TEAM DEVOTIONALS
1. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE WILL MAKE STRAIGHT YOUR PATHS. PROVERBS 3: 5-6
We, as humans, can never fully understand the ways of God. So, we must learn to trust in Him instead of what our own minds are telling us. We can ask God to show us His ways and explain the path He wants for us. We do that through prayer, and personal quiet time, asking him to reveal to us which way to go in any decision, large or small. If we trust in the Lord with all our heart, our heart will lead us to the path God has planned for us.
2. REJOICE ALWAYS, PRAY CONTINUALLY, GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES; FOR THIS IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS. 1 THESSALONIANS 5: 16-18
Rejoice means to be happy or to be glad. It’s not realistic to be happy always with everything happening around us in this life and on this earth. But when we think of the things of heaven, we can always be happy. Jesus’ promises should always make our hearts rejoice. Pray continually could mean we pray silently with our heart during any of the many quiet times we have throughout our day. Think of how many times a day we are waiting? Waiting for an activity to start, waiting for the bell to ring, waiting in line. Just acknowledge and recognize God is with you at those moments and He will bring you comfort, peace and guidance. And through those quite moments we should always give thanks. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. Even in the most difficult of times, God will show you what you can be thankful for, if only we ask. God promises to use every situation for our good, even if we can’t quite see it right away.
3. BE ON YOUR GUARD; STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH; BE COURAGEOUS; BE STRONG 1 CORINTHIANS 16:13
To be on guard, means to protect. In basketball we are either protecting the ball or the basket. This verse is referring to standing guard, or protecting, your heart, mind, eyes, and body. Many parts of this world go against God’s teachings. He is asking us to watch out for them and protect ourselves from allowing those parts to affect our mind, body and spirit. In order to know what these things are, we must talk to God and always learn and grow in His word. This will give us the confidence and the knowledge to stand firm in our faith, be brave when we come up against things of this world and be strong enough to recognize the things not of God and turn toward the things that are.
4. WHATEVER WORK YOU DO, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART. DO IT FOR THE LORD AND NOT FOR MEN. COLOSSIANS 3:23
When we are working at school, at a job, doing chores, or even being a friend to someone, God is asking us to give it our all. We are not to be lazy, or only finish things halfway. When we ask Jesus into our heart, we are to conduct ourselves as if the Lord is sitting right next to us, and take pride in being a child of God.
5. FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO. LUKE 12:34
Our treasure is anything that is valuable to us. That can be money, or something special that was given to us or even an activity we like to do. We can tell what a person’s heart is like by looking at the things in their life. Are the things in your life pleasing to God? Do they point toward love and generosity? Or do they point toward greed and selfishness?
6. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME. PHILIPPIANS 4:13
When we ask Jesus into our heart, the Holy Spirit then lives inside of us. It is that Spirit who can give us strength through anything happening in our life. At times we may feel weak, tired, or stressed, but with God by our side and in our heart, He says He will strengthen us and help us through any circumstance we face. If you can’t feel that strength, simply ask Him through prayer and walk forward in faith.
7. FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE. JEREMIAH 29:11
The Lord has a special plan for each of our lives. This is one of the many promises you can find in the Bible. Nothing is by mistake. The street you live on, your team, your classroom, your family, is all part of God’s plan for your life. He doesn’t promise only easy, happy times, but he does promise He will help you through each step of any situation. There are experiences we must learn from to prepare us for what the future holds. We can always remember this verse and know the Lord has us, He is in control, and will work anything out for our good and to fulfill the plan He has for our life.
8. YOU WILL KEEP THE MAN IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS KEPT ON YOU, BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU. TRUST IN THE LORD FOREVER. FOR THE LORD GOD IS A ROCK THAT LASTS FOREVER. ISAIAH 26:3-4
There are many, many thoughts our mind can focus on. But true peace can only come from the Lord. The things of this world are ever changing, but God is never changing. We can always count on His promises from His word and know they will be the same always. When our trust and thoughts are kept on Him, that is when we can have peace.
9. I PRAISE YOU BECAUSE I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE; YOUR WORKS ARE WONDERFUL, I KNOW THAT FULL WELL. PSALM 139:14
We are created by God and for God. He makes no mistakes in his creation. We are to praise God simply by admiring his masterpieces. You are one of those masterpieces.
