Please turn with me to Matt 5:9-16. During my preaching rotation, we have been covering the Beatitudes, which depict the blessed life of a disciple of Christ, a citizen in the kingdom of God, a born again Christian. During the first week, we covered the 4 personal qualities of a Christian. Last week, we talked […]
Vision for the Church: Gospel and Spiritual Fruit (pt4 of 4)
When the gospel is preached and there is a true conversion, then your life changes (Fruit of the Spirit). Now we are ready to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Paul – why […]
Vision for the Church: Gospel and Spiritual Fruit (pt3 of 4)
A second reason that we need to keep the gospel at the forefront of our minds and hearts is our need to have a posture of dependence on Christ. John 15:5 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; […]
Vision for the Church: Gospel and Spiritual Fruit (pt2 of 4)
Paul is an interesting person. Sometimes, he seemed shizophrenic. At times, he was so humble. He referred to himself as a chief of sinners. And to the weak, he became weak, to the Jew he became a Jew, and so on. He was so accommodating. Yet, in Gal 2, we see quite a different side […]
Vision for the Church: Gospel and Spiritual Fruit (pt1 of 4)
Read Acts 2:42-47. Acts 2 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling […]
Quote from Jonathan Edwards: All the Graces of Christianity Connected
Excerpts from Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards. True thankfulness is no other than the exercise of love to God on occasion of his goodness to us. So there is love in a true and childlike fear of God; for a childlike fear differs from a slavish, for a slavish fear has no love […]