• A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Prov.17:17
• A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends." Prov.16:28
• He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Prov.17:9
• Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family." Prov.18:24 MSG
• He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend." Prov.22:11
• Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered." Prov. 22:24
• And a wise friend's timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger." Prov.25:12 MSG
• Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Prov.27:6
• Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel." Prov.27:9
• You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another." Prov.27:17 MSG

These passages written thousands of years ago by King Salomon describe in beautiful poetic language the significance of true friendship.

A friend is someone who loves you unconditionally and permanently. One who covers over your offenses and finds ways of building you up. A true friendship goes beyond the superficialities of shallow relationships because it is grounded in truth. A truth that sometimes is uncomfortable, even painful, but at the end it transforms you into a better person.

We all need a few friends in life with whom we can share our struggles and our victories, our doubts and our faith. Even Jesus of Nazareth, during his short ministry life focused his energies in developing a small group of close friends. They were disciples, followers, apostles and servants, but more importantly he called them friends.

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." Jn. 15:15

Out of his twelve disciples, Jesus chose three: John, Peter and James to be with him in the most crucial moments of his life. Jesus related to this three as part of His inner circle. They were the only ones who saw Him in the Mount of Transfiguration; he invited them inside the room when He healed the daughter of Jarius, and when he was in Gethsemane right before His death, He left the nine disciples and invited the three from the inner circle to go beyond with Him in the garden.

Jesus also had a few women friends, who followed Him closely during His ministry: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna .Lk. 8:2. They were with Him in the most difficult moments of His life. Even when the men abandoned him, these women were with Him until the end during His passion, his death and his resurrection. Jesus modeled for us the need to focus on a few key friends. This is what the Great Commission is all about: Making friends for Jesus.

Three major commitments of the friends of Jesus:

	Radical Love: "We are committed to loving Jesus, our families, our friends, our cities and our world with His love." "Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends." Jn. 15:13
	Uncompromising Truth: "We are committed to reading, meditating, memorizing and applying the word of God to our daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ." "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." Jn.15:7
	Faithful Obedience: "We are committed to obeying the word of God. We will hold each other accountable to live a godly lifestyle, and to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations." "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."Jn15:10 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Mt. 28:19-20

What is a J3

1) A group of two or three friends who meet weekly with Jesus as their leader.

2) Committed to reading the same book of the Bible, a minimum of one chapter a day and writing one verse.

3) Committed to doing at least four weekly journal entries in their journals (J1) and a weekly family night or J2.

4) Committed to a lifestyle of: Love, truth and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and committed to answering the weekly accountability questions.

5) Committed to praying for at least six friends of peace, sharing their faith regularly and multiplying the group when a fourth person is added.

Who should join a J3?

Any person, who has a deep desire to grow spiritually and is committed to faithfully doing the weekly homework, can be invited to join a J3.

Small Group: J3 Protocol

1) Remember the J3 is a high commitment meeting: we try not to cancel the meeting at all.
2) Attend your meeting punctually with your Bible, a pen and your journal, and come ready to share with your friends.
3) If for some reason you cannot participate in the J3, contact the facilitator ahead of time and let him know you cannot meet at the scheduled time and offer at least two other possibilities when you can meet. The group facilitator will confirm the new scheduled time.
4) The group will try to accommodate to your schedule. A J3 has high flexibility. The group may decide to meet over the phone instead of face to face. But we try not to cancel the meeting unless there is an illness or emergency.
5) At least every quarter you can evaluate your participation in the group and exit the group if you need to.

J3 Weekly Questions

Ice-breaker: What are you thankful for this week?

Acknowledge the presence of Jesus with
Very short prayers like…

Jesus you are here…

We love you and thank you for….

We want to meet with you…

We acknowledge you as our head…

You are the way…the truth…the life…

Love:

1) How are you growing in your relationship with Jesus (J1) and with your family (J2)? Tell us about your love letters.

Truth:

2) Where are you in your Bible reading? Share with us some specific Scriptures where God is speaking to you. How are you obeying Him?

3) Have you faced any temptations this week? How did you overcome them? Any sins you need to confess: pride, rebellion, unforgiveness, anger, sexual, financial, disobedience, lies?

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal.2:20

Obedience

4) Have you prayed consistently for your friends of peace and/or have you shared your faith with them this week? With whom are you committed to share your faith this week? Can you invite them to our group?

5) How can we pray for you? Let's pray for the friends of peace by name, for Jesus to reveal Himself to them and for them to believe. Is. 53:1

6) Write the names of the six persons of peace you are praying for.