Friendship 101

INTRO.- Math 101, English 101, Speech 101, History 101, etc.. You name it and it’s out there. But what we are talking about?

101 is a term when referring to an introductory course of some subject or the basic knowledge of some subject.

Here is an example of what I would call Atheism 101.

ILL.- A young woman teacher with obvious liberal tendencies explained to her class of small children that she was an atheist. She asked her class if they were atheists too. Not really knowing what atheism was but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands exploded into the air.

There was, however, one exception. A beautiful girl named Lucy who did not go along with the crowd. The teacher asked her why she decided to be different. "Because I’m not an atheist."

The teacher asked her, "Well, what are you?" She said, "I’m a Christian."

The teacher was a bit perturbed and asked why Lucy why she was a Christian. "Well, I was brought up knowing and loving Jesus. My mom is a Christian, and my dad is a Christian, so I am a Christian."

The teacher started to get angry. She said, “That’s no reason to be a Christian. What if your mom was a moron, and your dad was a moron. What would you be then?" She paused, and smiled. "Then," said Lucy, "I’d be an atheist."

Atheism 101. Atheism makes no sense whatsoever. The starry universe, plant and animal life, the human body, a newborn baby, all these and more shout loudly and clearly THERE IS AN ALL-WISE CREATOR CALLED GOD!

Romans 1:19 “What may be known about God is PLAIN to them (or should be), because God made it plain to them.”

You can get much plainer than all of creation! Atheism. It’s nonsense.

We all need an education in life. We don’t need to know about everything, but we need to know about some things.

ILL.- I couldn’t build a doghouse if my life depended on it. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a dog and don’t plan to buy a dog, but I have nothing against dogs. I can, however, build a decent sermon that is helpful to people. And that’s what is important to me.

We all need to learn things are important in life, things that bless people, because this is why God put us here: to love one another, to help one another, to build up one another.

John 13:34 “"A new command I give you: Love one another…”

Gal. 5:13 “Serve one another in love…”

Gal. 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens…”

ILL.- Someone said, “When people are serving others, life is no longer meaningless.” Serving people gives meaning to life.

Sounds just like Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost. His life was far from meaningless. He lived for people and so must we.

This is what FRIEND DAY in our church is all about: seeking people and pointing them to Christ who can save them from their sins.

PROP.- I want us to consider what I call Friendship 101: basic planning for our Friend Day and future friendship with others.

1- We must pray and believe

2- We must find and bring

3- We must befriend and listen

I. WE MUST PRAY AND BELIEVE

ILL.- A man was going out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door, shaking hands. He grabbed the man by the hand and pulled him aside and said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!"

The man replied, "I’m already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor." The Pastor questioned him, saying, "How come I don’t see you except at Christmas and Easter?" He whispered back, "I’m in the secret service."

Are you trustworthy? Are you dependable? Are you a faithful friend? Some people just cannot be depended on. They can’t be depended on to come to church, to get to work on time, to do a job, to be a friend, etc.

ILL.- On April 15, 1998 I had my right hip replaced at the St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, MO. Elaine and I were not married at that time, but I expected her to be there and I expected my son Shane to be there. And they were there for my surgery and following. But I did not expect to see a running friend named Joe Beussink. Joe knew I was going to have surgery but I never asked him to come. However, he took off work and showed up anyway. When I woke, there was Joe. AND JOE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME. He could be classified as a faithful friend.

Does God classify you as a faithful friend? To Him and others?