Picture the best friend you've ever had. Friendship with Jesus is nothing like that. It's deeper, richer, more meaningful, and more life-giving than the best friendship you've ever had. The effects of being Christ's friend will make you a better person and more useful to the Kingdom of God than you could ever imagine. Matt Maher's song, "What a Friend," inspired me to explore what Scripture has to say about being friends with Jesus. I learned something new this week. I can't wait to share it with you! On this week's episode I discuss: Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include: Read in context Use section headings to get your bearings Listen to an audio version of Scripture Use outside resources to learn new things Print out and mark up Scripture How our personal experiences sometimes fall short as a metaphor for our relationship with God Printing out Scripture double spaced with a wide right margin to give you permission to mark up the pages The condition that the word IF refers to in John 15:12-15 You don’t qualify as Christ's friend through obedience…His salvation produces a change in us Friendship with Christ is marked by great love Friendship with Christ is possible because He laid down His life Our obedience is an effect of the life-changing relationship we have with Christ We are informed friends Through this friendship we are welcomed into relationship with Father as well     Additional Resources Chords and Lyrics - Essential Worship Look at the Book videos by John Piper - John 15:12-15 Part 2, John 15:12-15 Part 3 Story behind the song "What a Friend" by Matt Maher - kwsp.org article This Week's Challenge Read in context up to our focus section in John 15:12-15. Print out this section of Scripture double spaced with a wide right margin so that you can feel more confident in marking it up and adding your observations to it. Watch the Look at the Book videos and learn more about the precious gift of friendship with have with Christ.