• Gospel friends know Jesus. A gospel friend has actually surrendered to Jesus — not just someone who shares your zip code or your group chat.
  1 Peter 2:9-10
• Gospel friends know you — and you know them. They know what tempts you and what you're really chasing, because you actually tell each other.
  Hebrews 10:24
• Gospel friends partner on mission. Early church fellowship wasn't a shared hobby — it was a shared mission to make Jesus known.
  Acts 2:42
• Gospel friends carry what you can't carry alone. They sharpen you, bear your burdens, and tell you the truth when you're wandering.
  Galatians 6:2
• You were never meant to follow Jesus alone. God made you part of a people he redeemed — not so you could perform, but so you could belong.
  1 Peter 2:9-10

Before your group meets, take a few minutes with these:

1. Read and pray through 1 Peter 2:9-10 ahead of time — ask Jesus which phrase you need most this week.
2. Think of a casting story from this past week, even one that didn't go anywhere, and come ready to share it.
3. Ask Jesus who in your group needs you to call out the Christ-like character or gifts you see in them.

1. Who knows you well enough that nothing about you would surprise them — your secrets, your struggles, all of it?
2. When did a friend last tell you something true you didn't want to hear?
3. On a scale of 1-10, how deep are your closest Christian friendships right now?
4. What's one thing you're carrying that you haven't told your community group?
5. What's your next step this week toward having — or being — a gospel friend?

Don't let the conversation stop at the door.

• Who's someone who has really been there for you?
• Of the friends you have right now, who do you think makes you most like Jesus?
• What's one way you could be a better friend to someone this week?

Memory verse this week — read it, say it, learn it together:

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. — Proverbs 27:17

The Bible warns us about a craving that kills (1 Timothy 6:6-19). Next week, we're going to talk about it. Come ready.