. Yeah. Do you think that? Sharon: Yeah. Rach: Mm-hmm. Sharon: Yeah. But what are your thoughts? Anyone else got any thoughts on sad? Have some amazingly good questions. Rach: That is, do put them in the comments Sharon: and see if we've got Rach: anything else. I've got another question, shall I ask, what about when friendships end? Sharon: Oh, it's tricky, isn't it? Yeah. Rach: Yeah. Really, really hard. I mean, I, I love my friends, you know, I'm really grateful for my friends and lots of friendships that have stayed throughout, but there are some that are here for a while and then naturally just sort of dwindle out. Video: Yeah. [00:40:00] Rach: And I think that's okay. And there's no sort of. Animosity or issues there, and there are others where something might happen and friendships do suddenly end. Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, that, that can be very, very painful. And I know Matt made a comment about that earlier, you know? Yeah. About appreciating friends, but when they end, boy oh boy, that can mm-hmm. It can feel like a wound. Yeah. You know, like the loss of a friendship and, um, yeah. It can feel very, very painful and, um. You know, was God ever sort of helped you through anything like that or Sharon: as a couple? We've definitely had that experience. Mm-hmm. And a, a very tricky situation. And I think in those situations you do everything. If it is, um, a good friend, you do everything that you can to try and restore that friendship. And I think. Restoration's gonna happen. Rach: Mm-hmm. Sharon: Both sides need to, um, say sorry for the stuff that they've [00:41:00] done. Mm-hmm. Um, uh, and stop doing that stuff. Mm-hmm. The Bible pulls out repentance, um, and also forgive each other. Forgiveness is so powerful. Mm-hmm. Rach: But Sharon: it's like you can only really have restoration if both sides do that. Yeah. If one side does it but the other doesn't. Mm. Um, so like, if you forgive and you. Um, say sorry for the wrong that you've done. Video: Mm. Sharon: I think that brings a certain amount of freedom into our own lives. But if the other person doesn't do that as well, you can't have that restoration. Mm. It needs both, but Rach: Yeah. Sharon: Yeah. Yeah. It's very, very tricky. Rach: It is, and I do take great comfort from the verse in the Bible that says that Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And like for example, I'm really close to my sister. I know not all of us are close to our siblings, but I would definitely class her as a friend. But to know that Jesus would stick even closer to me than my [00:42:00] sister. I haven't got brothers but my sister, you know, that's just like amazing. And I think. If anything like that has happened to any of you that are joining us, I just would wanna encourage you that Jesus is a faithful friend who will never, ever leave you or reject you or turn his back on you, and it's, that's great comfort when maybe you have lost a friendship and it is very, very painful. Video: Yeah. Rach: There's, do you know, I take, I love history and I love stories and stories of other people's friendships and, um, particularly reconciliation. I love that. Yeah. And I, I think God's really patient. Sometimes a friendship may go like that, and it may like go like that for a while, and it may really hurt and you feel the void. But I do trust God that as we pray and trust him and give him our pain, that there may be some point in the future where the friendship [00:43:00] can be restored or even improved. Yeah. And so I do take comfort in that. Yeah. As well, that I believe for that, so. Mm-hmm. You know, yeah. Maybe that can be of encouragement Sharon: as well. Lately I've really enjoyed reconnecting with friends that I've lost touch with. So we've not fallen out or anything. No. But, um, two in particular, so one from when I was at school and she happened to move, um, on the journey to where our oldest son is at university in St. Andrew's. So she lives just on the outskirts of. Wow. Um, Edinburgh. Yeah, so when I've taken Josh up to uni, I've, um, I contacted her and said, you fancy meeting up. And, uh, we met up and we'd not seen each other for at least a couple of decades. Um, and then, um, more recently our other son, uh, Zach, who's one was thinking about going to university. Exeter. Mm-hmm. I'm not sure what it says about us. One sun's gone five hours north and the other's thinking of going five hours south. Amazing. But anyway, um, so I studied in [00:44:00] Exeter and we did a little, I mean, Zach did a little road trip down there and met up with a friend who still lives down there, who I studied with. Wow. And we'd not seen each other for 29 years. And I absolutely love that. Yeah. Because we've had this massive gap. Yeah. But actually there was still this connection and there's still, I mean, masses that we don't know about each other in the years in between. Yeah. But somehow there's still that connection there. Yeah. And that was really fabulous. That's, that's great. Rach: No, that's lovely, isn't it? Yeah. So just thinking about, um, Nick spoke at the end about friendship with God. I mean, that's a huge topic, isn't it? Yeah. And what time, you know, we haven't got forever to think about it, but what do you think about that cha and being a Sharon: friend of God, that's amazing really, isn't it? Yeah. If you think like, um, the creator of the universe who. Like created all of that, all that we can see. Mm-hmm. And I love looking at photographs from the, um, tele, what was it, [00:45:00] Hubble? Oh yeah. What's it called? Hubble Telescope. Yeah, that's the one. Yeah. Um, and I look at these pictures and they, they just give this reaction of awe in me. Mm-hmm. Okay. God created all that and to think, because it's the God who created that. Yeah. Wants to be a friend with me. It's like, Rach: wow. It is. That's really Sharon: cool. Rach: It is. And um, yeah, it encourages me. 