But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not
gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? Jesus, in Matthew 7:16
Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how we may spur
one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as
some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as
you see the Day approaching."
Today we begin a series on the
fruits of the Spirit. We talk at the
beginning of this series about love because it is the first that Paul mentioned
in his list. Love is first for the same
reason he held love up as the greatest over faith and hope. Here we go!
I love being a pastor, but I hope
it is mostly evident that the favorite thing I am is a husband and a Dad. I have always tried to make those roles my
priorities. I cringe at the many times I
have let other priorities become first, but I think for the most part, my
immediate family have and will always be first.
The reason for this is obvious – I love them. But here’s something cool that I’ve
realized: making my family my priority
is the best thing I can do for all the others in my life. I know that there have been other staff
members I’ve served with who have changed their priorities to put their family
first because they have seen me do it,
It’s not the majority, but some.
I have seen my children’s friends take notice of how things are in our
family in a good way. I have seen the
families of the babies that are cared for by my wife, and my daughters Emily
and Rachel be affected by the way those children are loved. In short, love multiplies.
So, knowing that explains why the
Apostle Paul wrote these words: “And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward love. . .”
Question: Can you name an example of a time when you saw
love multiply?
Prayer: God, thank
you for those who have modeled for us what love looks like. Help us multiply it. Amen.
‘
Prayer Focus: Pray
for repentance, forgiveness, and healing of the racism in our country
Song: James Taylor – It’s Growing
This is a romantic song originally sung by The Temptations,
but I thought it applies to all love
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