Sowing to the Spirit

In one paragraph

This message worked through Galatians 5, finishing the list of works of the flesh and moving into the fruit of the Spirit. Pastor Carl was away, and the regular preacher addressed the congregation the weekend after the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision, connecting that moment directly to what the text already said. The service opened with two baby dedications, for Everett James Landis and...

Read together

1. Psalm 100:1-2 read as a call to worship at the opening of the service
2. Psalm 8 read as a song lyric about God's majesty and humanity's place in creation
3. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 read during Everett James Landis's baby dedication
4. Proverbs 22:6 read during Annie Marie Graham's baby dedication about training children in the right way
5. Galatians 5:19-21 the main passage, listing the works of the flesh and the warning that those who practice them will not inherit the kingdom of God
6. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 cited alongside Galatians 5 as a parallel list of vices including sexual immorality, homosexual activity, idolatry, thievery, greed, drunkenness, and reviling
7. Galatians 2:20 quoted to show Paul applying the crucified-with-Christ principle to himself
8. Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit listed as the counterpart to the works of the flesh
9. Galatians 5:25-26 if we live by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit and do not become conceited
10. Galatians 6:1-8 covering restoration of a brother caught in transgression, bearing one another's burdens, testing one's own work, and the sowing and reaping principle
11. Ephesians 3:17-19 used as the benediction, praying that Christ dwell in hearts and believers be filled with the fullness of God

Talk about it

1. The preacher described his father standing firm on the fire department's bylaws even when it made him look like he didn't love his cousin Lynn. Have you ever been in a situation where doing the right thing made you look unloving to the people around you? What happened?
2. The sermon listed works of the flesh from Galatians and several other New Testament passages, then asked whether anyone in the room could honestly say they had done none of those things. What does it do to you personally when you see your own struggles sitting in the same list as sins you might be tempted to judge in others?
3. The preacher drew a distinction between Church Street and State Street, arguing that the church's job is to speak to what is moral even when it does not line up with what is legal. Where do you find that distinction hardest to hold in your own life and conversations?
4. The weight-chart illustration showed how easy it is to hit a goal, stop paying attention, and drift far from where you started. Where in your walk with God do you recognize that same pattern, and what does it look like for you to start fresh from an honest self-evaluation?
5. The sermon closed with a kind of declaration, saying that love, joy, peace, patience and the other fruit of the Spirit are not dependent on any human institution but on the Holy Spirit. How does that change the way you think about responding to circumstances or news that troubles you?