11:00AM Sunday Service. What a friend we have in Jesus.

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” carries more than pretty church memories. The hymn comes out of pain, not comfort. Joseph Scriven had education, plans, and love in front of him, but his fiancee drowned the night before the wedding. His mother became terribly ill. Later, love came again, and that fiancee died of pneumonia. Yet that hymn still rose up and said, “What a friend we have in Jesus.”

The hymn teaches that pain does not get to take praise. Life can take a house, a job, a car, and even people dearly loved, but life must not take the praise God placed on the inside. Praise cannot be based on everything going right, because if praise waited for perfect circumstances, nobody would have a reason to shout. God is good when life is not great. God is good when the pantry is not full, when the marriage is strained, when the attack is real, and when the heart is tired.

Praise also goes deeper than words in the mouth. “Shabbat” says hallelujah. “Barak” says praise the Lord. “Yada” extends the hand. “Toda” lifts the hand. “Tehila” sings, and “kara” dances. The Bible says everything that has breath should praise the Lord, not everybody with money, a man, a woman, or an easy life. Breath itself is evidence that God has still given reason to praise.

Jesus, in John 15, calls His disciples friends. That word matters because rabbis and disciples normally kept distance and boundaries. Jesus breaks that distance by saying He is not withholding anything from them. A real friend wants another person to have what is good, and Jesus shows that kind of friendship.

Love and lust stand in sharp contrast. Love cares about who a person is. Lust cares about what can be gotten from a person. God wants hearts more than money, presence more than performance, and relationship more than religious transactions. Jesus loves as the Father has loved Him, and that shows that relationship is learned by what is seen. Children learn love, faithfulness, sacrifice, and even broken patterns by watching the examples placed in front of them.

##

Key Takeaways

• 1. Pain cannot steal real praise. Praise rooted in God does not depend on life being a okay. Joseph Scriven’s grief did not erase his song, because his confidence was deeper than his circumstances. Loss may touch possessions, plans, and relationships, but the soul anchored in God still has a reason to say hallelujah. [57:29]
• 2. Breath is reason enough. The call to praise is not reserved for people whose lives look settled or successful. Psalm language does not say everything with money, romance, or comfort should praise, but everything that has breath. Breath means God has not finished, and that alone carries holy weight. [60:13]
• 3. Worship must come from the soul. Praise is not merely mental, and worship is not just saying words correctly. Real praise remembers that God stayed present through thick and thin. That is why another person’s praise should never be judged too quickly, because survival often has a sound. [62:24]
• 4. Love wants the person. Love cares about who someone is, while lust cares about what can be gotten. God is not after gifts without the heart, service without surrender, or offerings without relationship. Jesus calls His disciples friends because He gives Himself, not because He is trying to use them. [66:27]
• 5. Children learn love by watching. Jesus says He loves as the Father loved Him, and that makes example matter. Relationship behavior is often caught before it is taught. A household teaches faithfulness, tenderness, sacrifice, or dysfunction long before anyone gives a speech about love.
  
  ## [68:28]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [50:35] - Hymns That Minister to the Soul
• [51:05] - What a Friend We Have in Jesus
• [52:03] - Hymns Born Out of Struggle
• [54:05] - Joseph Scriven’s Painful Story
• [56:47] - Don’t Let Life Take Praise
• [58:16] - God Is Good in Every Season
• [59:28] - Shabbat, Barak, and Biblical Praise
• [61:48] - Praise From the Soul
• [64:19] - Jesus Calls Disciples Friends
• [66:00] - Love Versus Lust
• [68:06] - Learning Love by Example

1. In John 15:15, what two names does Jesus contrast, and what reason does He give for calling the disciples friends instead of servants? [01:05:37]
2. According to Psalm 150:6, what is the one qualification given for praising the Lord, and what are some things that are specifically not named as requirements? [01:00:46]
3. What losses and hardships surrounded the writing of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and what did that reveal about praise? [56:47]
4. What different expressions of praise were named—such as hallelujah, extending the hand, lifting the hand, singing, and dancing? [59:41]

1. Jesus says He has made known what He heard from the Father. What does that suggest about the kind of friendship Jesus offers, and how is that different from a distant or purely formal relationship with God? [01:05:37]
2. If everything that has breath is called to praise the Lord, what does that say about praise in hard seasons when life is not going well? [58:53]
3. Praise is not just words in the mouth but something that comes from the soul. How does that help explain why two people can be in the same room, hear the same song, and respond very differently? [01:02:35]
4. Love cares about the person, while lust cares about what can be gotten. How does that difference help a person examine whether they are seeking God Himself or only seeking what God can give? [01:06:27]

1. Life can take many things, but it must not take praise. What kind of loss, stress, or disappointment has recently tried to drain praise out of the heart, and what would it look like to keep praising God in the middle of that? [57:29]
2. Breath is reason enough to praise. When the mind quickly focuses on what is missing, what simple habits could help someone notice God’s goodness before the day gets crowded? [01:04:19]
3. Survival often has a sound. Has there been a time when another person’s praise seemed strong, emotional, or even unusual, but later it became clear they had been through more than anyone knew? How might that change the way people view public worship? [01:02:43]
4. Jesus calls His people friends, not because He is using them, but because He shares Himself with them. In this season, does the relationship with Jesus feel more like closeness or distance? What may be feeding that pattern? [01:04:47]
5. Love wants the person, not just the benefits. When prayer has been most active lately, has it mostly been about wanting God’s presence or needing God’s help? What might help move that relationship deeper? [01:06:56]
6. Children often learn love by watching. Whether in a home, family, or church setting, what patterns are being modeled right now about faithfulness, tenderness, sacrifice, or conflict? [01:08:32]
7. Praise takes many forms—words, lifted hands, singing, even movement. Which expression of praise feels most natural, and which one feels uncomfortable? What might that reveal about freedom, fear, or reserve in worship? [01:00:13]