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PAUL, HIS FRIENDS, AND THE GREAT FRIEND (9 OF 10)

by Drew Hunter

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:9-22
This content is part of a series.


Paul, His Friends, and the Great Friend (9 of 10)
Series: Entrusted with the Gospel, for the Spread of the Gospel.
Drew Hunter
2 Timothy 4: 9-22


When we come to this text, it may seem a bit choppy, and it may seem like there isn't much to say.

It seems that Paul is making all kinds of concluding statements. He is making requests, giving updates, and passing along greetings.
?But one thing that this text is filled with is names. Names of people. And one of the things that stands out most as we look at this text is the network of friendships that Paul had. How important they were to him personally, and how important they were to his ministry.

The Apostle Paul is showing us what it means and looks like to finish well. We saw that last week. He is finishing the race of his life, and he is urging Timothy to follow his example. And now we get a very personal window into what his life looked like. And it's a very personal window into the final season of life for a man who is finish well. And at the heart of what we see is the centrality of friendship. He speaks about his own friendships, and he speaks about Jesus in terms that relate to friendship.

Friendship is a centrally important part of life.

And yet it is not often talked about directly. We talk about marriage relationships. We talk about dating relationships. We talk about parenting relationships. But we don't often talk directly about friendship relationships. And yet strong friendships give us many of the greatest joys in life, and broken friendships give us many of the greatest pain.

And this text shows us what friendship looked like for Paul and how friendship was centrally important to his ministry and mission. It shows us strong friendships, broken friendships, and a deep friendship with Jesus.

Now, as we approach this text we do have something working against us. The word ''friend'' itself has been hollowed out in our time. We use it to describe anyone that we have any conne ...

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