Authentic Relationships...Week 3

1 Samuel 18:1-9

Intimacy - closeness. Society has made intimacy to mean sexual relations

God created Adam for a close, intimate relationship. He was lonely.

3 types of friends:
1) proximity: work, neighbors, school
become friends by talking, spending time together, etc.
2) like minded: political, etc.
become friends because we share similar interests.
3) true friends: intimate
kind of slide past the first 2! cry together, sacrifice, spend time, confide in, and are vulnerable around.
***proximity friends are those you spend time with, like minded friends are those you can get angry with, and true friends are those you can cry with (thanks, jeremy!)***

To build an intimate relationship, you must give some of yourself to your friend! Jonathan gave up his identity for David - his robe (the prince's robe), tunic, sword, bow, and belt. Do you have a friend now that you would give ANYTHING to?

As a child, we made friends in some of these ways:
let them in our tree house, share toys, "egging", sharing bracelets - necklaces - etc, blood brothers/sisters
As we got older, some of the ways we made friends:
speaking pig latin, through fraternities/sororities (certain handshakes, etc)

Satan's #1 took that he uses to destroy intimate relationships is jealousy!

To build an intimate relationship, you have to share things that you don't necessarily want to - being completely honest - even in the flesh. If you don't, eventually there will be a problem.

If you're going to have friends, you have to trust them! One way to do this is through listening!

In building true friends, you must have these 3: trust, time, vulnerability

Geno's challenge this week:
~share something with someone this week
~entrust someone to do something you do well - help teach them!
~give a gift to someone that says something about YOU - yes, even the guys!!!

next week is care sunday!!!