#soap # 1 Thessalonians 02 ## Title: People are Some of God’s Greatest Gifts ## Scripture: (1 Thessalonians 2:19) “For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you?” (NET) ## Observation: People are some of God’s greatest gifts. They can also (and will likely) be the source of some of our greatest hurts and wounds. However, there is almost nothing greater than watching someone take next steps with God. When you have a chance to see them step away from destructive sin and brokenness and toward freedom and wholeness… there is nothing like it. It is also a powerful thing when you start taking those steps and have people in your life cheering you on. Here’s the catch: these relationships are not cheap, they are not numerous, and they are not frequent. Good friendships take time and are more rare than we would like to admit. So, if you do not currently have close friendships, don’t rush out to go make friends too quickly. Friendship takes time. Be slow. Be purposeful. Guard your heart. Since the goal is to create friendships that last a lifetime, allow yourself to be patient. There are many people in the world. The Lord will lead you to the right ones. ## Application: Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to the right friendships. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for sending Your Holy Spirit to guide us to the right kind of friends and to help us BE the right kind of friends.