This document discusses the meaning of friendship and love on Valentine's Day. It defines best friend as the most excellent person and friend as someone you know well and like. The history of St. Valentine's Day is explored, with different accounts of its origins. Types of love and gifts for Valentine's Day are presented. Quotes on the importance of friendship from various authors are shared. Spiritual ways of combating loneliness through connecting with others, volunteering, and focusing on God are recommended. The greatest friend is said to be Jesus due to his love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and knowledge of God.

1. My Best
Friend is my
Forever
Valentine
I wake up…to “favor like dew
on the grass.” Prov 19.12 (KJV)

2. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

3. Definitions
Best – the most excellent thing or
person (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary)
Friend – a person you know well and
like, and who is not usually a
member of your family. (Oxford
Learner’s Dictionary)
Favor – Kind regard; kindness;
countenance; propitious aspect;
friendly disposition (King James Bible
Dictionary)

4. The History of St.
Valentine’s Day
• There are different accounts on the origins of St. Valentine’s Day.
Some historians state two saints bearing the name St. Valentine,
and another called Valentinus, were executed by Romans during
different years, on February 14, third century CE. Their martyrdom
is noted by the Catholic Church.
• Other scholars state Christians attempted to Christianize the pagan
Roman celebration of Lupercalia, celebrated for three days
surrounding Feb. 14. Thus, women participated in a vicious
matchmaking ceremony. During the festivities women lined up to
be pitilessly beat by men, one by one, for fertility, and
matchmaking. Furthermore, the women’s names were entered in a
drawing to be matched with a companion during the festivities.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

5. History on
Valentine’s Day
(Part Two)
• For a more complete and detailed
history on Valentine’s Day, please
review an article by the History
Channel (below)
• https://bit.ly/3LygX0A

6. Love
Conquers All

7. “My Soul Loves Jesus” Song, Composed by
Bishop Charles Harrison Mason (1866-1961)
• Photo courtesy of (The Los Angeles
Sentinel)
• Bishop Mason founded the largest
African American United States based
Pentecostal church in America, the
Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in
1907. Additionally, he was COGIC’s
first senior bishop, and the
international headquarters is based in
Memphis, TN.

8. Lyrics of “My Soul Loves Jesus”
African American Hymnal #581
• 1 My soul loves Jesus,
my soul loves Jesus,
my soul loves Jesus;
bless his name.
My soul loves Jesus,
my soul loves Jesus,
my soul loves Jesus,
bless His name.
• 2 He's a wonder in my soul,
He's a wonder in my soul,
He's a wonder in my soul;
bless His name.
He's a wonder in my soul,
He's a wonder in my soul,
He's a wonder in my soul,
bless His name.

9. Dew in the Morning

10. Highlights of
Rev. C. H.
Spurgeon’s
Sermon on
Dew
(No. 2724) A Sermon
Intended for Reading on the
Lord’s Day, April 28, 1901
“You have the dew of your
youth.” Ps. 110.3
“When you have walked in the garden,
early in the morning, you must have
noticed the singular freshness and beauty
which a summer’s morning always seems
to give to the earth. The dewdrops, like
tears standing in the eyes of the flowers, as
if they wept for joy to see the sun again
after the long night of darkness, sparkle in
the sun!”...

11. “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Hymn
• 1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
• 2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
• Author: Joseph Medlicott Scriven, Public
Domain

12. The Actions of a
BFF (Best
Friends Forever)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

13. The Friendship
Journey
• Friendship is one of the
greatest gifts a human being
can receive. It is a bond
beyond common goals,
common interests, or
common histories. – Author
Henri Nouwen

14. Poetry “On Friendship” by Kahlil Gibran
• And a youth said, Speak to us of
Friendship.
And he answered, saying:
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love
and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger,
and you seek him for peace.
• When your friend speaks his mind you fear
not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you
withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases
not to listen to his heart;
• For without words, in friendship, all
thoughts, all desires, all expectations are
born and shared, with joy that is
unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you
grieve not;
For that which you love most in him
may be clearer in his absence, as the
mountain to the climber is clearer from the
plain.
And let there be no purpose in
friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the
disclosure of its own mystery us not love
but a net cast forth: and only the
unprofitable is caught.

15. “On Friendship”
(Continued)
• And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to
kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and
sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is
refreshed.
• From The Prophet (Knopf, 1923). This poem is in the public domain.

16. Different Types of Love (give credit)
According to
ancient Greeks,
there are eight
types of love.
1. Eros – Romantic
Love
2. Phila –
Affectionate Love
3. Agape –
Unconditional Love
4. Storge – Familiar
Love
5. Ludus – Playful
Love
6. Mania –
Obsessive Love
7. Pragma –
Enduring Love
8. Philautia – Self-
Love

17. Types of
Gifts for
Valentine’s
Day
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

18. New Products to Combat
Loneliness
• For males

19. “I Can Only Imagine” Song by Mercy
Me
https://youtu.be/N_lrrq_opng
(credit: You Tube, Mercy Me)

20. Types of Valentine’s Day Gifts, Jan. 2022
for United States Residents

21. U. S. Valentine’s Day Spending
(Credit: Statista)

22. Look at Nature (It’s Free) and is a
Pure Wonder of Our World
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

23. “It is a win for me even to realize that I am feeling
lonely and acknowledge the shame, embarrassment,
and yearning that comes with that…With sharing
comes vulnerability and with vulnerability comes
intimacy.” – Brittany Wade

24. Prov. 18.24
(NIV) on
Friendship
• One who has unreliable friends
soon comes to ruin, but there is a
friend who sticks closer than a
brother.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

25. How to Combat Loneliness, Spirituality
• CDC States How to Combat Loneliness
• 1. Connect with others by utilizing technology
to interact by reading and writing posts.
• 2. Look out for signs that your loneliness is
becoming overwhelming. If so, contact a
mental health professional or your regular
doctor.
• 3. Self-care and me time is essential. The CDC
recommends learning a new hobby, browsing,
participating in recreational activities, and
embracing music.
• 4. Volunteer and community build by
contributing time to non-profits online.
• Think on Things That are Spiritual and Divine
• Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy—think about
such things. Phil. 4.8 (NIV)
• In your relationships with one another, have the
same mindset as Christ Jesus: Phil. 2.5 (NIV)

26. Tupac Shakir’s
Famous Poem, “The
Rose That Grew
From Concrete”

27. From the desk of
Author Bell Hooks
• “There must exist a paradigm,
a practical model for social
change that includes an
understanding of ways to
transform consciousness that
are linked to efforts to
transform structures.”

28. The Greatest Friend Known to Creation
• Reasons Include:
• 1. Our model of agape love.
• 2. Shares knowledge of G-d - that is
impactful, life-changing and enduring.
• 3. Always forgiving, shows mercy, and
compassion.
• 4. Because He first loved us, despite our
tendency not to be perfect (but allows us to
reach for perfection).
• 5. Sacrificed for us, served the world and gave
his life for the world.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

29. My Best Friend is My Forever
Valentine
BY DELLA SPEARMAN,
ENCOURAGE BELL PROGRAM
“WHERE INSPIRATION RINGS”
*This lesson is copywritten and cannot be
used without permission, Feb 2022