BUILDING WISE FRIENDSHIPS

BUILDING WISE FRIENDSHIPS

PROVERBS 18:24
"How many loyal, devoted, genuine, true friends do you have? I'm not talking about casual friendships because those can come rather quickly. I'm talking about friendships that take time to build. And today I want to talk about Building Wise Friendships. "
I. Cautions:
A. Be careful who you choose as friends.
B. Be careful in choosing how you form the friendship.
1 Corinthians 15:33
II. Impact of friendship — Friendships can:
A. Delight us
B. Develop us
C. Drive us
D. Disillusion us
E. Distress us
F. Drag us down
G. Destroy us
III. Rewards of friendship:
A. Acceptance
B. Love
C. Inner change
D. Intimacy
E. Fruitfulness
F. Security
G. Spiritual growth
IV. We build wise friendships when:
A. We share a deep mutual concern or interest.
B. We focus on meeting their needs, not our needs.
C. We are willing to risk rejection and pain.
D. We love sacrificially.
E. We are open and transparent.
F. We are will willing to serve the other person gladly.
G. We can ask for forgiveness and be forgiving.
H. We can accept criticism and praise gladly.
I. We are committed to the spiritual growth of the other person.
J. The principles of Scripture govern our relationship