Developing Christian Self-Control

Last updated on: July 26, 2020 at 8:29 pm By Jim Erwin

Developing Christian Self-Control Galatians 5:22-23 Developing Christian Self-Control is the final sermon in the sermon series on Developing Christian character. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22–23, CSB) Developing Christian Self-Control brings victory John Maxwell, in his book Developing The Leader Within You, says that “The first victory that successful people ever achieve or win, is the victory over themselves.” The... Read more

What Christian Growth Looks Like

Last updated on: May 18, 2020 at 2:12 pm By Jim Erwin

What Christian Growth Looks Like Philippians 1:9-11 When you look at a person, you can estimate the biological age. A baby crawls and cries dada, mama, gaga, googoo. A child walks and speaks innocently. A teenager has grown in height and with more vocabulary and slang. An adult is fully formed. As an adult age, there are other characteristics that show their age. The hair grows a different color or falls out. Wrinkles and age spots develop. Eyesight diminishes and... Read more

Developing Christian Gentleness

Last updated on: May 13, 2020 at 9:21 pm By Jim Erwin

How to Be GENTLE Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22–23, CSB) According to Bill Farmer’s newspaper column, J. Upton Dickson was a fun-loving fellow who said he was writing a book entitled Cower Power. He also founded a group of submissive people. It was called DOORMATS. That stands for “Dependent Organization of Really Meek And Timid Souls—if there... Read more

Developing Christian Faithfulness

Last updated on: April 17, 2020 at 6:24 pm By Jim Erwin

Developing Christian Faithfulness Psalm 105:1-6 Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22–23, CSB) Have you ever stopped to thank someone for what they have done for you? We do it many times with people we care about. Perhaps someone came to fix something in the house. A friend came and watched your dog while you were gone. Someone who... Read more

Developing Christian Goodness

Last updated on: April 9, 2020 at 8:05 pm By Jim Erwin

Developing Christian Goodness Galatians 5:22-23 Mark 10:17-22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” (Galatians 5:22–23, CSB) As we continue in our study of the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, we come to the fruit of goodness. Remember that the love of God brings the joy of God that leads to the peace of God that builds in us the patience... Read more

How to Keep the Church Focused On Its Mission

Last updated on: March 15, 2020 at 10:20 pm By Jim Erwin

How to Keep the Church Focused On Its Mission 2 John 7-13 In the video illustration, the people were playing the basketball game. The focus of the people was so much on the game that they never noticed the moonwalking bear. The announcer did a great mind trick on you by making you pay attention to what he wanted you to see first, then changing your perspective to see what you didn’t notice before. John warns about this in the... Read more

How to Grow a Balanced Christian Life

Last updated on: February 28, 2020 at 12:36 pm By Jim Erwin

How to Grow a Balanced Christian Life 2 John 1-6 Truth does not need updating. There is a story of a man who came to his old friend, a music teacher, and said to him, “What’s the good news today?” The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room, picked up a hammer, and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded out through the room, he said, “That is A. It is today; it... Read more

Working Together to Accomplish the Mission of the Church

Last updated on: February 28, 2020 at 12:36 pm By Jim Erwin

Working Together to Accomplish the Mission of the Church Isaiah 42:1-9 This week, you might have heard that a logo for the United States Space Force was released. The mission of the Space Force is “a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force.”1 Long before there was a Space Force, there was the Space Shuttle. I grew up in... Read more

Growing Closer to God Through the Storms of Life

Last updated on: January 20, 2020 at 1:38 pm By Jim Erwin

Growing Closer to God Through the Storms of Life Psalm 29:1-11 We encountered a storm this weekend. Storms are common here in the Ozarks. I grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast. The kind of storms that you encounter there are not the same that you encounter here in the winter. The sounds of the storm late Friday night were very unique. This psalm describe the power of a storm. But more than the power of the storm, there is... Read more

How to Start Off on the Right Foot with God This Year

Last updated on: January 19, 2020 at 9:21 pm By Jim Erwin

Start Off On the Right Foot With God This Year 1 Kings 3:1-15 We start a new year, and many people take this time to make new starts. Some may go on after-Christmas diets. Others may make new resolutions or plans. Here, we see Solomon making a similar new start. Solomon has been coronated as the new king. One might think that Solomon has made some missteps. We see that he has married the daughter of the Pharaoh or king... Read more