Fruitie-Tales: Living By the Fruit of the Spirit Series

Well it has been a long trip, but we have finally completed our series on the Fruit of the Spirit. Although more could be said, I hope this has been an encouraging series. It seems like every week God was reminding me to be more like Him as I repeatedly failed to do. Below are all of the sermons, links, and book recommendations made throughout this series.

Sermons:
April 26, 2009 - Got Fruit?
May 17, 2009 - Walk In the Spirit

Love:
May 24, 2009 - What's Love Got To Do With It?
May 24, 2009 - All You Lack Is LoveWhat is Love? - Audio
June 7, 2009 - 1 Corinthians 13:8-13: Love Never Ends

Joy:
June 15, 2009 - Matthew 5:1-5: Joy of Spiritual Humility
June 28, 2009 - Matthew 5:6: Starving? Why Wait?
July 12, 2009 - Matthew 5:7-9: The Joy of Holiness
July 19, 2009 - Matthew 5:10-12: The Joy of Persecution
(Sunday Night) - July 19, 2009: Hebrews 11:30ff - The Legacy of Suffering Joy

Peace:
August 2, 2009 - Psalm 23:2: Peace of Rest
August 9, 2009 - Psalm 23:3: The Peace of Restoration (notes only)
August 16, 2009 - Psalm 23:4: "The Peace of Comfort"
Sunday Night - The Agony of Job and the Sovereingnty of God
August 23, 2009 - Psalm 23:5: The Peace of the Shepherd's Sovereignty
August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6: The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence

Patience
September 6, 2009 - Faithience: When Faith and Patience Collide
September 13, 2009 - Genesis 13:1-18: The Biggest Loser
September 20, 2009 - Genesis 15:1-18: The Patience of Our Deliverer
October 4, 2009 - Genesis 16: Impatience

Goodness:
October 18, 2009 - 1 Peter 2:21-23 - Christus Exemplar and the Goodness of God
October 25, 2009 - Galatians 6:6-14: Selfless Goodness

November 1, 2009 - "I Believe, Help My Unbelief": The Power of Faithless Faith
November 8, 2009 - "God Be Merciful To Me a Sinner": The Gosple in 7 Words
November 15, 2009 - Living In Meekness
November 22, 2009 - Self-Control in the Face of Temptation

Book Recommendations:
Weekly Recommendation: "A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of the Spirit"Weekly Recommendation: "The God Who Loves"Weekly Recommendation: "The Greatest of These is Love"
Weekly Recommendation: "Kingdom Living"
Weekly Recommendation: "Foxe's Book of Martyrs"
Weekly Recommendation - "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23"
Weekly Recommendation: "Traveling Light"
Weekly Recommendation - "Restore My Soul"
Weekly Recommendation - "A Grief Observed"Weekly Recommendation - "Finding Peace"
Weekly Recommendation - "Heaven"
Weekly Recommendation: "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"

Other:
True Love From Veggie Tales
Bonhoeffer: The Meaning of Poor In Spirit and the Joy of Being Spiritual Bankrupt
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9
Mephibosheth and the Sanctity of the Disable: God's Glory In the Face of Deformity
Theodicy as Evidence of a Theos
"I Am so Easily Satisfied With Just Going About" - A Gut Check

November 22, 2009 - Self-Control in the Face of Temptation

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the audio and notes of last Sunday's sermon. The Thanksgiving holiday has kept me busy. I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving.


Audio
Notes

November 15, 2009 - Living In Meekness

Sorry it has taken me so long, but here is the audio and notes from this past Sunday.

Audio
Notes

November 8, 2009 - "God Be Merciful To Me a Sinner": The Gosple in 7 Words

Sorry it has taken so long. Here are the audio and the notes from last Sunday's sermon.

Audio
Notes

November 1, 2009 - "I Believe, Help My Unbelief": The Power of Faithless Faith

No audio available again this week, but you can download the notes by clicking here.

Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness

This was a short series and since our discussion on Kindness was only 1 week, I will include that in here as well.

