This week we’ll look at the fruit of self-control. Under the leadership of Jesus and his Spirit we can order and direct our desires toward that which we were made: love of God and neighbor. This is not about self-mastery, but living in step with and empowered by the Spirit to be the redeemed people God has created us to be.

We’re nearing the end of our study of the fruit of the Spirit. This week we’ll look at “gentleness,” probably the least well known and least prayed-for fruit of the Spirit.

This Sunday we are looking at the fruit of faithfulness. Faithfulness is at the heart of the gospel! Because of God’s faithfulness we have forgiveness from our past and hope for the future.

This week we look at the fruit of kindness. While kindness has undergone a bit of a popularity surge in our culture (“Be Kind!”), the Biblical notion of kindness is much more than niceness or random acts of service. It is a dedicated, costly commitment to another’s good.

This week we look to our next fruit of the spirit: patience. In a time when we are weary and anxious, patience exhorts us to endure what suffering may befall us without retaliation or revenge, and to put up with the weaknesses of others without getting too angry or irritated. In these ways, patience, as we’ll explore together this weekend, is about both our long-suffering, our forbearance and our faithful love and care for the people around us.

This Sunday we look at the spiritual fruit of peace. Biblical peace is not really defined as inner state of calm, which is the way we moderns tend to understand it. Biblical peace is more about “wholeness” or “completion,” a state of right relationships between God and others. It is something God accomplishes for us, but then it is also something we pursue in community with others.

This Sunday we look at “Joy in a Time of Cynicism.” Derek Mondeau, our Pastor of Discipleship and Parish Life, looks at the dangerous power cynicism can hold, and the promise of joy that is found in brokenness and suffering.