“Friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.”
C.S. Lewis

Real Friendship doesn’t just happen.

What does it say about Jesus that he is a friend of sinners?
Christ isn’t deterred by your sin -- He is drawn to it.

What does it mean that Jesus is a friend of sinners?
If you have a relationship with Christ, it's because you're a sinner.

Though the crowds call him the friend of sinners as an indictment, the label is one of unspeakable comfort for those who know themselves to be sinners. That Jesus is a friend of sinners is only contemptible to those who feel themselves not to be in that category.
Dane Ortlund

For Jesus to be a friend of sinners means
coming to terms with who he is,
and coming to terms with who you are.

Friendship with Christ from John 15:
1. Friendship with Christ is predicated on love.
(vs. 9-10)

Friendship with Christ from John 15:
2. Friendship with Christ is embodied by joy.
(vs. 11)

Friendship with Christ from John 15:
3. Friendship with Christ is exemplified through sacrifice.
(vs. 12-13)

Friendship with Christ from John 15:
4. Friendship with Christ is outworked through obedience.
(vs. 14)

Friendship with Christ from John 15:
5. Friendship with Christ is experienced through revelation.
(vs. 15)

It’s worth noting what Jesus believes friendship consists of: disclosure. What lifts us from *only* being servants to now primarily being friends is what he has revealed to us. Disclosure creates friendship. A friend is someone you let in, and Jesus has let us in all the way.
Sam Allberry

Friendship is one of the primary ways
that Jesus reveals his heart --
and therefore the heart of God -- to us.

At first thought this might seem a reason for abandoning the whole venture: if God is so utterly beyond us, why not leave him alone and make the best terms we can with our ineluctable darkness? But a Mystery is not something that we can know nothing about: it is only something that the mind cannot wholly know. It is not to be thought of as a high wall that we can neither see over nor get around: it is to be thought of rather as a gallery into which we can progress deeper and deeper, though we can never reach the end--yet every step of our progress is immeasurably satisfying.
Frank Sheed

Thanks for worshipping with us tonight! Join us next week as we continue our Gentle & Lowly series, looking at the mercy of Christ (chapter 19 in Dane Ortlund's book).

Our Hope Mob campaign is ongoing! We're helping some Ukrainian refugees settle into Tucson. You can give through the app by choosing "Hope Mob" from the drop-down menu, or by giving gift cards to WalMart or QT.