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THE FRUIT OF GENTLENESS
Fruit-Full – Part 8
Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart

November 17, 2024

#god #realspringcreekchurch #fruitfull #thefruitofgentleness #gentleness

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It’s the one fruit nobody wants. To many, gentleness just sounds like a good way to get run over. I mean, let’s face it, you don’t climb the corporate ladder of gentleness. We think gentleness just can’t cut it in the real world. But what works for God works for life and works for us. When God is looking for the ones who are manifesting His presence, He looks for this quality more than any other. Discover this Sunday why gentleness is God’s way of transforming the world.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What do you think of or envision when you hear the word gentleness? Is it a positive or negative word for you—why? Recall a time when someone else’s gentleness was a blessing to you. What happened and what difference did it make?

2. Have you ever experienced harshness? Where did it happen? Who did it involve? How did it affect you? Does it still affect you?

3. Why do we tend to equate volume, bravado and threatening language with strength?

4. Would people who know you well say that they see gentleness in you? How do you feel about what their response might be?

5. Are you judgmental or gentle toward those who sin differently than you do?

6. Are my words building up others or are they bruising their sense of worth and dignity as a people created in the image of God?

7. How do you hear this word (gentleness) differently now? What Scriptures stood out to you most today? Isaiah and Matthew used the image of Christ as one who would not break a bent reed or snuff out a flickering lamp. How does that imagery speak to you? Can you think of any New Testament examples of Christ’s gentleness with people? If so, what are they?

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THE FRUIT OF FAITHFULNESS
Fruit-Full – Part 7
Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
November 10, 2024

#realspringcreekchurch #god #fruitfull #thefruitoffaithfulness #faithfulness #faithfulhttps://www.springcreekchurch.org/

The writer of proverbs asks the question, “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” (Proverbs 20.6). Did you know there are studies that indicate we replace half of our social network over a course of seven years and that the percentage of Americans who say that they don’t have a single close friend has quadrupled since 1990? Fidelity seems to be in short supply these days. But God promises a new reality to the believer fully yielded to Him. Faithfulness is a natural outgrowth of a life yielded to the One Who keeps every promise, is there for us when everyone else walks away, and remains faithful even when we’re faithless.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever been in a relationship where trust or promises were broken? What sort of effect did that have on you? Were you ever able to rebuild trust with that person? What do you think are the necessary steps in rebuilding trust?

2. God is a promise-making, promise-keeping God. Throughout Scripture, we are not just reminded of God’s promises but also of the faithfulness of God to keep each and every one of them. What are some of the promises that you see God making and keeping in Scripture? What are some of the promises that God made to all believers that you depend on in your own walk with Christ?

3. The Bible assures us that God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him. What does that tell you about God? How is that different or the same as what you were taught in prior church experiences? Why is disappointment something foreign to God?

4. What is some small way that you demonstrate faithfulness in your daily life? Has God ever asked you to serve Him in a way that would never be noticed by others? If so, what was that? Why does God insist on fidelity in small things before trusting us with greater things?

5. Robertson McQuilken’s story of his love and fidelity to his wife with Alzheimer’s disease is a truly touching and inspirational example of heart transformed by the faithfulness of God. Why are stories like this so rare today? How does this story effect you? In what ways would you like for God to do a similar work in you?

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THE FRUIT OF GOODNESS
Fruit-Full – Part 6
Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
November 3, 2024

#god #realspringcreekchurch #fruitfull #thefruitofgoodness #goodness
https://www.springcreekchurch.org/

Goodness been called the most underrated of all the fruit of the Spirit. If you ask the average believer in which area do they most need to grow, many will say patience, self-control or even love. But goodness is hardly ever even mentioned. It seems unimportant. But what if I told you that the goodness of God is no minor league truth about God. Instead it’s literally the lens through which we see all the other attributes of God. Goodness is what you need in God to set you free and goodness is what He wants to pour through your life to transform the world.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Take some time to discuss what you learned about the word “good” and “goodness” today. What were your dominant associations with those words before hearing this message? What are they now? What qualities stood out most as it relates to the Old Testament Hebrew word (Tov) or the New Testament Greek word (Agathosune)?

2. Why is the goodness of God not a minor truth about God? How does God demonstrate His goodness to us? In what ways have you been a recipient of the goodness of God?

3. One practical suggestion to come out of today’s message was to make the phrase “God is as good as Jesus made Him out to be” a daily meditation. Since Jesus told us He was the clearest representation of God we have ever seen or known, how does that shift any misconceptions you may presently have of God? When you read the Bible, do you read through a Christo-centric filter (using Christ as the lens through which you read the rest of the Bible)? In Bible study, it is often taught that clear passages should govern our understanding of unclear passages. If Christ is the clearest representation of God we have ever had, then it is only fitting to see and understand the rest of Scripture through the lens of Christ. Have you ever tried to do this?

4. Pastor Keith clearly laid out God’s plan to support His workers through the generosity of God’s people in Scripture. In fact, goodness literally means to give generously for the good of others. One of the primary ways we do this is by supporting those who minister the Word to our souls. Do you think most people understand this aspect of giving? Why do you think people give to the church? Why has God throughout history placed His workers in a position of forced dependency on the people of God?

5. As with every fruit of the Spirit, all of them are evidence of the fullness of God’s presence in us. When God’s goodness fills our heart and overflows into our lives, people are blown away by the things they see in our life that can’t be credited to anything other than the presence of God. What do you think of the phrase, “Your life may be the only Bible some people read?” Have you ever witnessed that in someone? What were they like? What effect did it have on you? Is your life an example of something that attracts people to the family of God?