Goodness Sermons:
October 18, 2009 - 1 Peter 2:21-23 - Christus Exemplar and the Goodness of God
October 25, 2009 - Galatians 6:6-14: Selfless Goodness

Book Recommendations:
Weekly Recommendation: "When Bad Things Happen to Good People"

Other:
Theodicy as Evidence of a Theos
"I Am so Easily Satisfied With Just Going About" - A Gut Check

Kindness Sermon:
October 11, 2009 - 2 Samuel 9: Costly Kindness

For more:
Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series
Basic Christianity Series Revelation Study

October 25, 2009 - Galatians 6:6-14: Selfless Goodness

No audio is available, only notes. To download the notes, click here.

"I Am so Easily Satisfied With Just Going About" - A Gut Check

I have been doing a lot of studying on the subject of godly goodness and came across the following quote that really spoke to me:

I read, in a book, that a man called Christ
Went about doing good,
It is very disconcerting to me,
that I am so easily satisfied
With just – going about.
-Poem by Kagawa of Japan as quoted in Stephen Winward, Fruit of the Spirit, 151

Am I the only one guilty of this?

October 18, 2009 - 1 Peter 2:21-23 - Christus Exemplar and the Goodness of God

Here is the audio.
Here are the notes.

Theodicy as Evidence of a Theos

I have been studying, in great detail, the question of God's goodness. If God is good, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? The common riddle goes something like this: If God is good, He cannot be All-Powerful because He cannot prevent evil and suffering in the world. If God is All-Powerful, He cannot be good because He refused to prevent evil and suffering. God therefore, is either good or All-Powerful, He cannot be both.

I have sat in secular university philosophy classes and listened to this argument. To most Christians, they are left stunned by this predicament. The Bible clearly teaches that God is good and All-Powerful. So how can these two concepts be true if there is so much evil and suffering in the world? The answer goes beyond this post. To begin, the Christian worldview must go back to Genesis 1-3. In chapters 1-2, God created everything and saw that it was good. It was good because it came from He who defines good; God. But in Genesis 3, the Fall took place and destroyed the goodness of the Earth. Death, suffering, evil, violence, natural disasters, and pain are the result of Genesis 3.

But does the problem of theodicy disprove God? Interestingly, even the most hardened atheist are not running to the problem of theodicy as they used to. The world's best known atheist, Richard Dawkins, in his book, The God Delusion, points out that this issue does not necessarily disprove God, it only disproves the goodness of God. Though I disagree with his conclusion, one cannot miss what Dawkins is saying. Evil and suffering does not disprove God.

So, how does such an issue prove God? C.S. Lewis explains in the clearest and most powerful language:

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of ‘just’ and ‘unjust’? . . . What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? . . . Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too – for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies . . . Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. -Lewis, Mere Christianity, 38

Lewis is right. The very idea that we speak of evil and suffering implies that we have an inherit standard of evil and good. Where does this inherit idea come from? Why is murder, death, destruction, violence, abuse, and natural disasters bad? By what standard do we measure these things? Evolution implies (though many naturalists may deny it) that death and suffering brings forth the fruit of evolution. Things improve when the weaker become extinct and die. Death is good. And yet naturally, we are repulsed by this. Evolution morality implies relativism. What is true? What is right? What is moral? Without a Divine standard such questions are determined by culture and opinion polls.

Let us remember Lewis' words. When we see suffering and pain, we ought to weep and mourn, not because God seems non-existent, but because we know that God is present. In a world of pain and sorrows, God reminds us of His standard of good. When we see such pain God is calling us to heal what has been wounded, to fix what has been broken, and to united what has been separated. We do this because that is what God has done for us. Upon the cross Christ took upon Himself our evil and sin. On the cross, Christ fixed what we broke, united what we separated, and healed what we wounded.

But the beauty of the cross isn't just in Christ suffering on our account. The beauty of the cross takes us to the empty tomb. Their is always hope and restoration on the other side of pain, suffering, and evil. Christ conquered and so can we.

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

We have just completed the fourth Fruit of the Spirit: Patience. I failed to recommend books each week and did not post any other articles. Therefore, I only have links to the actual messages.