'cause I, I must admit, I do chat to God rather a lot. It's like, you know, when I'm walking along or driving and I'm like, what do you think about that? And or a favorite Prayer when I'm chatting to God is, help me Lord. You know, with whatever's going on. And I just think. Isn't it amazing that we can worship God like you're saying, and he's huge and creative and. You know God, and yet he still wants us to chat to him. Yeah. And that I find quite incredible really. Yeah. Um, yeah. And that, there's one thing I was thinking when Nick was talking. You [00:46:00] know, if whilst we've been talking about friendships, you've gone, yeah, it's all right for you two, you've got a lovely friendship, bully for you sort of thing, or words to that effect. But at the moment, you're struggling or. You might have moved, moved somewhere new and you haven't got any local friends or something might have gone wrong. Well, you know, you can talk to God and chat with God about this and you can ask him to bring friends, friends your way. And I did go through a season in my life, a time in my life where. Um, the people that I was closest to, for whatever reason, moved, um, they left, they went to another city, they went to another country. And there was a a time when I was like, well, who are my close friends? And I did talk to God about it and um, yeah, I'm a writer too, so I did write stuff down about it and, um. I did talk and pray and chat with God and asked him for help. And so I would just encourage you if that's where you are at as well, you [00:47:00] can do that whatever stage of the journey you are on with. Sharon: Yeah. Rach: With your own faith. Yeah. Sharon: I've definitely been in times like that as well of asking the same question like, have I actually got any friends when it seems like everybody's busy when with their own life and it's like Rach: mm-hmm. Sharon: You don't feel like you lose, um, you've got that same connection with people. Mm-hmm. So yeah, it's, I've definitely gone through. Yeah. Different periods of time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just seeing that Adas replied. So I'm gonna stare into the camera again. Here we go. Uh uh, so going back to the pre Adas previous question, she says, I think Luke is about preparing for our lives in eternity by being generous. And why stewards in our present lives here on Earth. Rach: You answered it better than we did. Yeah, great. Yeah, thanks for that. Oh, well, we didn't think we chat much, did we? No. Look at us. We could go on for another hour I think, couldn't we? If we were allowed, there was Sharon: another question about examples of good friendship from the Bible.[00:48:00] Do we wanna answer that or do we need to Rach: finish or? What do you mean? I think the Bible's full of friendship. It's, it's full of a lot, but I think full of friendship. And what would be your favorite one? Save example from the arrival. See, I really do love thinking about Jesus and the disciples that it seems he was a bit closer to. Mm-hmm. Particularly with John. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. And also the way he was with, um, Mary who washed his feet and also with Martha and Mary, um, and their brother who was called Lazarus. I just think there's just something about being really real, eating together. Being honest with each other. You know, Martha had a bit of a go at Jesus after her brother died. And I just think, yeah, there's loads of examples. And also David and Jonathan's like a classic in the Old Testament. Um, like a real. Friendship, brotherly bond between them. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I think that's Can you explain more about who they Sharon: are? Because not [00:49:00] everybody's gonna know. So Rach: David was, um, Sharon: that, no, he became Rach: King of Israel. He was the guy that killed Goliath with the Little Stone. Yeah. A lot of people will have heard that story. Okay. Yeah. So that was David. And then he became really good friends with souls. Son. I was gonna say Brother Saul's son. And Sharon: Saul was the king before David, wasn't he? Yeah. Rach: And Saul got quite jealous of David 'cause Saul could see that David was like the next king after him. And um, like more sort of anointed, more favored type of thing. And so yeah, he was really, really jealous. Rather than celebrating David and going, isn't it amazing that God's got a plan for you? For the nation to bless the nation. It was all about him. Um, but, so yeah, his son and David became really, really good friends and so tried to kill. [00:50:00] David it a few times, but David remained really loyal, which was, you know what a conflict to be in your dad hates your best friend, basically. So, yeah. And how that's tricky. They navigated their friendship, which was quite amazing. Really. Sharon: Yeah. Rach: Yeah. Yeah. Sharon: But Rach: I Sharon: think we've covered the questions that we've come in, unless there's some that we've missed and we just can't see because the, we're so small. We need a binoculars to Rach: read. Sharon: Yeah. Anyway, that might be a good place to finish. What would you reckon? Rach: I think so, yeah. And um, I think we're gonna go into some more worship, aren't we? Yeah. Sharon: So we're just gonna play one more song to finish. Um, but thanks everyone who joined us today, and those of you that have commented, thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah. So we're gonna play a song now and then it will just finish. You won't see us again. Yeah, so good. We'll see you again. Goodbye. Bye. Thanks for joining us. Thank you.