Friendship is invaluable in our lives. To have someone to share both our joys and sorrows with, to care and be cared for, to not feel alone in this world, it’s a wonderful thing to have true friends. But studies show the number of friendships we have declines as we get older and it’s for a number of reasons. There are shifting priorities in life, or having less time and energy to invest in new friendships, or just being more cautious and selective of who we let into our lives possibly due to past relationship struggles. We soon find that our social circles get smaller and smaller. Perhaps, some of us have already felt, or are currently feeling loneliness, as a consequence of not having many real, lasting friendships. Maybe some of you have said to yourself, that you actually prefer to keep your social circle incredibly small. But because we’re created in the image of God, we still yearn and desire to be in loving relationships, genuine relationships, as God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit have been with one another for all of eternity. As we go through John 15:9-17, we’ll see the need for gospel-centered friendships and how a healthy church should be a place where people can come to find them.But more importantly, first and foremost, we must be able to see how Jesus is the true and ultimate friend we all need and we can forever depend on.