10. FOR GOD DID NOT GIVE US A SPIRIT OF FEAR. HE GAVE US A SPIRIT OF POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF A GOOD MIND. 2 TIMOTHY 1:7
God lives in us when we believe in Him, and He gives us strength, the ability to love and have a mind that focuses on the good. Fear does not come from God. When we find ourselves scared or nervous, we should ask God for peace and calmness. He will allow us to feel that He is in control, and not us. He will show us the way through any fear or situation. Our strength comes from Him only, not ourselves.
11. JESUS ANSWERED, “I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME. JOHN 14:6
God sent His only son to the earth to show humans how to live, and to bring mankind back to God, the creator. Once sin (to go against God’s teachings) entered the world, there was a separation between God and us. The only way to get back into connection with God is through His son, Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life to God the Father. We do this through prayer. We simply ask Jesus to enter our heart and forgive our sins to open the path to God. Jesus is the ultimate gift given to us by God himself.
12. FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD ROMANS 3:23
We have all sinned and no one is equal to God. He is above all else. The only way we can come into a relationship with God is through Jesus. He paid the price for our sins, and that was necessary to create the bridge between man and God.
13. FOR IT IS BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, THROUGH FAITH—AND THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD EPHESIANS 2:8
There is nothing we can do to earn God’s acceptance and forgiveness. It is simply a gift. He wants to save us a place in heaven for eternal life with Him. We cannot work enough, love enough, or give enough, we just simply accept the gift God is handing out to all His creation. Picture a wrapped present sitting on the end table in your living room. There’s no payment needed. Jesus already did that for us on the cross. He just asks us to believe and take the gift as our own.
14. LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. DEUTERONOMY 6:5
This is another one of God’s commands for His people. We are not to half-way love God, or to ‘kind of’ love God. We are supposed to love Him with every ounce of our being. We are not only supposed to love God, but we are also called to be love. Our heart, soul and strength should radiate love, by showing love toward God and others.
15. AND THE SECOND IS LIKE IT: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. MATTHEW 22:39
God gives us commands throughout the Bible. You have probably heard this one referred to as ‘treat others the way you want to be treated.’ That phrase came from God first. It’s also referred to as “The Golden Rule”. We are called to love others. That does not mean to love others only when its easy or when they are our close friends or when they have common interests, it simply means to love others. Treat others with genuine kindness and love just as you would like to be treated.
16. DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD. PHILIPPIANS 4:6
God asks us to trust Him and come to Him with any worries or troubles. This verse is a constant reminder of just that. Do not become nervous or worry about situations, but instead through prayer come to God the Father. He is the only one who can offer true peace. We may think other things can calm us, but we must ask and seek God’s guidance to get to the point of strength and confidence for any situation that we may face.
17. IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. GENESIS 1:1
God is the creator of everything. This verse is the very first sentence of the Bible. God is the highest power above all. He created everything in the heavens and here on earth. He created you and your family. It goes on to say He is very pleased with his creation and loves each and every one of us, as we are His children.
18. THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD; THE SKIES PROCLAIM THE WORK OF HIS HANDS. PSALM 19:1
The book of Psalm is a collection of poetry or prayers. This one refers to the simple wonders of God. He is bigger and more powerful and amazing then our minds could ever fully understand. The heavens prove and show how in awe of God we should be, and the skies show what he has created. God created the heavens and the earth. If you look at the details of His creation, there is no denying God is the only being powerful enough to create this universe.
19. YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A TOWN BUILT ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN. MATTHEW 5:14
This verse comes from Jesus’ very famous message that is referred to as the ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ He is calling His children the light of the world. We are supposed to shine bright on this earth so others can see Jesus through us. We do this by the way we speak, the way we act, and the way we think. Anything we do should be honorable to God so others will see that we are different from the rest of the world because of the change that God has made in our hearts. God gives each of us our own unique gifts that allow our light to be seen by those around us.
20. JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY AND TODAY AND FOREVER. HEBREWS 13:8
One thing we can always count on in this world is change. The seasons change, people change, schedules change, our interests even change. Jesus never changes. His words never change. That should be very comforting for us to put our trust in the constant we can find in Jesus. We can put our faith and our hope in the promises in the Bible and the love God has for us because it never changes. If you find yourself in a situation where change is all around you, ask God to lead you to one of his many promises. You can then find peace knowing that promise will be the same today, tomorrow, next year, when you become an adult, and forever.
21. FINALLY, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS NOBLE, WHATEVER IS RIGHT, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS ADMIRABLE—IF ANYTHING IS EXCELLENT OR PRAISEWORTHY—THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS. PHILIPPIANS 4:8
Our brain is a very powerful organ. The Bible tells us what to think about in this verse. We are to think about things that are true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If we keep our mind focused on these things, it will have a direct affect on everything else. It will affect how we feel, what kind of a friend, student or athlete we are, as well as help us encourage others who may be struggling with their thoughts. Thoughts can become negative and harmful to ourselves if we don’t pay attention. It is important to check in with yourself if you find yourself acting negative or emotionally struggling. What am I focusing on? What is taking most of my attention? If those things aren’t true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, then it’s time to make a change for your mind to shift to those things.
22. BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AS WELL. MATTHEW 6:33
Leading up to this verse, the Bible states to not worry about what we shall eat, drink or wear. God will provide. We are told to seek Him first. It is not on our own power that we have all of our possessions, our opportunities or relationships. God provides us with all of them. He is good and He is in control. God does ask us to talk to Him, ask Him for guidance and for us to see His way in our life.
23. LET US HELP EACH OTHER TO LOVE OTHERS AND TO DO GOOD. HEBREWS 10:24
We were not meant to be alone. From the beginning God said it is not good for man to be alone. We need to surround ourselves with other believers to encourage each other to do what is right and what God is asking us to do. We will not have all good days. On rough days, we can count on others to help us get through them.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
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The Bible talks about 9 characteristics that every person that follows Jesus should show in their lives. The Bible calls these things the Fruit of the Spirit.
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
These are things that can be seen in your life when you allow God to have control. Fruit grows on trees. If you had a bad tree, what type of fruit do you think it would produce? What about a good tree? It’s the same way with our lives. If we are filling our lives with the right things, we will get better results than if we are filling our lives with things that aren’t good. This season, we want you to learn what your life could look like when you choose to allow Jesus to have control. Ask yourself this question, what kind of fruit do I want my life to show?
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Does anyone remember what we talked about after our last practice? We talked about a certain fruit. What kind of fruit did we talk about? Fruit of the Spirit. Does anyone remember the verse?
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
When you first look at this, you may think that this is 9 different things or 9 different fruits. But, it’s really one fruit with 9 different flavors. Some of us may say, “Oh, I’ve got love, but I don’t have patience. I’ve got peace, but I don’t have self-control.” The reality is that they are all one and we have access to each of these characteristics when our relationship is right with God. This season, we’re going to learn more about each of these and how we can show this fruit in every area of our lives.
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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
Over the next few practices we’re going to talk about Love. What is love? Is it a feeling? We often tell others we “love” them or sometimes we even say that we “love” things like cookies, or basketball. The Bible has a lot to say about love. In fact, one of the most important things we can learn from the Bible is that God created us and loves us. Because of God’s love for us, we can share that love with other people. So, love isn’t just something we feel. It’s something we do and God has commanded us to love Him and other people.
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Do you remember what type of fruit we started talking about after our last couple practices? Fruit of the Spirit.
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
We started talking about Love. Is Love a feeling? No. What is it? It’s an action. It’s something we do, but where do we get love? Where does it come from? We don’t just have it. It has to start somewhere. The Bible tells us that love comes from God (1 John 4). If we know God, we know love. If we don’t know God, we can’t know what true love is because Love comes from God. We learn and experience what real love is when we have a relationship with God. Who would like to start a relationship with God today?
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We’ve been talking about fruit lately. What type of fruit? Fruit of the Spirit.
