Sermons on Forbidden Fruit:

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Love" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Love is the preeminent fruit of the Spirit. Without it there are no others.

The entire Bible is a love story. Not like a Harlequin romance, thankfully for us guys. We get to read about war, fishing and death too. But from the creation of the world, through love, for the protection of the Israelites because of love, to the sending of a Saviour out of love, for Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Joy" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

This kind of Joy is really a "cheerful, calm, delight, and Christians should experience this joy more than any other people.

Well, we still have the Joy book, Philippians, fairly fresh in our minds from this winter. And as we talk about Joy as a fruit of the spirit we are talking not so much about jumping up and down for joy like when you win the lottery, though it might be like that I suppose. Sometimes I think people ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Peace" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Worldly peace never lasts, only the inner peace from our Lord is forever.

Someone once said: “Peace is the brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.” Isn’t that true whether we’re talking about world peace or inner peace? It seems like it never lasts, and when we have it, we tend to expect that it will only be a matter of time before its ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Patience" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Patience is one the more visible fruit. What is patience according to God’s Word?

The word for patience here is “hypomonea” meaning cheerful endurance or perseverance, long-suffering or long-tempered. It is the fruit that allows us to look at people and not their circumstances or behaviour. The part of us that can see beyond the surface to find the true person that God created ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Kindness" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Acts of kindness should spread from one person to another until kindness takes everything over.

May I remind us all that Jesus was homeless after he left his job and the majority of the people in his culture thought he was crazy and they were scared of him. He was an outcast, sure he had a faithful group of followers, but the majority of people thought they were nuts too. “As you did to one ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Goodness" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Kindness is seen in our actions, goodness is seen in our character.

Show Vietnam video. What an amazing example of how goodness and love can overcome trauma of the past, hatred, language & cultural barriers, and bring forgiveness and immediate closeness between two people a world apart. Today’s fruit is the Apple to represent goodness. After all it’s the goodness ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Faithfulness" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

The Greek translation of faithful is actually persuasive and trustworthy. How often is the second part missing in the church?

What is the worse thing that can happen in a marriage? Wouldn’t most people agree it is unfaithfulness, having an affair? Personally I believe that the most important aspect of love is trust and trustworthiness. Once trust is broken it’s incredibly difficult to totally regain it. It’s like our ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Gentleness" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Now we deal with gentleness, which is actually from the same root word as kindness, to be useful. However there are many more uses of the word in the Greek that have slightly different meaning like mildness, meekness, suitableness, and humility.

Begin by reading the Magnificat Luke 1 verses 46-49 and then Luke 2:13-19. I find that passage gives me a sense of the peacefulness and gentleness of the night of Christ’s birth. There’s no better display of gentleness in the Bible than Mary when she found out she was pregnant, and then gave ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Gluing Fruit ~ Faithfulness Series

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Nov 13, 2008

Faithfulness is the “gluing” fruit that will preserve our faith and the other characters of the Spirit and identify God’s will so we can be dependable and trusting to God and others. It is the one fruit that we give to God, whereas the others are from the

Opening illustration: Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 3:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Fruit Of The Branches I Series

Contributed by Stephen Fournier on Dec 14, 2007

Series on John 15 pt. 10

FRUIT OF THE BRANCHES I Series on John 15 pt. 10 John 15:4 2/25/07 God’s Word! This is God’s Word (Bible). God! Not the words of a man named Matthew, John or Paul, but God. God speaking to us. While many folks say they believe that this is God’s Word, it seems rather odd that their ...read more

Scripture: John 15:4

Denomination: Bible Church

Fruit Of The Branches Ii Series

Contributed by Stephen Fournier on Dec 14, 2007

Series on John 15 pt. 11

FRUIT OF THE BRANCHES II Series on John 15 pt. 11 John 15:4 3/04/07 There is a story about a man who pulled up behind a car at stop light. The man notices a bumper sticker on the back of the mans car that read “Honk if you know Jesus”. The man thought it was a cute bumper sticker so he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:4

Denomination: Bible Church

Fruit Of The Branches Iii Series

Contributed by Stephen Fournier on Dec 14, 2007

Series on John 15 pt. 12

FRUIT OF THE BRANCHES III Series on John 15 pt. 12 John 15:4 3/11/07 Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? It is kind of hard to tell. Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? It is an apple tree. How did you know it was an apple tree? Because it had apples on it. Let me ...read more

Scripture: John 15:4

Denomination: Bible Church

Temperance: A Fruit Of The Spirit Series

Contributed by Patrick Nix on Aug 13, 2010

Have you noticed that our current generation (especially of Americans) has no concept of control. We are out-of-control. The recent rise in credit card induced bankruptcies, divorce attorneys, and mini-riots are skyrocketing. Road rage, impulse spendin

Have you noticed that our current generation (especially of Americans) has no concept of control. We are out-of-control. The recent rise in credit card induced bankruptcies, divorce attorneys, and mini-riots are skyrocketing. Road rage, impulse spending, and all sorts of addictions are seen as ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Denomination: Baptist

Fruit Inspectors (Hix)

Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Oct 26, 2014

By their fruit you will recognize them-It may take some time, but we will eventually see whether the preacher is trying to benefit himself, or whether he is truly serving others.

Matthew 7:15-20-“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:15-20

Denomination: Baptist

The Fruit Of The Spirit: Gentleness

Contributed by Rev. Matthew Parker on Nov 19, 2014

Jesus demonstrated true gentleness, true strength under control

Homily Given at an "Alternative Church" setting at a mission in downtown Toronto My son is a songwriter and music teacher. His entire life is music. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, sometimes. Recently he wrote a song comparing his view of a Type A personality to another view. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational