Friendship Resources

06|2023

This past Sunday we continued our summer preaching series on relationships with a sermon about the importance of friendship. Friendship is one of the most important relational gifts God has given us, but also one that often causes great confusion and even pain. If we are to thrive in community we need to approach this topic with humility and wisdom, understanding that healthy relationships take intentionally and time.

Our prayer is that as a church we would increasingly become a place that cultivates deep friendships and extends love to all. To that end, here are some resources to help develop our thinking and mature our behavior in this area.

Made for Friendship: The Relationship That Halves Our Sorrows and Doubles Our Joys. This book by Drew Hunter is a very helpful deep dive into the topic of friendship, especially in the way it gives a picture of the practical inner workings of healthy relationships from a Gospel-centered perspective.

Messy Beautiful Friendship: Finding and Nurturing Deep and Lasting Relationships. Christine Hoover has taught on friendship in many helpful ways over the past few years. In addition to the book linked above, she delivered a breakout lecture on “The Hard Work of Lifelong Friendships” at The Gospel Coalition’s 2021 women’s conference.

The Four Loves. C.S. Lewis’ classic work on the four different Greek words for love includes an essay on friendship that is unparalleled in it’s depth of thought and winsomeness in approach.

Tim Keller’s sermons on friendship. Keller’s sermons during his time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City have shaped American though unlike any other preacher of our generation. His sermons on friendship in 2008, 2005, and 1998 are all worth listening to.

Deeper Community: The Honest Answers That Often Keep Us From Having It. Caleb Davis, a member of our local Acts 29 network, shares 13 tips for deep relationships in this podcast. This is a helpful tool for us all to evaluate our own relationships and if we are becoming the types of people who can have mature friendships.