October 3, 2014: One Big Friend Request (Friend Request Series: Part 1)

This week at CATALYST we talked about Facebook, this social media site that helps us connect with each other. Over 500 million people are on Facebook. It has given us a platform to broadcast the minutia of our lives at any given minute but it also has redefined "friendship". We can be friends with someone on Facebook without ever actually having any kind of personal relationship with that person. Sure, you might know what they're doing every 5 minutes, but we know an awful lot about celebrities too. That doesn't mean we're FRIENDS with those people.

In real life, a friend isn't just someone who you recognize or have some vague connection to, but a friend is someone who actually cares about you. A friend is someone you can rely on, someone you can trust and talk to about anything. A friend is someone who is looking out for you.

The Bible tells us that God has sent each of us a 'friend request'. Revelation 3:20 says,
"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends".

It boggles my mind that the God who created life with a word, the "ultimate celebrity", wants to know me and have a relationship with me. He's knocking on the door, and all I have to do to have friendship with Jesus is to invite him in, to welcome him in as a friend.

Of course, you can't really be close to someone after a brief introduction, God wants us to let him in to our everyday lives. He wants us to talk to him (about the good and bad), He wants us to read his "wall posts" (the Bible). One of the reasons why we look into the Bible at CATALYST is we want to know God better. We want to hear from the Ultimate friend. We want to receive his wisdom and guidance.

DISCUSSION:

1. Ask your teen who their favorite celebrity is. What would your teen do if that "celebrity" called him/her up and wanted to hang out? Would your teen ignore that celebrity's calls or would they be so excited that they would be shaking with excitement, sharing the good news with anybody in earshot?

2. We often take God for granted. There is no "celebrity" greater or more important than him, yet how often do we ignore his pleas for friendship? How often do we ignore his calls? Take some time this week to think about how amazing God's offer of friendship to us really is!