A Sunday School Lesson On Friendship

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study lesson about friendship in the Bible.

A Godly Friendship

There is nothing better than having a best friend, next to having a saving relationship with Christ of course, but we need friends and they need us. We’re made for relationship and when your best friend is a Christian, it can hardly get much better. Your friends will go out of their way for you (1st Sam 18:1-5). A friend loves you regardless (Prov 17:17) and loves you enough to tell you the truth, even if it hurts (Prov 27:6) and try to give you good advice because they’ll be honest with you (Prov 27:9). That’s why we must see the value in our godly friends and why, no matter what, we must never forsake them (Prov 27:10).

Why do we need friends?

What about having friends who are not Christian (2nd Cor 6:14-18; James 4:4)?

What’s the hardest thing you ever had say to a friend?

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to hear from a friend?

Being a Friend

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Ever gotten a 3 AM call from a friend needing help? Probably a lot of us have and so maybe that’s part of what Solomon is means about a friend “loves at all times” but it’s much more than that. A friend is needed when we have lost a loved one; when we’ve lost a job; when we’ve had a shattered relationship; and even when we’re celebrating a great success. They say a sorrow shared is halved but a joy shared is double and it would seem so. This brother or sister in Christ is “born for adversity” and “your adversity” in particular. That’s what Solomon is saying. They are there for you at all times, good and bad, convenient or not, and for all kinds of adversity. If not, are they really your friend?

What is the hardest part about being a friend?

What’s the best part of being a friend?

What does it mean a friend loves “at all times?”

Picking your Friends

First Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

We must choose carefully who are friends since “bad company ruins good morals” (1st Cor 15:33) and “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov 13:20). That’s because we tend to become like whoever we are around. If those are people who live in sin, then that’s what we’ll tend to do. It’s not guilt by association but sin by participation because James warned us that “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Solomon wrote about many friends verses a best friend in Proverbs 18:24 by writing, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” That one is worth more than many for that brother or sister in Christ knows not “to slander one another” or gossip (James 4:11) but rather, build up one another. There is no room for talking about your friends sins since “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends” (Prov 17:9).

How does “bad company” ruin the morals of others?

What does it mean to be friends with the world but enemies of God (James 4:4)?

When don’t you cover offenses of your friends?

Is “repeating a matter” the same as gossip?

No Inconvenience for Friends

Luke 11:5-6 “And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’”

Most of us have neighbors that are willing to help us out when we have needs here in this parable, Jesus is saying that even “though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs” (Luke 11:8). A true friend will get awakened at midnight and not have to make excuses. It might not be a neighbor who gets up in the middle of the night but a genuine friend will.

Have you ever had a friend call you in the middle of the night?

What was it that they needed?

Was it something that could have waited?

A Friend is…

James 2:23 “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God.”

Jesus once said that friends rejoice with us when we have something good happen to us (Luke 15:9) but also share your sorrows with you but in Abraham’s case, God called him “a friend of God” because Abraham believed God and God “counted [it] as righteousness.” Friends also know more about us than anyone else (except God) and we know more about our friends than most other people do and in fact, friends will tell their friend something that they won’t anyone else because they trust them. Just before Jesus went to the cross and was to return to the Father, He told His disciples “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Friends share a lot more than secrets; they share their lives with one another.

Can a friend trust you with a secret?

Do you feel safe in telling your friend a sin or fault?

Do you feel certain that they won’t repeat it or gossip about it to others?

Do they trust you enough to not tell others when they share something private with you?

Conclusion

I strongly urge you to read the Bible verses that are included in the commentary and in the questions for they are the truest source of answers, not me.  We all need friends and our friends need us so we should be trustworthy enough to not repeat what they’ve told us in private; they should love us at all times; they should know that we might need their help sometime and that we’ll need theirs. There is a friend who loves you at all times; good and bad.  If you need a friend, show yourself friendly.

Do you have such a friend?

Are you such a friend?

Do you need a friend?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.