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
Who is “The Spirit”? A simple way to say it is that “The Spirit” is God living in your heart. When you decide to allow God to have control of your life, His Holy Spirit takes over and guides us in our attitudes, actions, words and thoughts. We’ve also been talking about love and how it’s something we do and not just something we feel. Do you remember where love comes from? Love comes from God. How do we get love in our lives? Do we just have to concentrate hard and it will magically appear? No. Love comes out of our relationship with God. It’s not just about going to church, although that is a good thing. Relationships take work. You can develop a relationship with God by spending time just talking to Him throughout the day like we do when we pray. You can also read His Word, the Bible to get to know Him better and to learn more about His love for you.
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Did anyone memorize the verse about the Fruit of the Spirit?
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
These are things that can be seen in your life when you allow God to have control. For several practices, we talked about Love. Love comes from God and is something we do, not something we feel. Today, we are going to talk about Joy. Sometimes people describe Joy as being happy, but it’s really much more than that. Joy is being sure that God is in control of every detail of your life. It’s a confidence that helps you know that no matter what happens in your life, good or bad, you can still be happy because God will work out everything for the good of those who love Him.
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Do you remember what the Fruit of the Spirit is?
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
Last time, we talked about Joy. What is Joy? Simply said, it’s being happy on the inside even if you don’t feel happy on the outside. The Bible tells us that God can cause our hearts to smile even if things in our life seem to be falling apart. Just like love, God is the source of Joy. It comes from our relationship with Him. We don’t just try hard to have it. God gives it to us through the Holy Spirit. Do you remember who the Holy Spirit is? It’s God living in us and when God lives in our hearts, we can have Joy.
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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
We’ve talked about Love and Joy the past few weeks. Each of these start out of our relationship with God. They aren’t things we can make on our own. He gives them to us. We talked about Joy being more than happiness. It’s being happy on the inside no matter what else is going on in our lives. What makes you joyful? When I think about the people God has put in my life, who they are and what they’ve done, it brings me joy. We need to refuse to focus on the unkind words and ways that we’ve been hurt. Instead, we should spend time thanking God for the people who have loved us, encouraged us, and supported us. When we do, we will experience true joy.
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Has anyone memorized the verse about the Fruit of the Spirit yet?
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
We’ve learned that these things cannot be made up. They come from our relationship with God. We talked about what love is. We talked about what Joy is. Now, we are going to focus on Peace. What would you say Peace is? The Dictionary says that peace is a time without conflict. The peace of God is different from the peace of the world. God’s peace is more than just a time without conflict; it is taking action to restore a broken situation. Maybe it involves things like restoring a relationship with someone who did you wrong. Peace is more than just being calm; it’s when we are whole and complete in every way. Peace is not something we can create on our own; it is a fruit of the Spirit. God is the source of peace, and the Bible says that the LORD Is Peace. Remember when we also talked about the Bible saying that God is Love? This reminds us that we cannot know True Love, Joy or Peace without knowing Jesus. How many of you want to know Jesus?
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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
Have you ever seen a basketball game on TV where a player is shooting a free throw and the crowd behind the basket tries to distract them? The best players practice a lot so they can ignore distractions and focus on making the shot. Sometimes life can be hard and we can get distracted from what really matters. Sometimes the situations we face in life can make us worry or feel afraid when God wants us to live in peace. We need to learn to fix our thoughts on Jesus at all times. When we do, we can experience true peace no matter what situations we face on the outside.
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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
We’ve talked about Peace and how it is more than just being calm. It’s when we are complete in every way. No matter what situation we may experience, we can know that God is in control which should give us peace. Peace comes from knowing Jesus and spending time with Him. Sometimes God wants us to be Peacemakers. You may experience people who are so angry with each other that they aren’t willing to even speak to each other. You might be the person that could step in to help them resolve their problems so they can be at peace with God and each other.
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When we allow God’s Holy Spirit to take over our lives, our hearts begin to change and we begin to show what the Bible refers to as “fruit”.
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
We’re learning about each of these characteristics and how to get them. We don’t get them by just trying hard. They come out of our relationship with God. When we follow Jesus and allow Him to change us, we begin to show these things in every area of our life. Today we are going to talk about Patience. Patience means to wait calmly and to be at peace even if it takes a long time for something to happen. Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? I know I get impatient and sometimes anxious when something takes too long. But, God encourages us to be patient, to keep doing what is right and not to give up doing good because in His time, we will see great things happen. How many of you need to learn to be more patient?
