Check In

  1. Share your name and a little of your story: where you call home, and what first brought you to Golden City.
  2. Think of someone whose love has shaped your life: a parent, a friend, a coach, a neighbor. What made their love different?

This Week's Message

Sunday began our series on the fruit of the Spirit with a simple question: what is my life producing? The apostle Paul calls it the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of the Christian. It isn't something we manufacture by willpower; it grows as we remain connected to Jesus, the vine (John 15). Jesus doesn't say "try harder." He says "remain." The first fruit Paul names is love, and the message traced four movements. Love starts inside: we don't produce fruit so God will love us; we produce it because he already has, and like a sponge, we can't pour out what we've never received. Love moves from head to heart: knowing what is right doesn't give us the power to live it, but the Spirit strengthens us from within (Ephesians 3:16–19). Love takes action: fruit is never for the tree but for others to taste. And love does what Jesus did. The woman in Luke 7, forgiven much, loved much, pouring out costly perfume, while Jesus poured out his life on the cross for her, and for us.

Read Together

Galatians 5:22–23 and John 15:4–5

Discuss

  1. What stands out to you in these two passages?
  2. In John 15, Jesus doesn't tell his disciples to try harder; he tells them to remain in him. What's the difference in everyday life, and what helps you stay connected to him?
  3. Love is the first fruit Paul names, and it starts with receiving God's love before we give it. How does knowing you are already loved by God in Christ change the way you love people, especially those who are hard to love?
  4. Fruit isn't for the tree; it's for others to taste. Who in your week could use love that shows up in action, and what might get in the way?

Pray

Thank God that his love comes first. Ask the Spirit to root you more deeply in Christ's love this week, and pray for one another, especially for anyone finding it hard right now to receive love or to give it.

Use what serves your group; you don't need to get through every question.