September 6, 2009 - Faithience: When Faith and Patience Collide
September 13, 2009 - Genesis 13:1-18: The Biggest Loser
September 20, 2009 - Genesis 15:1-18: The Patience of Our Deliverer
October 4, 2009 - Genesis 16: Impatience

For more:
The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series
Basic Christianity Series Revelation Study

Mephibosheth and the Sanctity of the Disable: God's Glory In the Face of Deformity

This upcoming Sunday, we will be looking at the fifth Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness. We will be looking at 2 Samuel 9 which gives us the account of how David showed kindness toward Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul (David's enemy). The fact that David would do this is quit astonishing. Typically, in ancient times (and somewhat today. When there's a new President, he rarely keeps anyone from the previous administration), whenever a new dynasty would take the thrown, anyone perceived to be a threat to the new king's throne or anyone who might be considered an heir to the previous king's throne would be immediately killed, exhiled, enslaved, or imprisoned.

But David did the complete opposite. Saul, the king, was dead. His likely heir, Jonathan (David's closest friend) was also dead. Upon taking the throne, rather than killing all potential threats and challengers, David goes out of his way to show kindness to someone who should be his enemy.

But there is another aspect of this story that we can't miss. Mephibosheth (try saying that 10 times fast) is handicap. 2 Samuel 4:4 tells us why. He was essentially dropped by his nurse after his father (Jonathan) and grandfather (King Saul) died in battle. His nurse feared that they would be coming for him and so fled. She then tripped and dropped him leaving him lame. Since the crowning of David, lame Mephibosheth lived in Lo-Debar (which might mean "No Pasture"). Lame, without any family, and lost of his prestige as the grandson of the king, Mephibosheth had to assume that his life would be worthless. He had lost everything he had and was born with.

To be handicap like this was no small issue in ancient times. There was no disability check coming. Oftentimes, family members would require their handicap relative to beg for money (usually at the Temple where people are feeling most generous; see Acts 3) in order to contribute to the family funds.

Furthermore, the disabled were rather outcasts in society. If a Levite was disabled, they were not allowed to go into the Temple or near the altar. Leviticus 21:16-23 reads:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles. No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

In other words, one born to be a priest and yet handicap, would not be able to fulfill their role as a priest. And so the hopelessness of the disabled continued for centuries.

But this story does make one incredibly important point: God has a purpose and has revealed his grace even to the outcast and disabled. The story of Mephibosheth is one of kindness, grace, mercy, and love. Mephibosheth becomes a metaphor of us. We are all like Mephibosheth who, as a result of our sin, are seperated, disabled, and helpless before God. We deserve nothing but death and hell. And yet God showed His great love, mercy, kindness, and grace towards us by not giving us what we deserve, but in giving us what we don't deserve: salvation.

Furthermore, Mephibosheth is an example that even those handicap and disabled are beyond God's reach and purpose. The ancients would oftentimes leave disabled babies for dead in the wilderness because they considered them unworthy (such as the Spartans). Both Plato and Aristotle favored infanticide and believed that the State should have a greater role in deciding who should live and who shouldn't.

But the Judeo-Christian worldview is quit different. All life is sacred and not beyond the grace and purpose of God. Even the most handicap reveal God's goodness and grace. Yes, even though disability reminds us of the affects of the fall, God shows his grace even though deformaty and pain.

Recall the healing of the man born blind in John 9. The text begins by showing us that even this blind beggar has a purpose in God's eyes:

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." -John 9:1-5

Did you notice that? The reason this man was born blind was so that God might be glorified. All life is sacred not because we say it is, but because God's glory is revealed in all of life. The fact that even the worst of deformities can still bring God glory is a constant reminder that God is still on His throne and is still good.

In a culture that is exterminating those with Down Syndrome, we need to hear this message. Yes, God even has a plan, purpose, and is glorified greatly even in the disability of Down Syndrome. A secular culture that has replaced God with Darwin misses this. Life becomes an issue of economics and "happiness." If the handicap are a burden on the parents or society, it would be best if they didn't exist at all. After all, resources are limited.

That's what I love about this story. Without Mephibosheth's handicap, we would never had such a wonderful picture of God's grace, mercy, love, and kindness toward us and the call to mimic God's goodness by being good towards others, and we would miss the fact that even in a fallen world that results in producing horrific and unfortunate disabilities and handicaps, God has not removed Himself from us. Beauty can be found in the midst of deformaty and disability to the glory of God.

Let us not forget this important lesson. Isn't it wonderful that even in the face of depravity and the consequences of our sin, God's glory is revealed. The light really can outshine the darkness. And beauty really can outshine the deformity.

For more:
Get Religion: The patriotic duty to die
Colson: The March of Death
Hitler Is Alive And Well: Repeating the Mistakes of the Past
Colson: Deadly Trend
The Lust For Blood: The Culture of Death and Infanticide
"Freedom is Dead, And We are It's Murderers" - Nietzsche Was Almost Right
Colson: What Would Darwin Advise?
A Return to Rome: When Death Becomes Entertainment
Another Terry Schiavo Condemned to Death
Mohler: The Death Culture Strikes Again
Albert Mohler - The Death Culture Strikes Again
Mohler: A Threat to the Disabled . . . and to Us All
Mohler: The Rise of Infanticide?
Colson: Thirty Pints of BloodWhere the Logic of The Culture of Death Will Take Us
Euthanasia: A Good Death?
Albert Mohler: That Was Then . . . This is Now? A Nazi Nightmare

October 4, 2009 - Genesis 16: Impatience

Here are the notes.

September 20, 2009 - Genesis 15:1-18: The Patience of Our Deliverer

You can download my notes by clicking here.

September 13, 2009 - Genesis 13:1-18: The Biggest Loser

Here are the notes. The audio can be downloaded by clicking on the title.

For More:
Genesis 12:1-9 - Faithience: When Faith and Patience Collide - Audio

September 6, 2009 - Faithience: When Faith and Patience Collide

Download notes here.

The Fruit of the Spirit: Peace

After 6 weeks, we finally finished looking at the third Fruit of the Spirit: peace. Here is all of the audio, the notes, and the books recommended for the past 6 weeks. Next up: patience.

Sermons
August 2, 2009 - Psalm 23:2: Peace of Rest
August 9, 2009 - Psalm 23:3: The Peace of Restoration (notes only)
August 16, 2009 - Psalm 23:4: "The Peace of Comfort"
Sunday Night - The Agony of Job and the Sovereingnty of God
August 23, 2009 - Psalm 23:5: The Peace of the Shepherd's Sovereignty
August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6: The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence

Books:
Weekly Recommendation - "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23"
Weekly Recommendation: "Traveling Light"
Weekly Recommendation - "Restore My Soul"
Weekly Recommendation - "A Grief Observed"
Weekly Recommendation - "Finding Peace"
Weekly Recommendation - "Heaven"

For more:
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series
Basic Christianity Series Revelation Study

August 30, 2009 - Psalm 23:6: The Peace of the Shepherd's Providence

Notes

Weekly Recommendation - "Heaven"

This Sunday we will conclude our series on Psalm 23 looking at the third Fruit of the Spirit: Peace. The final verse of Psalm 23 looks at the peace of what we have to look forward to: "I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." And so I thought I would recommend a book on heaven and I can think of no better resource than Randy Alcorn's, "Heaven."

Alcorn offers perhaps the most thorough and biblical book on the issue of heaven. Although I may not agree with all of his conclusions, this is certainly an important book loaded with a lot of information that offers the hope and peace that such a topic is meant to give. I strongly encourage everyone to read it and learn from it. It is good to study what we will inherit longing that we will be with Jesus very soon. In the mean time, let us be faithful to growing the Kingdom of God for His glory.

For More:

Weekly Recommendation - "Finding Peace"

Weekly Recommendation - "A Grief Observed"

Weekly Recommendation - "Restore My Soul"

Weekly Recommendation: "Traveling Light"

Weekly Recommendation - "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23"

The Peace of Restoration

I do not have any audio, only notes. Click here for the notes.