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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
Sometimes we want to see results right away. Take basketball for example. We just started practicing 5 or 6 weeks ago. We’ve only had a few games so far, but we have a lot of time left in our season. The things you struggled with when we first started are becoming a little easier because you are working hard to improve and getting more confident. We have to be patient. If you are patient and keep working hard, you will see even more improvement by the end of the season. Life is similar to our approach to basketball. In order for us to see changes in our lives, we have to focus on the right things and remain patient. Remember, patience doesn’t come naturally. It’s something that comes from our relationship with God.
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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
When you think about kindness, what comes to mind? Probably doing something nice for someone, right? What if we stopped thinking of kindness as an action and started thinking of kindness as a lifestyle? What if it wasn’t just doing something for someone, but it became the way people knew us. The Bible tells us to wrap ourselves in kindness. We can wrap ourselves in kindness by the way that we speak to others, the way we act towards others and the way that we react towards others. God wants us to show kindness to everyone in all we do.
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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
Last practice we talked about Kindness. Kindness is more than just being nice. It’s about being considerate or thoughtful of others in everything we say and do.How many of you are kind all the time? Me neither! It’s really hard to be kind all the time. Does anyone know where we can learn how to be kind even when we don’t feel like it? Remember, kindness is a Fruit of the Spirit. If we have asked Jesus to be Lord of our lives, His Spirit lives in our hearts and He is the One that gives us the power to be kind and to show all of the other fruits we’ve been learning about.
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Can anyone tell us what the verse we’ve been talking about says?
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
What is goodness? Is it different from kindness? Goodness does not just mean being good, but it's about doing good and encouraging others to do good. Goodness is the rightly-ordered motivation behind our desire to act well. Goodness is having excellent character that desires to honor God not because someone is forcing you to, but because you love God so much that you want to honor Him. What is one way you can show goodness to someone? (encourage them, write them a note, hold the door for them, tell them something nice about them)
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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
How often do we use the word “good” each day? We will say things like, “I’m doing good” or “That was good” after we eat a delicious meal. We use the word “Good” so often that we can start to forget what it means. We learned last practice that goodness is not always “being good” and not making mistakes. Instead, it’s God asking us to do good in the world. He wants us to spread what is good and true to everyone we meet. God wants us to do good for others because He has been good to us.
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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
We are living in a world where it’s hard to know what is good and what is evil. Your mom and dad have probably told you to “be good.” Maybe this means helping your mom around the house, being on your best behavior or getting good grades in school. Goodness is action; it’s not just something we do for ourselves. When we act out of true goodness of the heart, we reflect God and our actions benefit other people. The life of Jesus Christ is the perfect example of goodness. He died on the cross for all of the wrong or evil of the world. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can have the gift of eternal life in Heaven if we choose to live our lives for Him. Would you like to ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life?
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For the past couple of months, we’ve been learning about what the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is. Can you say the verse?
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
Today we are going to talk about faithfulness. Does anyone know what faithfulness means? Faithfulness is being loyal or dedicated to someone or something no matter what. We live in a crazy messed up world, that isn’t really a good example of loyalty or dedication. It’s tough to know what good examples are sometimes. That’s why it’s important for us to look to Jesus as the ultimate example. God shows His faithfulness to us by never giving up on us even when we do something we shouldn’t do. God loves and His love never stops no matter how badly we behave sometimes. God loves us and always wants the best for us. He can be trusted! He is faithful!
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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
We started talking about Faithfulness last practice. What is faithfulness? It means to be loyal or dedicated. When someone is faithful, they can be trusted. Who do you trust the most in your life? Is it mom or dad? Maybe a grandparent or aunt/uncle? Do you know that even these people that you trust are not perfect? Does anyone know the only person that was ever perfect? Jesus. As we’ve learned, Jesus is God. He is perfect and He can be trusted with every area of our lives.
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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
Faithfulness is to show dedication or loyalty to someone or something. We’ve learned that God is faithful. He will never leave us. Even when we are brokenhearted. Even when we’ve done something wrong. When we feel like giving up, He strengthens us. Just as God is faithful. We must be faithful to God and to other people. Just like anything else, faithfulness comes out of our relationship with God. It all starts with Him. He is the source! How many of you want to grow in your faith and in your faithfulness?
