I Have Called You Friends (February)

February 2019 (03 Feb - 02 March). See the Resource Pack PDF for full details.

Friendship is at the heart of the Gospel and indeed friendship with God and our neighbour is the sole purpose of the story of salvation. This is the theme we have chosen for the month of February. 

Our readings in the scriptures will point us to the often implied friendship that God longs to have with his people. In turn we are invited to be people seeking to cultivate the art of Christian friendship. It’s not about how we make our churches friendly, it goes far beyond that idea. Christian friendship is about commitment to each other, it’s about the “no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend” ideal. If we could begin to strive towards this ideal it would change the way we approach our relationships. Think of the various relationships we have and about the kind of investment we make into them. 

During these weeks we will be challenged to think about:

1. Our friendship with God and our families and local communities.
2. The friendships we have that are cross-cultural and cross-generational. 
3. The friendships we have with those we know who are seeking to know more about God and who think more deeply about life itself.  
4. The friendship we all require to nurture with the culture and society that is around us.

'I Have Called You Friends’ is a reference to John 15: 15

For weekly subthemes and daily readings and prompts see the resource pack PDF.