Fruit of the Spirit – Love

This morning Pastor David kicks off our 9-week summer teaching series called Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit. Taken from Galatians 5:22-23 we will discover the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. One of the main purposes of the Christian life is to progressively allow the Holy Spirit to produce more and more of His fruit in our lives—and to allow the Holy Spirit to conquer the opposing sinful desires. First up in the series was a focus on love and how that was expressed in the old and new testament. From those examples you’ll learn what you need to do to cultivate love in your life.

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

 

Discussion Topics:

1. Pastor David said that “Any place in our life where we continue to struggle, or have a sin issue, is a key indicator that a fruit of the Spirit is not active in our life.” Where is there a place in your life that you are struggling and what fruit should you work on cultivating?
2. What is love? According to 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” How would you define love?
3. Of all the fruits of the Spirit, why do you think that love is mentioned first?

Sermon Notes:

Galatians 5:22-26 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Fruit of the Spirit	Fruit of the Flesh
Love	Hate/Indifference
Joy	Despair
Peace	Anxiety
Patience	Impatience
Kindness	Rudeness
Goodness	Evil
Faithfulness	Unreliable
Gentleness	Abrasive/Harsh
Self-Control	Undisciplined