What are Sermon Notes?
Below is an outline for the sermon preached on Sunday morning. Accessing these notes allows you to take the sermon home with you. Feel free to add your own notes!
At the end of the sermon you can email yourself those notes from that day.
We hope this is a helpful resource for you as you dive deeper into the Scriptures and the messages preached at New Life Church.
Full of Grace and Truth: Friendship
Text: John 1:14, Matthew 18:15
Big Idea: We experience a fuller life in Jesus through friendships marked by His grace and truth.
Introduction
- Do you have real friends?
- We don't drift into them - we drift away.
The Problem
- Relational drift happens
- Life gets busy and friendships fade
- We're not meant to do life alone
Have a friend
- Real relationships, not surface-level
- Misconceptions:
- Church does not mean automatic friendships
- Social Media does not mean real connection
- Identity 1-2 people; or, become the friend you want
Be a friend
- What it takes
- Margin and intentionality - make space and move toward
- Vulnerability - be known, not just seen
- Humility - walk with people, not above
- Matthew 18:15 - If your brother sins, go.
- Friendship moves towards, not away
Grace and Truth
- How we go (John 1:14)
- Grace - meets people where they are
- Truth - calls people forward
Four Responses
- Call Out: Harsh, shut down
- Hang Out: Avoid truth, stuck
- Check Out: Avoid, alone
- Call Up: Grace and Truth, growth
Conclusion
- Who is God bringing to mind?
- Take a step this week or become that friend
Life Group Questions from April 26th
- If you took a step towards building up marriage last week, update your group on how it went and what you learned.
- Start by reading John 1:14 again. How did working on memorizing this verse go? What helped or made it difficult? We also encourage you to read Matthew 18:15.
- As we discuss friendships that are full of grace and truth, think of your closest friendships. Where do you naturally lean with them: more toward grace or truth? How has that tendency shaped your friendships - in good or bad ways?
- Why don’t we naturally offer full grace and full truth in our friendships? What makes it so hard?
- What do you long for from your friendships? What do you think your friends long for from you?
- Let’s go back to Matthew 18:15 - when there’s conflict in your friendships, what is your instinct? Avoid it (check out)? Keep things passive or minimize it (hang out)? Or overrun them (call out)? How did that instinct play out in a past situation?
- What would it have looked like to bring grace and truth fully together in that scenario? Brainstorm as a group how this could have been different.
- Cody gave four suggestions to build our friendships: margin, intentionality, vulnerability, and humility. Which of these feels most lacking for you? What is one specific way you could practice it this week in a real relationship?
- Conclude your group in prayer: Pray for courage to pursue depth in our friendships, the wisdom to bring a fullness of grace and truth together, and any specific next steps people shared.
