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 Give your sermons a visual impact with the "Fruit of the Holy Spirit " PowerPoint template. Free to SermonCentralPRO members. Click on the image to go to the download page.
 The Fruit of the Spirit: Introductionby John Shearhart Galatians 5:22-5:23 A certain man owned a state of the art greenhouse with equipment to create the ideal structure for plant growth. The atmosphere, lighting, and temperature were suited perfectly for flowers and fruit. At planting more… 
It’s Cool to Be Kindby Tim Richards Galatians 5:22-5:23 The slogan started appearing on billboards in the early 1990’s, "Practice Random Acts of Kindness." According to Gavin Whitsett, author of a small handbook entitled, Guerilla Kindness, the movement is a response more…
The Gardener’s Greatest Fruitby Tom Osborn Galatians 5:22-26 This morning we are going to talk about the Fruit of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives as a growing Christian, and how we can know each other by what is being produced in our lives. Not more…
Patience - Fruit of The Spiritby Melvin Newland Galatians 5:22 We have been looking at the fruit of the Spirit as presented by the Apostle Paul in the 5th chapter of Galatians. He tells us that when we’re filled with the Holy Spirit we’ll evidence the fruit of the Spirit in more...
 Lighten Up!by Brian La Croix Galatians 5:22-5:23 We all like being around people who are generally upbeat, don’t we? I mean, if you had your choice of being with someone who had a smile or someone who looked like he was weaned on sour lemons, who more...
The Right Conditions for Bearing FruitReading a book on growing grapes [P.M. Wagner, A Wine Growers Guide, 1996] gave me insight into Jesus’ words about vine, branches, and fruit. Wild female vines cannot bear fruit unaided; they have a defective stamen. Living outside God’s will does not produce good work or fruit. Cross-pollination does not change the character of fruit. Planting a good vine in bad ground will not produce good fruit, nor will planting a bad vine in good soil yield a harvest of good grapes; it depends on the character of the vine and the foundation in which it is planted. Bearing fruit in every good work requires the right combination. God the Father provides the fertile ground. His Son is the vine on which we grow. The Holy Spirit creates conditions optimal for bearing fruit. Contributed by: Tom Doubt
No Short Cuts to Spiritual FruitsThere are no short cuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. In America, tomatoes are usually picked unripened so they won’t bruise during shipping to the stores. Then, before they are sold, these green tomatoes are sprayed with CO2 gas to turn them red instantly. Gassed tomatoes are edible, but they are no match to the flavor of a vine-ripened tomato that is allowed to mature slowly. SOURCE: Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 217. Contributed by: SermonCentral The Redeeming Fruit of PeaceJames Calvert (1813-1892) was a zealous missionary to cannibals on the Fiji Islands. His faithful work bore fruit in the lives of those accustomed to taking the life of others. Years later an English earl visited the Fiji Islands and was critical of a chief’s conversion to Christianity. "You’re a great leader but it’s a pity you’ve been taken in by those foreign missionaries. No one believes the Bible anymore. People are tired of the threadbare story of Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind. They know better now. I’m sorry you’ve been so foolish as to accept their story." The old chief responded with a gleam in his eyes, "See that great rock overt there? On it we smashed the heads of our victims. Notice the furnace next to it. In that oven we formerly roasted the bodies of our enemies. If it hadn’t been for those good missionaries and the love of Jesus that changed us from Cannibals into Christians, you’d never leave this place! You’d better thank the Lord for the gospel; otherwise we’d already be feasting on you. If it weren’t for the Bible and its salvation message, you’d now be our supper!" SOURCE: (quoted in Autoillustrator.com , "SPIRITUAL GRATITUDE" from, Kindred Spirit, Volume 16, Number 1, p. 6) Contributed by: Darren Ethiel Who I Am In Christ JesusI am free from the curse of the law—poverty, sickness, and death. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) Jesus was made the curse for me. (Galatians 3:3) I am no longer under the bondages of Satan; I’ve been translated into the Kingdom of God. (Colossians 1:13) Jesus is the Lord over me totally and completely, spirit, soul, and body and every circumstance that touches me. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) I claim Jesus as Lord over my nation, my state, and my community. (1 Timothy 2:2) I will myself to do my Father’s will for my life on earth. (Luke 11:2) God has control over every detail of my life, I am in His perfect will. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) I am the child of God—Jesus is in me and I am in Him. (John 17:22-23) He that is in me is greater than he (Satan) that is in the world. (1 John 4:4) I have God’s patience in me. God’s patience wears the devil out. (Galatians 5:22-23) I have God’s love in me. I love everyone; most of all I love those who hate me. (Matthew 5:44) The love that is in me is stronger than the hate of this world. I forgive all who have wronged me. (Mark 11:25) I have the God kind of faith. My faith can remove mountains and whatever I pray for I receive. (Mark 11:22-24) No weapon formed against me shall prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) I am not of this world, but of the Kingdom of God. (John 17:16) The fruit of the Spirit are in me: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, obedience, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) I am righteous, wise, sanctified, and redeemed, in the eyes of God because of what Jesus did. (1 Corinthians 1:20) I don’t have a care or worry in the world; I cast all my care over on Jesus for He cares for me. (1 Peter 5:7) I do not lack for ability in my daily life. I do not lack for any good thing. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23; 3 John 2) I will not fear anything. God has given me the Spirit of love and of power and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) I have no financial problems. My God supplies all of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) By Jesus’ stripes, my body is healed from sickness and disease. (1 Peter 2:24) I receive forgiveness for sins. (1 John 1:9) I have been redeemed, washed clean by the Blood of Jesus. (Ephesians 1:7) SOURCE: “My Daily Confession of Who I am in Christ Jesus,” Larry Millemon Contributed by: A. Todd Coget Spiritual DehydrationDuring the liberation of Palestine in WWI, a combined force of British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers was closely pursuing the Turks as they retreated from the desert. As the allied troops moved northward past Beersheba they began to outdistance their water-carrying camel train. When the water ran out, their mouths got dry, their heads ached, and they became dizzy and faint. Eyes became bloodshot, lips swelled and turned purple, and mirages became common. They knew that if they did not make the wells of Sheriah by nightfall, thousands of them would die – as hundreds already had done. Literally fighting for their lives, they managed to drive the Turks from Sheriah. As water was distributed from the great stone cisterns, the more able-bodied soldiers were required to stand at attention and wait for the wounded and those who would take guard duty to drink first. It was four hours before the last man had his drink. During that time the men stood no more than twenty feet from thousands of gallons of water, to drink of which had been their consuming passion for many agonizing days. It is said that one of the officers who was present reported, “I believe that we all learned our first real Bible lesson on the march from Beersheba to Sheriah Wells. If such were our thirst for God, for righteousness and for His will in our lives, a consuming, all-embracing, preoccupying desire, how rich in the fruit of the Spirit would we be?” SOURCE: E.M. Blaiklock, “Water,” Eternity (August 1966), p. 27. Contributed by: David Yarbrough 
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