The theme of this year’s Grandparent Camp was “Fruit of the Spirit.” We reviewed the memory verses (Gal 5:22-23) with a song…and the guys put it into a military cadence during our early morning walk.
Then our pastor asked me to preach tomorrow morning– want to guess on what topic? The Fruit of the Spirit. Thanks to the Grandkids I have had this passage on my heart for weeks. One sermon is not enough to unpack every word (Will Toburen and I preached a 3 part series back in 2006 and still couldn’t cover it all).
These verses have been working on me for years–and intensely during the last few weeks. As I prepare to share tomorrow I’m looking for a simple way to summarize the depths of this section.
- Root: Fruit comes from a Root. Only those born of the Spirit can bear the Fruit of the Spirit.
- Relationship: Not religion, rules, rituals or regulations. Relationship with God and the flow of Spirit Life puts the Life of Christ on display through His People.
- Response: We live, we walk, we are led, we follow. We do not create the fruit but we cooperate with the Life of indwelling Holy Spirit.
Prayer partners: there are two services. One traditional (at 9:00 a.m.) and one contemporary at 11:00.
Thanks.
Pastor Al Gilbert 