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Friendship: Week 2, Tuesday — The Purpose of Biblical Friendship

READ: JOHN 17:20-24; SOAP: JOHN 17:22-23
John 17:20-24 New Living Translation

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

When our friendships are defined by sacrificial love, they point to God’s sacrificial love for the world.

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Friendship: Week 2 — Monday Christ-Centered Friendships

READ: ROMANS 12:1-8, 1 PETER 4:10; SOAP: ROMANS 12:4-5 AND 1 PETER 4:10
Romans 12:1-8 New Living Translation
A Living Sacrifice to God

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

1 Peter 4:10 New Living Translation

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

We can strengthen and encourage one another in unique ways because we all have different gifts.

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Friendship: Week 1, Friday – Rooftop Ripping Friends

READ: MARK 2:1-5; SOAP: MARK 2:4

Mark 2:1-5 New Living Translation

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

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Friendship: Week 1, Thursday — How Friendship Displays the Gospel

READ: JOHN 13:35 AND 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-20; SOAP: JOHN 13:35

John 13:35 New Living Translation

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 New Living Translation

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Don’t forget to check out today’s blog and devotional

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Friendship: Week 1, Wednesday Sin’s Impact on Friendship

READ: GENESIS 3:8-13 AND 4:6-8; SOAP: GENESIS 3:8

Genesis 3:8-13 New Living Translation

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Do you think this first sin impacted the relationship that Adam and Eve had with each other? What about with God? If so, how?

Check out today’s LGG Devotional

Genesis 4:6-8 New Living Translation

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

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Friendship: Week 1, Day 2 — Created for Community

Read: Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, and Matthew 18:20; SOAP Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Genesis 2:18 New Living Translation

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 New Living Translation

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

This section of Ecclesiastes is on friendship, and it summarizes some of the beautiful benefits of living in community.

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Matthew 18:20 New Living Translation

For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

My take on it … Feel free to share yours in the comment bar.

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Friendship: Week 1, Monday Designed for Friendship

Watch my Welcome to Week One of “Friendship” video 

https://youtu.be/6p44q-b8kMY
WEEK 1: OUR NEED FOR FRIENDSHIP
READ: GENESIS 1:26-27 AND 1 JOHN 1:3; SOAP: GENESIS 1:27

Genesis 1:26-27 New Living Translation

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

So God created human beings in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

1 John 1:3 New Living Translation

We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

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Don’t forget to share your SOAP, thoughts, or ANY questions you have in the comments below🙂

Love to you all and let’s commit to starting & finishing this study STRONG – TOGETHER!!!

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Faithful Love: Week 6, Friday — The Embrace of God’s Love

Read: Hosea 14:4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25 and James 3:17; SOAP: Hosea 14:9

Hosea 14:4-9

The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths, sinners stumble and fall.

1 Corinthians 1:25

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

James 3:17

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

I want to be a wise woman. And I know that the only way of being wise is through knowing and living God´s Word every single day.

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Type AMEN in the comment bar if you agree with the above quote.

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Faithful Love: Week 6, Thursday — It’s Never Too Late

READ: HOSEA 14:1-3, NEHEMIAH 1:9, and 2 PETER 3:9; SOAP: HOSEA 14:2

Hosea 14:1-3

Healing for the RepentantReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.  Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”

Nehemiah 1:9

But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

He´s patiently waiting for every soul to reach repentance. –

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Reflection Question: Hosea calls Israel once again to return to the Lord. This time he tells them to take words with them – what were the words or what was the point of the words?

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Faithful Love: Week 6, Wednesday Pleading our Cause

Read: Hosea 13:15-16 and Jeremiah 4:11-12 and 51:36; SOAP: Jeremiah 51:36

Hosea 13:15-16

Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. 16 The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”

Jeremiah 4:11-12

The time is coming when the Lord will say
    to the people of Jerusalem,
“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
    and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
12 It is a roaring blast sent by me!
    Now I will pronounce your destruction!”Read full chapter

Jeremiah 51:36 – The Lord’s Vengeance on Babylon

This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem: “I will be your lawyer to plead your case,
    and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, as well as her springs,

We blame God for all our problems and struggles, but actually, we are the ones to blame

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