GANG OR FRIENDS
OPEN HEAVENS FOR TEENS
DATE: THURSDAY 13TH OF JUNE, 2024
THEME: GANG OR FRIENDS
MEMORISE: Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Philippians 3:2
READ: Psalms 1:1-4
[1]Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
[2]But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
[3]And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
[4]The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
MESSAGE :
I used to have sinful friends before I became born again. These were friends that would come to my place to drink because they knew I always had alcoholic drinks. One day, after my conversion, my friends came around for their usual visit and I offered them soft drinks. They rejected them, but I insisted. With time, they stopped coming around. Thereafter, God gave me like- minded and godly people as friends.
Beloved, there is a difference between having friends and being part of a gang. Friends watch out for the interests of one another, read together, pray together, and do meaningful activities together. On the contrary, a gang specialises in terrorising, bullying, and making jest of people. They sometimes fraternise and do all sorts of bad things, such as drinking, smoking, taking hard drugs, and womanising, among others. Do you associate yourself with a gang or a group of friends? If those you call friends are a reflection of everything the Bible is against, then you should cut them off. If you have one friend who constantly encourages you to make the right moves, hold tight to that fellow. It is better to have just one true friend than to be involved with a gang.
REFLECTION :
Do you have friends or gang members?
HYMN 19 - THERE'S NOT A FRIEND LIKE THE LOWLY JESUS
1. There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus–
No, not one! no, not one!
None else could heal all our soul's diseases–
No, not one! no, not one!
CHORUS:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus–
No, not one! no, not one!
2 No friend like Him is so high and holy–
No, not one! no, not one!
And yet no friend is so meek and lowly–
No, not one! no, not one!
3 There's not an hour that He is not near us –
No, not one! no, not one!
No night so dark but His love can cheer us–
No, not one! no, not one!
4. Did ever saint find this friend forsake him?
No not one! no not one!
Or sinner find that he would not take him?
No not one! no not one!
5. Was e'er a gift like the Savior given?
No, not one! no, not one!
Will He refuse us a home in heaven?
No, not one! no, not one!
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 King's 11:1-12:19
Acts 9:1-25
AUTHORS: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE AND
PASTOR (MRS) FOLU ADEBOYE
