A Faithful Friend

Last year, the Surgeon General released a report about a major public health crisis. He said the most prevalent health issue in the country isn’t cancer, it isn’t heart disease, and it isn’t obesity. It’s loneliness. Studies are showing that loneliness can be as harmful to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Even before the pandemic, loneliness was a problem, and it’s only worsened since then. We don’t connect with others like we used to. We work from home. We shop online instead of in person. Our homes don’t have front porches. Instead, we hide in the backyard. We follow strangers online, but we have few genuine friendships. Friendship has fallen on hard times. And that should concern us because the Bible says a lot about friendship, especially about how important it is. According to the Bible, friendship is essential to living a meaningful, flourishing life.

1 Samuel 20 is about friendship. It focuses on the friendship between Jonathan and David. Their friendship is the paradigm for friendship in the Bible.

Listen as Ryan walks through the chapter and talks about (1) the importance of friendship and (2) the power for friendship.

This sermon was preached on October 13, 2024, at Grace Bible Church in Escondido, California.