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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
We’ve learned that Faithfulness means to be loyal or dedicated. There is a word that makes up the word Faithfulness. It’s F-A-I-T-H. Does anyone know what faith is? Faith is to have complete confidence or trust in someone or something. We’ve also talked about how Jesus can be trusted and that He is faithful and loves us no matter what. Do you think Jesus is someone we can have complete confidence in? Yes! We can have faith that Jesus is who He says He is and that He loves us with a never-ending, always and forever love. Does anyone want to place their faith in Jesus today?
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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
All season long, we’ve been learning about this super-fruit, called the Fruit of the Spirit. The verse talks about 9 different characteristics, but it’s all one fruit! That fruit grows out of our relationship with God. Today, we learn about Gentleness. Our world doesn’t think a lot about gentleness. We think that if we want to get our way, we have to be loud, mean and forceful. But God’s ways are different from the rest of the world. Followers of Jesus are called to be gentle and considerate to others. The Bible tells us that if we are gentle with one another without being mean or overly aggressive, our gentleness brings life and encouragement to other people!
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Last practice we talked about Gentleness. What is gentleness? It’s about being kind, considerate and tender towards others in our attitudes, actions and words.
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
Consider how gentle God is towards us. He is the one that created all things, He is the one that holds all things together. You and I would not be if it were not for Him. He is the ruler of everything. The Bible says that He is the King of Kings! And...He is still gentle towards us. When we do wrong and walk away from what God wants for us, He gently leads us back to Himself. When we struggle, He doesn’t tell us to get tougher. He comforts us and encourages us. When we are sad and brokenhearted, He is near. Just as God is gentle with us, we should be gentle towards others in everything. Let’s pray and ask God to produce this fruit within each of us.
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The past couple of practices we’ve talked about Gentleness. Gentleness doesn’t mean we have to let people push around on the court or even off of the court. It doesn’t mean we have to be a wimp. Gentleness is about being kind, considerate and tender towards other people in the way that we act, the way we speak and in the things we do.
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
Just like everything else we’ve learned about, how can we become more gentle? Does it come through lots of practice and just trying hard? No. It comes out of our relationship with Jesus. He produces this and the other qualities in us so that our lives begin to reflect His love to the world.
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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
Hopefully we’ve started to gain a better understanding of each of the qualities listed in this verse. Each of them are important. They are all connected. Do you remember when we first started, that we said this was kind of a “super-fruit”? When our relationship with Jesus is right, our lives naturally show these characteristics. When our relationship with Jesus is not right, we show the opposite. The final characteristic listed is self-control. What does that mean? It means that we are in control of our thoughts and actions. When someone comes along and asks you to do something that you know is wrong, you have the ability to say “No”. When something comes along that you know is a good thing and it’s the right thing to do, you say “Yes”. We need to be self-controlled in what we say, what we think about, what we listen to and even what we watch because these things can affect every area of our lives.
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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
To be self-controlled is to be in control of our thoughts and actions. Self-control is given to us when we allow Jesus to change us. He makes us more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind and our lives begin to overflow with goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and we become more controlled in everything we do. When all of these things are present in our lives, other people’s lives can also be affected. You might be able to change someone else’s life because of the way you live your life. When our lives show these characteristics, people will begin to ask themselves, what makes you different from everyone else? You can then say...Jesus! Your life is different because you’ve allowed Jesus to change you from the inside-out. Who wants to be changed by Jesus?
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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
This season, we’ve learned that the “super-fruit” of the Spirit is made up of a lot of different flavors. They all come together when we have a relationship with Jesus. We’ve learned that Love is an action and we choose to give it. We’ve learned that Joy is being happy on the inside even when you aren’t on the outside. Peace is when we are calm and steady even when things around us are out of control. Patience is when we can wait calmly and be at peace. Kindness is more than being nice. It’s being thoughtful and considerate of other people in everything we do. Goodness means more than being a good person. It means we actively look to do good to other people. Goodness is an action. Faithfulness means to be loyal or dedicated. We must be loyal and dedicated to God first. Gentleness doesn’t mean we have to be a wimp. It means we are kind and considerate of others in everything we say and do. Self-control is being in control of our thoughts and actions.