St Mary's Church, Dymock
925th anniversary Year
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| Fruits of the Spirit |
| Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 | |||
| When he was drawing to the end of his life as a human here on earth, Jesus told his followers that he would shortly return to heaven, but that he would send us the Holy Spirit
(sometimes referred to as the Counsellor or the Comforter) (John 16:7).
But what is the result of this Spirit - what are 'The Fruits of the Spirit' that Jesus sends us and which, as Christians, we all receive?
Our Lent course is considering the 'Fruits of the Spirit' and is being shared by both our United Benefice and Western Way Free Chapel - it's led by the Rev'd Allan Kemp, a retired priest who now lives in Newent. The format is a Bible Reading on the topic for that week, a short talk given by Allan based on the reading, followed by dividing up into groups of 6 with each group discussing two questions related to the theme, taken from a longer list of questions, then coming back together again to share the results of the group discussions. (Return to top) |
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| Week 1 - Love | |||
Allan suggested that we need to know what love is if we are going to recognise it. He answered this by reading from Paul's first letter to the people of Corinth (1 Corinthians 13:1-8) which describes the properties of love. He suggested that it can also be helpful to read this passage by substituting the word 'Jesus' for the word 'love'. (Return to top) Talk: You look into a mirror to adjust what you look like and you look into the Word of God to do the same. Loving someone is not the same as liking them - "Love your neighbour" doesn't mean you have to like them, but you must show respect for them and apply Christian principals to everyone, even if they reject you. Love feels no burden, attempts what is beyond its strength, and thinks all things are possible. Don't be afraid of ridicule or negative response, do it anyway. (Return to top) You can't help those who don't want to be helped but that shouldn't stop you offering. Love is always within our reach but we have to open the door. Allan referred to the famous picture by Holman Hunt (shown alongside) where Jesus is knocking on the door, but notice, the doorknob is on the other side, he knocks - but we have to open it to him. He holds a lantern, which matches his title as "The Light of the World". (Return to top) Love is the most powerful thing on earth. A reverence for the 'Love of God' produces a reverence in us to love others. How much of this love can we find in ourselves? Unless we're honest it's pointless. (Return to top) |
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| Discussion Questions | |||
| 1 | Have you ever felt grateful to God? If so, what for? If not, can you think of any reason why you should? | ||
| 2 | Do you find it possible to love someone you dislike? If not, can you think of any reason why you should? | ||
| 3 | If any person's views conflict with yours what is your usual reaction - tolerant, indifferent, animosity, concern for their welfare? | ||
| 4 | How do you (privately) rate other people? Someone for whom Christ died, a potential friend, or a blot? | ||
| 5 | Who is your neighbour? (Lk 10:29); ie: someone who for God's sake you are personally concerned about. If on-one, what do you want to do about it? | ||
| 6 | God's love makes life more precious. How does life appear to you: as a bore, a predicament, a gift? | ||
| 7 | 1 Cor 13:1-3 places high value on love expressed by action. If this seems remote to our daily life, what do you suppose is the reason? (Return to top) | ||
| Week 2 - Joy | |||
Talk: As 'Love' isn't the same as good nature, so 'joy' isn't the same as jollity. Both love and joy are qualities that come from God. The Christian faith isn't about jollity, it's about joy. Happiness is affected by external circumstances, joy is about an inner belief and tranquility of life. You can be well and wealthy - but miserable, or we can be ill and poor - yet have the 'Joy of the Lord'. The opposite of joy isn't gloom, but disillusionment. (Return to top) Allan asked us to think of times in our life that have disillusioned us, and how we felt. Many today cling to what they possess and in so doing lose their prospective on life. If you're left without God, what have you got? If you have God in your life, death is not the ultimate calamity. It any situation it can often be more challenging to be loving than legalistically obeying the Law. Christian Joy is our response to God's action in Jesus Christ, but how do we take that from theory into practice? It involves our whole life and not just part of it, we can't be selective. With the Lord it's all or nothing. (Return to top) To enjoy Christian joy we need to hold fast to the knowledge that we're not alone, God's plans for us are good and are succeeding. We sometimes forget this, eg: in times of hardship, when joy can slip. (Return to top) |
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| Discussion Questions | |||
| 1 | In your own life, can you distinguish between joy and happiness? | ||
| 2 | How much does your happiness depend on externals such as health, prosperity, human relationships? | ||
| 3 | If you had everything externally that seems to make life worth living taken away from you, would you have anything left? | ||
| 4 | If death is the ultimate calamity, is the greatest thing to stay alive for as long as possible? | ||
| 5 | Evelyn Underhill said "This is the secret of joy - we shall no longer strive for our own way; but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God's way, acquiesce in his will and in so doing find our peace." Is this a possibility for you? | ||
| 6 | The best of all is 'God with us' (Emmanuel). How aware are you of this in your life? (Return to top) |
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| Week 3 - Peace | |||
