Fruitful
Living
Kindness
Session
5
Intro:
The importance of allowing the Bible to be the primary source that shapes our
worldview.
-
Karl Barth: “Jesus
loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
2
Passages that strike at the heart of this series:
Matthew 7: 15-20; Galatians 5: 16-26
4
point checklist:
1.
Trees and fruit are always used as
illustrations of people and their lifestyles
2.
Trees and fruit are always used to
test a person’s authenticity.
3.
Trees only bear good fruit if they
are nurtured and fed in the right way.
4.
The essential message of both
Jesus and Paul is that bad trees bear bad fruit and good trees bear good fruit.
“No
fruit, not full of God; full of fruit, full of God”.
Recap:
-
Love
(agape): sacrificial and unconditional
charity
-
Joy
(chara): gratitude and appreciation of
God irrespective of outside circumstances
-
Peace
(eirene): disposition of character
borne from a sense of deep security in Christ
-
Patience
(mathrothumia): putting up with others
when we’re tested to the extreme.
Kindness
(chrestotes): “to
treat others as God has treated you”.
1) Kindness is a natural act of a
believer who has understood and appropriated the doctrine of grace.
-
OT story of King David and Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9)
-
NT story of Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18)
2) Kindness breaks-in past people’s
defences like nothing else
ME 5/06