“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, GENEROSITY, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
By the end of my first month home after college, my car died. I was working as a youth pastor but not making anywhere near enough money to get a vehicle. So I wound up using my mom’s car a lot. At the church I was youth pastor, sound technician, and men’s ministry leader. I…
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
One of our first Halloweens in Ypsilanti, we encountered disappointment on an epic scale — or at least, our then 6-year-old daughter believed so. That Halloween, Michaela was tired of competing with her baby sister for attention in the household. But Halloween was going to be all about Michaela, because babies don’t care much about…
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
I once knew a girl named Patience. She used to cut my hair back in college (when I had hair to cut). We were both single, and I got it in my head that I wanted to ask her out. I was also kind of shy, so I came up with the kind of plan…
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
“Si vis pacem para bellum” is a Latin adage that means, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” For a great deal of human history, it has been a defining doctrine of humanity. …
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
Joy is a word that we use a lot in Christianity. It is in our hymns, like “Joy to the World,” and “Joyful! Joyful! We adore thee.” The entire bible is laced with joy. For the most part, however, I think we miss the point on what joy is. …
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
Having the fruit of the Spirit in your live is a direct result of you allowing yourself to be guided by the Spirit. This isn’t fruit you can buy, and it doesn’t come overnight. It comes by intentionally following the Spirit of God in your life. I know that’s easier said than done. But as…
“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22–23, 25 (Bearing Fruit Series)
Someone once described the difference between knowledge and wisdom like this: Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. There is a difference between knowing something and knowing what to do with what you know. The list of the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5 is familiar to many of us. My kids have even been singing about the fruit of the Spirit lately (and I cannot get their song out of my head!). …
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slaves, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:17 (Big Ten Series)
Comedian Louis C.K. had a TV show a while back that dealt with the life of a struggling comic and father (write what you know, right?). There was a scene of him with one of his daughters, and she is upset, claiming something is not fair. Her sister had received a treat that she did not, and there was no more. He tried to explain to…
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16 (Big Ten Series)
At some point, no matter how great they are, kids are going to lie to their parents. Whether it’s lying about going to a friend’s house, doing your homework, sneaking into a movie, or brushing your teeth, everybody lies.
When kids are really young, it is comically easy it is to tell when they are lying. When parents don’t buy the lie, the kids are left scratching their heads about how we knew. …
“You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15 (Big Ten Series)
Growing up in the small town that I did, there wasn’t always a lot to do. Your options were even more limited if you couldn’t drive, so we took our excitement where we could get it.
When I was 13 or 14, I was hanging out with a bunch of other kids who were as bored as I was and whose parental supervision was more lax than my own. These were the kind of kids your parents tell you are a “bad influence.” …
