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We all need need a few good friends.
We need the kind of friends who will
hang out with us when we are happy,
but will also be there for us when we need help.
Today's story is about a man who needed some friends.
It takes place around two thousand years ago.
At that time there was a man named Jesus
who was becoming very famous.
and people were coming from all over just to hear him speak
and to see the amazing things that he was able to do.
Now there was man with a disability - he couldn't walk.
In those days, there were no wheelchairs,
so a person like this would need to beg each day
just to have enough money to buy food,
A man like this really needed some friends.
But being his friend was not an easy thing to do.
He needed someone to help him be clean,
someone to help him make sure he had enough food to eat,
and also be willing to carry him wherever he needed to go.
Thankfully this man had four very good friends.
When they heard about Jesus, they thought he could help him.
And so, they decided to take their friend over to where Jesus was.
When they got to the house there were people everywhere!
The house was so full, could not even get in.
But the man's friends really wanted to help and they did not give up.
They came up with a plan.
First they climbed the stairs to the roof.
Then they did something a little bit crazy,
they started to dig a hole in the roof!
I'm sure that everyone inside was shocked
and wondering what is going on!
Then they took ropes,
they tied them to the mat the man was laying on,
and lowered him to where Jesus was.
He saw how much these friends cared about the man
and how they believed he could help.
First, he said to the man,
"I forgive you for all the wrong things that you have done in your life."
Some people in the crowd were very confused by this.
They were saying, "Why is this man forgiving his sins?
Only God can do that!"
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and he said to them,
"I want you to know that I have the power to forgive sins."
Then he showed them his power by saying to the man,
"Get up and go!"
Immediately, the man stood up, picked up his mat, and left!
He was healed!
Everyone was amazed
and said that they had never seen anything like this before!
The four friends in this story were true friends.
They cared so much about their friend
that they were willing to work very hard in order to help him.
This is the kind of friend that we should be.
We need to be able to have fun when our friends are happy,
but also be willing to help when our friends are in need.