{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"First Baptist Arlington Sermons","title":"Why Can’t We Be Friends? - September 28, 2025","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2244,"description":"Dennis R. Wiles  \nFirst Baptist Arlington \nSeptember 28, 2025 \nFlourishing Together \nFirst Baptist Arlington \n2025 – 2030 \n \n2025: Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ \n1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (Gospel Guide: Matthew) \n \nFALL 2025: It is Not Good . . . to be Alone \nSeptember 7 – November 1, 2025 \n \nThe LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” \nGenesis 2:18 \n \nWhy Can’t We Be Friends? \n1 Samuel 18-20 \n \nLoneliness is far more than just a bad feeling—it harms both individual and social health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. The mortality rate of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity. And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished. \n-US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy \nGod designed us as relational creatures who are to flourish in community. We have the capacity for and the need of friendships. \n \nLOVE – Friendships are forged through love. \n \nUNITY OF SPIRIT – Friends share a sense of unity and companionship. \n \nThe essence of Christian spirituality is following Christ on a journey of personal transformation. The distant land to which we are called is not heaven; it is the new creature into which Christ wishes to fashion us, the whole and a holy person that finds his or her uniqueness, identity, and calling in Christ. Spiritual friends accompany each other on that journey. \n-David Benner, Sacred Companions \n \nACT LIKE FRIENDS! Friends take time to express their commitment to their friendship! \n \nLOYALTY – There is an underlying loyalty expressed in true friendships. \n \nINTIMACY – True friends share and confide in each other in healthy ways.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/UAbjbO_BQA3R5XEsQj1SCg2lWzYdffFGQbPeYIvJPQ8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzM0Mjg4LzE2NjM1/OTk5NzAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}