Having healthy friendships is one of the most important aspects to the lives of teens, and the Bible has a lot to say about the power of friends and what kinds of people we should give that sort of influence over our lives.
Opening
- Go around the circle 3 times…each time you get to a person they should use one word (that has not been used before in the group) to describe “friendship.”
- The Bible uses the words “light” and “dark” to describe what?
- In Biblical terms…who are our brothers and sisters? Back this up with a passage of Scripture
Read the Bible
Read 1 John 2: 9 – 11
- Thinking back to what you said above about “light” and “dark”, what is this passage saying?
- Does it surprise you that John is saying that you will be judged based on the way you treat others?
- Think honestly…if God were go judge you on a scale of 1 to 3 (with 3 being the best and 1 being the worst) based on the way you treat others, how would you be judged
What the Bible Says About Friendship
Break up the group into groups of 3 or 4.
Each smaller group is assigned one of the below passages that talks about friendship.
Their task is to read the passage, figure out what it is saying, and then come up with a short skit that shows what it is that passage is saying.
Remind them that they are not acting out the passage, but rather acting out the message of the passage in a way that expresses how we are to live this out each day.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
John 15:12-14
Proverbs 27:17
1 Thessalonians 5:11
After enough time, come back together and have the groups act out their skit.
Closing
Have each person share one way in the coming week they can walk in the light of Christ by loving their brothers and sisters…those people they are around each and every day at school, at church, at home, and around town.
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