Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 20:6; 25:19-20; 27:6, 9
August 5, 2018
preached by Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“Of all the means which are procured by wisdom to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.”

~ Epicurus (341–270 BC), Greek philosopher

“Nothing is more sacred, more useful, more difficult to find, more pleasant, and more profitable than true friendship. Without authentic spiritual friendship, it is next to impossible to be happy in this life. A person without friends is more like a beast than a human being.  Spiritual friendship cultivates virtue, overcomes vice, and brings balance in both good times and bad. It is a medicine for life that heals and elevates. As such, it leads one to the love and knowledge of God.”

~ Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167), English Cistercian monk and abbot of Rievaulx, Yorkshire

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who cares.”

~ Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian

“Friendship hasn’t reached the level of biblical friendship until somebody has irritated us or offended us and we decide to stay…The true test of love is when they offend you or you offend them and you move toward them instead of away from them.”

~ Scott Sauls, contemporary pastor and author

“I’ve spent most of my life and most of my friendships holding my breath and hoping that when people get close enough they won’t leave, and fearing that it’s a matter of time before they figure me out and go.”

~ Shauna Niequist, contemporary author

“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.”

~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-AD 65), Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist

 “Deep in our timid hearts is a desire to be loved mildly, nothing more. That way, we retain control, we set the terms, we avoid risk. Our loving God, in His ferocious intensity, will have none of it. He defines the meaning of our lives, and we are saved from our anemic loves and brought by degrees into intense loves, like His own.”

~ Ray Ortlund, contemporary pastor and author

Sermon Passage

Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 20:6; 25:19-20; 27:6, 9 (NASB)

Proverbs 17

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 18

²⁴ A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 20

⁶  Many a man proclaims his own his own loyalty,
But who can find a trustworthy man? 

Proverbs 25

¹⁹ Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot
Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.
²⁰ Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda,
Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart.

Proverbs 27

⁶  Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemies.

⁹  Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.