Sunday we began a new series, The Spirit Produces… with an overview of the nature of Spiritual Fruit from Galatians 5:16-25 and a beginning look at Love. Listen here. 

Here is an outline from the sermon.

The Spirit Produces fruit through our UNION WITH CHRIST, BY POINTING TO THE LOVE OF CHRIST, THEREFORE MAKING US MORE LIKE CHRIST.

THE FRUIT OF LOVE IS A REFLECTION OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST AND THE PRODUCTION OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN US… IS OUR NOTION OF GOD’S LOVE BIBLICAL?

The nature of Biblical love:

1. Love lays down its life. Agape = love. It means to serve a person for their good and intrinsic value, not for what the person brings you. Its opposite is fear: self-protection and abusing people. Its counterfeit (a fake version) is selfish affection, where you are attracted to someone and treat them well because of how they make you feel about yourself
2. Love is the mark of eternal life.
3. Love for others is a mark of the abiding presence of Christ
4. Love will be SEEN (1 Corinthians 13)
5. Love is more than words… we see this in Christ.

Here are a few quotes from the sermon.

“Christian spiritual formation is not simply fostering the experience of the Spirit but rather a radical formation, a shaping and molding of the believer into conformity with Christ through the Spirit” –Evan Howard

“The Fruit of the Spirit is both FORMATIONAL and RELATIONAL.” –Jerry Bridges

“Love is not just a sentiment. Love is a great controlling passion and it always expresses itself in terms of obedience.” –D Martin Lloyd Jones

“Love is a command, not just a feeling. Somehow, in the romantic world of music and theater we have made love to be what it is not. We have so mixed it with beauty and charm and sensuality and contact that we have robbed it of its higher call of cherishing and nurturing.” –Ravi Zacharias

This Sunday at OPBC, Pastor Roger will continue looking at the fruit called love, as we look at love in relation to other believers. Don’t miss it.