I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE — WHO’S IN YOUR CORNER?

I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE — WHO’S IN YOUR CORNER?

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Problem: It’s possible to be by people and still alone.

WHY REAL FRIENDSHIPS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND
We’re .
We’re .
We’re around people but not .
We’re waiting for friendship to happen .
When life gets hard, we tend to .

GUIDING TRUTH: God never designed us

WHAT DO REAL FRIENDS DO?

1. Real friends .

Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God.

1 Samuel 23:16

Spiritual maturity doesn’t eliminate our need for .

There are friends who are there when life is easy, and there are friends who know how to  when life gets hard.

Real friendship requires .

Being with everyone isn’t the same as having .

2. Real friends our .

…encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God.

1 Samuel 23:16

The right people don’t just make us feel better. They help us believe again.

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17

QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED

WHO IS STRENGTHENING YOUR FAITH?

WHOSE FAITH ARE YOU STRENGTHENING?

3. Real friends the real us.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

James 5:16

Church can become a place where everybody knows NAME, but nobody knows .

We can’t be fully if we’re constantly pretending we’re .

Everybody doesn’t need access to your life, but somebody needs access to the you.

4. Real friends help us .

Sometimes the greatest gift somebody can give you isn’t a solution, it’s their .

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Sometimes God changes our . Sometimes God sends us to walk through them.

We can’t manufacture , but we can create for friendship to .

WHY SMALL GROUPS?

Weekend Gatherings help us .

Small Groups help us .

THE OBJECTIONS

“Pastor, I’m busy.”

Everybody’s busy.

“I don’t know anybody.”

That’s why you join a group.

“I’m an introvert.”

Introverts need friends too.

“I’ve been hurt by people.”

That’s real. But isolation doesn’t heal relational wounds; healthy relationships do.

“I tried a group once.”

You tried a restaurant once too, and apparently you didn’t quit eating.

Stop waiting to accidentally find community, .

THE FINAL CHALLENGE

WHO’S IN YOUR CORNER?

WHOSE CORNER ARE YOU IN?

Join a group because you need .

Join a group because somebody may need .