Proverbs: Friendship

Opening Question
Recent research shows that nearly 1 in 3 Australians report feeling lonely at least once a week (Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, 2024).

  • What do you think are some of the reasons loneliness is on the rise?

  • How might our modern lifestyles make forming and maintaining deep friendships harder?

1. A True Friend is a Companion in the Storm

Read:

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Discuss:

  1. What do these proverbs teach us about the difference between shallow and true friendship?

  2. How can we grow into this kind of friend for others/ makes ure we aren’t fair-weather friends?

2. A True Friend is a Messenger of Hope

Read:

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,
    but a good word makes him glad.

Proverbs 10:11
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
    sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Discuss:

  1. When has a friend helped lift your eyes to the promises of Jesus in a difficult time?

  2. Do you find yourself hesitant to share the truths of God’s Word with friends when they’re struggling? Why or why not?

  3. How can we speak words that are life-giving, hopeful, and gracious—without sounding forced or ingenuine?

3. A True Friend is a Source of Precious Counsel

Read:

Proverbs 27:9
Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel

Proverbs 27:5-6
Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.


Discuss:

  1. How have you experienced friendships deepening when people are willing to speak hard but loving truths?

  2. What makes it so difficult to give or receive this kind of counsel?

  3. How can we create friendships where honesty and encouragement go hand in hand?

4. Looking to Jesus


Read John 15:13–15

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Discuss:

  1. How does knowing Jesus as our ultimate friend shape the way we respond when:

    • Our friends let us down?

    • Our friends are hard to love or we don’t have the energy to love?

    • We feel we don’t have true friends?

Application

  • What habits could you build into your week to help you foster stronger friendships?

  • Do you value friendship as a category in itself—or do marriage and family tend to overshadow it?

  • Who might God be calling you to invest in more intentionally this week?

Pray