Talk: Peace in our society today is often defined as "where there is no armed conflict" but, Allan suggested, that's a limited definition, you need to consider peace of heart and mind too. He said we do have peace through Jesus Christ - but are we aware of it? We may be surrounded by (external) conflict but we can have internal peace. (Return to top) In the church, we tend to avoid conflict, but it's sometimes necessary. However, 'Conflict Management' only works through the action of the Holy Spirit. References to peace in the Bible and the Gospel are usually to this inner peace. In John 14:27 Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you" - the Disciples weren't to be left alone and neither are we. In John 20:21when the Disciples were gathered in a room after Jesus' death because they were in fear of the Jewish authorities, Jesus appeared and immediately calmed them with his greeting "Peace be with you..." and with that he breathed on them and said ."Receive the Holy Spirit" (which is sometimes referred to as 'The Comforter'), and in Romans 15:13 Saint Paul says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace". (Return to top) Modern life puts us under pressure to be 'successful', to grow and to achieve. We need to learn how to put that aside and accept God's peace "that passes all understanding" (Phil 4:7). Allan suggested that by writing down what's important to us under the heading "how competitive am I" can help us to see where we're striving to achieve earthly success which is getting in the way of accepting God's inner peace. Peace can flourish in times of (earthly) conflict because it's not dependent on external circumstances but on God, who is always there and who is always consistent. Jesus said "Blessed are the peace-makers" (Mt 5:9) not the peace-lovers because peace is costly (James 3:16-18). (Return to top) |
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| Discussion Questions | |||
| 1 | Inner peace comes through trust in God. In what ways do you find such trust brings you peace? | ||
| 2 | Do you battle with life or live it contentedly? | ||
| 3 | In the eternal scale of things, are your present concerns (ambitions or aspirations) worthwhile? | ||
| 4 | What prevents you from getting rid of the chief obstacles to peace in your life? | ||
| 5 | Does suffering and evil in the world shake your confidence in God? | ||
| 6 | 'Not my will but your will be done. ' - Are you a peacemaker or peace-lover? (Return to top) | ||
| Week 4 - Faithfulness | |||
Talk: Do we use the gifts God's given us to help build his kingdom here on earth, or do we just pay lip service to God and do nothing much with his gifts? Will we have anything more to offer when Jesus returns? Faithfulness, though less glamorous than heroism, is called on more frequently. Allan spoke of Luke 10:38-42 where Mary and Martha entertained Jesus in their home. Mary sat and listened as Jesus taught but Martha was busy with the housework and complained that Mary wasn't helping. Jesus said Mary had the right approach, but we shouldn't be so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly use. (Return to top) We need to keep close to God - to be faithful - in order to be able to 'love' the community better. God calls us, we have a vocation from him, but also a vocation in our everyday life. Our work is also a vocation, a calling. Someone once said they were "Just a student nurse", they were told, "Say your a student nurse, not just a student nurse." Brother Roger who founded the Taize community in France prayed by himself three times a day for three years. Gradually others joined him and it's now a large and faithful community with a world-wide following. Brother Roger is a good modern example of remaining faithful to God and using his God-given gifts in the community. (Return to top) |
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| Discussion Questions | |||
| 1 | (Matthew 26:69-75) In the courtyard , Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus. How do you answer a challenge that you are Jesus' disciple? | ||
| 2 | (Matthew 25:14-30) Having done their utmost to look after their master's interests, two servants are praised for their use of their talents. A Third servant is condemned for not trying. Realising that we shall be called to give an account of what we've done, what puts us off trying? | ||
| 3 | Do you regard the work you do as a job, or as a vocation to which God has called you? | ||
| 4 | What opportunities present themselves in your daily tasks to witness to God? | ||
| 5 | What encouragement can you offer to others regarding regularly praying, reading the Bible, and being quiet before God? | ||
| 6 | Can you recall any times when you have suffered as a consequence of your faith? (Return to top) | ||
| Week 5 - Self-Control | |||
Talk: Allan quoted Saint Augustine, "If you're free from the lower things, then you'll find your security in God." After all, climbing mount Everest takes a lot of effort and discipline but the exhilaration on succeeding is great. God created us with beautiful bodies, but we need to keep them under control to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. Allan spoke at some length about controlling and disciplining our body, quoting especially 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, train with the focus of an athlete to win the race, disciplining your body to make it your slave rather than the other way round - you should not be the slave of your body. (Return to top) He also referred to James 1:26-27, "keep control of your tongue", and to Paul again: 1 Corinthians 10:23, "Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial". Don't compare yourself against others but against Christ, do everything so it's acceptable to Christ. A baby survives by being self-centred but as members of society we need to learn discipline. A final quote from James and Paul - James 3:2, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault... he is a perfect man" and Galatians 5:16 "Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Return to top) |
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| Discussion Questions | |||
| 1 | Do you think it matters if you control your body or your body controls you? | ||
| 2 | Does our spiritual well-being depend on our physical comfort? | ||
| 3 | What steps can we take to overcome our own special temptations? | ||
| 4 | How hard is it to control our tongue? | ||
| 5 | An athlete trains for a race. Can you suggest firm and disciplined guidelines which will help us in God's service? | ||
| 6 | How good are we at keeping to a disciplined regime in order to be effective for God? (Return to top) | ||
