Circle of Friends
Julia thought she and Lucille were best friends forever, so why has Lucille been ignoring her lately?
Before You ListenLet's Get Started
Theme: Needing community.
1. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” This can be good thing! It can make a friend group strong in hard times. But it can also be dangerous. That is because it is harder to leave of a group of bad friends than to leave just one. What kind of friends do you have?
2. Jesus had many friends. Some, like his disciples, went everywhere with him. Some of Jesus’ best friends, Martha, Lazarus, and Mary, had Jesus and his disciples stay at their house (Luke 10:38-45). As you listen to this episode, think about why Jesus had different kinds of friends. How do you think all the friends got along?
After you listen
Memory Verse
“Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, ‘A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break.’”
Quiz
A: She changed Lucille’s order at the party shop and the bakery.
Reflect
The New Testament often talks about the importance of the community of believers (or church) and how much we need each other to grow in our faith.
The book of Acts says the early church met together often. They talked, ate and prayed together. They praised God together in every place they met. (Acts 2:42, 46-47). What was the result of all this fellowshipping? “And the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
That was the early Christian church. What about now? Even today we can rejoice with each other, cry with each other, bear each other’s heavy burdens, and worship God together. When we are connected to other Christians, Satan cannot easily break us. When we are in community with other Christians, we grow—in more ways than we can count!
Dig deeper into living in community in Psalm 133:1, John 17:20-23, and Colossians 3:14.
Challenge
Show that cords of three (or more) strands are not easily broken: make some friendship bracelets! There are lots of how-to videos and ideas online. Make some for yourself and for your friends to remind you of your strength together.
