God made a promise to Abraham, then to his son Isaac. Then, when Isaac’s son Jacob was running for his life after cheating his brother out of his birthright, God made the same promise to him. What can we learn from Jacob about God’s promise to us, and about what should be our response?
“Giving as Good as You Get”, by Pastor Ryan Emmons
The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, and it grow in us through the presence and working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives. It is not a collection of fruits, but rather part of one larger fruit, like the segments of an orange rather than a bunch of grapes. Pastor Ryan gives a deep dive into these segments in this series from the winter of 2025.
“Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.
Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.
Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Self Control is the last part of the fruit of the spirit, and the only one that is not part of God’s character. God does not need self control because He is not tempted to do things he shouldn’t. Still, self control grows in us through the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Being Fruitful: Self Control”, by Pastor Ryan Emmons
God is gentle as our good shepherd. Jesus too. Pastor Ryan gives examples of both and talks about how we can show this trait in our interactions with others.
“Being Fruitful: Gentleness” by Pastor Ryan Emmons
God is good. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell us this. Goodness is often associated with kindness (last week’s fruit), the ultimate example being Jesus becoming human and enduring humanity’s evil in order to re-unite us with God. But goodness is larger than kindness. God is completely holy and righteous, with no trace of evil, in all he does and says. The cross symbolizes how God can take something intended for evil and turn it into a source of blessing, something that we also see in the story of Joseph. This is very good! God gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can also be good and do good, as the Spirit leads and works in us.
Sorry, but there is no recording of this sermon. You can read the sermon in Pastor Ryan’s sermon notes (not a transcript).
Kindness is one of those fruits that is evident to other people. Often it doesn’t cost us anything, but sometimes it does. Pastor Ryan highlights a few examples of this costly kindness in the Bible and encourages us to be intentional about looking for opportunities to be kind.
Patience is not easy for most of us, especially in our “instant” culture. God the Father and Jesus each model a different aspect of patience for us, and the Holy Spirit in us can help us live out both kinds.
Peace is part of the fruit of the Spirit. But what does “peace” mean in this context? God gives peace between adversaries, peace with him individually, and peace in our hearts as we trust him. Peace also flows from us into our relationships as we allow the Spirit to work in us. What is our part in doing our best to live at peace with everyone?
Argyle Road Baptist Church 