Be a Friend Session 4: Friends in Christ

Session 4

Sermon Script

St. Paul said these words. You will recognize this verse.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

When Paul says we are “all one”, it doesn’t mean that our differences are erased. Differences are not necessarily bad. They are what makes us unique. So our differences remain even when we are one in Christ. What Paul is saying is that despite our differences, we are united as one by God’s love that’s been shown to us through Jesus Christ.

We now have a new relationship with each other because of that. We are friends in Christ. Because of Christ, we can all be friends. This is not what we did by our own effort. This is what God has done for us. Our friendship with each other is God’s gift to us.

We are not just a human community. Yes, we are a community of human beings. But we are more than just a social group.

We are a spiritual community. We are a community of human beings who have been brought together by God. We are a community that’s built on God’s love as its foundation.

That means we don’t relate to each other however we want. However we feel like. That is the way human love functions. It is self-centred and fickle. It does whatever it wants.

Instead, we relate to each other the way God relates to us. We treat each other the way God treats us. We see each other the way God sees us. We value and cherish one another like friends.

That is God’s love in a nutshell. St. Paul described it best in this way—

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This is the love that is practiced and lived out in a spiritual community. It is the love of Christ that brings everyone together as one. It is the love that hopes and perseveres. It is the love that makes friends, not enemies.

It’s been a memorable weekend of being a friend to each other. Even though you are tired, I hope your hearts are full and content.

Let us not forget what we learned on this retreat. Just because we go back and on our separate ways, it doesn’t mean we will no longer be friends. Whether we see each other weekly or only at retreats, we are and will always be friends in Christ.

Let us especially continue to practice what we have learned. How to share and express our love in small, concrete actions. Reach out, Serve, and Believe in others. Love is not just what we feel on the inside. Love is what we live out as friends.

When we live out God’s love in community, God’s presence will be felt and known in Hi-C and at St. Tim’s. I shared this at the end of our first session—

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:11, 12

We are also called to go out and be witnesses to God’s love. Be a friend wherever you go. Be the salt and the light. Jesus taught us that—

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Be the vessel of God’s friendly and unconditional love that comforts and brings joy to others.