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Faithfulness means to be consistent, to say what you mean and mean what you say. A faithful person is a person who can be trusted. Faithfulness is a foundational characteristic of God. *“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”* (1 Timothy 2:13) This is where our assurance of all that we have been promised in Christ rests secure – not from our own ability to be faithful but from Jesus’ faithfulness. It is is why we can hold unswervingly to the hope we profess – *for He who promised is faithful*! (Hebrews 10:23) What Jesus promises, He fulfills, what He starts, He finishes, what He loves, He loves steadfastly, when He rescues, He rescues for good. Anytime we demonstrate faithfulness, we are showing the world what God is like. When we fail, His faithfulness remains. Oh what a Savior, isn’t he wonderful!! Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Galatians 5:22-26, 2 Timothy 2:13, Psalm 89:5, James 1:17, Hebrews 10:23, Isaiah 11:5, Jude 24-25

In my Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (copyright 1936) there is a whole paragraph defining the term ‘good’. It is a word used in a wide variety of cases. Some definitions read; “Sufficient, satisfactory, stouthearted, reliable, honest, sincere, of comparable excellence in its kind, honorable, untainted, opposed to harm, an exclamation of satisfaction” A search in the International Bible Encyclopedia also reveals a variety of definitions and uses throughout scripture. (See here and here) In the beginning God declares what He creates as ‘good’ and the creation of us (mankind) as ‘very good’ (Genesis 1). As image bearers of the Creator of the Universe, we have been named good! And also; “There is none righteous, not even one, no one does good…” (Romans 3:10-12) So what is good? What does the fruit of goodness look like? How can we understand goodness rightly and not mistake good for evil or evil for good? (Isaiah 5:20, Romans 12:9) When we say that God is good – what do we actually mean by that?  Consider the following passages as you ponder what goodness is in preparation for this week’s teaching: Genesis 1:31, Psalms 14:1, 34:8, 86:5, Isaiah 5:20, Micah 6:8, Mark 10:17-18, Luke 6:27, John 10:11, Romans 12:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 Timothy 4:4, 6:18, 1 Peter 2:1-3

It is pretty remarkable that God is kind to all. He is kind to those who love Him and kind to those who reject Him and who commit evil on this earth. *“He sends rain on the just and unjust alike”* (Matthew 5:43-47) > “Kindness will show itself in the doing of justice: that is, to treat people, whoever they are, fairly, rightly, generously—and, when necessary, mercifully and graciously. In other words, walking humbly with our God can be summed up by seeking to look on others with kindness and therefore to act in goodness toward them.” --Alistair Begg, We Will be Changed, p.66  What impact would it have in our world if Christians, like Christ, demonstrated kindness unconditionally? If instead of fixating on politics, on our personal rights and interests, on winning fights and destroying our enemies, what would happen if instead Christians pursued a lifestyle of abiding in Christ and yielding to His Spirit, allowing His work of kindness to flow in us from God and out of us toward others? May we repent of giving into our flesh and learn communion with God, walking in step with His Spirit so that the fruit of kindness can be a marker for our daily lives!  Prepare for this week’s teaching by **reading Galatians 5:22-26, Acts 14:16-18, Luke 6:27-36 with Matthew 5:43-47, and Ephesians 2:6-8**

The Greek word; "makrothumia" found in Galatians 5:22 can be translated as patience, long-suffering, or forbearance. The idea of bearing up under and of waiting. To grasp a true understanding of what this means one need only think about how the Lord has dealt with them. He is patient, and His patience means our salvation! Paul writes to Timothy; "...I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:16) We live in a very fast-paced culture which cultivates in us the opposite of patience, long-suffering, or forbearance. We want instant results, instant gratification, instant comforts. As we abide in Christ and yeild to His Spirit, He grows our ability to wait, to trust, to endure, and to be patient. > We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have **great endurance and patience**, ---Colossians 1:9-11 Prepare for this week’s teaching by **reading Galatians 5:22-26, Colossians 1:9-14, 1 Timothy 1:15-17, Romans 2:4, 1 Peter 3:9-15**

In this world of trouble, Jesus has instructed us to take heart and let His peace rule our hearts and our minds. His peace is nothing like what can be found in this world - and just as we are lerning with the fruit of love and joy, true peace is found only in Jesus. As we abide and yeild, the Holy Spirit gives us His peace. (see Romans 8:6) Prepare for this week’s teaching by **reading Galatians 5:22-26**

“Believers are not dependent upon circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have, but from what they are; not from where they are, but from whose they are; not from what they enjoy, but from that which was suffered for them by their Lord.” – Charles Spurgeon Our joy’s foundation is God Himself and can be found as a result of experiencing His grace.  Jesus promises in John 16 that there is a joy that cannot be taken, He prays that we may have the full measure of His joy within us (John 17). Psalms 16:8-11 speaks of a Joy that comes from the presence of God.  While we may not feel God’s presence or experience the full measure of Jesus’ joy, we can, whatever the circumstances, dwell on the reality that Jesus has come, that He has brought God’s presence near through His death, resurrection, and gift of the Holy Spirit. Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Galatians 5:22-26 with John 16-17 and Psalm 16

We use the word ‘love’ in many contexts, so what is an accurate, biblical definition of love? We are commanded to love our enemies and that love must be sincere (Matt 5, Romans 12). Practically, what does this look like? As we learned last week, in order to bear any fruit we must abide and keep in step with the Spirit. It can also be helpful to think about what love is not alongside learning about what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 5:8 are a great place to start in seeking to understand love. Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Galatians 5:22-26 with 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 5:8

We are beginning a new sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit; > But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is not law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. --Galatians 5:22-26 Prepare for this week’s teaching by **reading Galatians 5** to more fully understand the context for Paul's instructions about the way the Holy Spirit bears fruit in the life of a Christian.

The 3 verses in Psalm 131 are poignant and profound in their meaning, revealing the means of calming and quieting ones soul through a childlike trust in the Lord. Maintaining a childlike trust is not an easy thing to do – for there are so very many things within sight to cause us to question God’s goodness, His care, His power and His presence. While Jesus walked this earth, He instructed His disciples that they needed to change their thinking and become like children; to be trusting, humble, and forgiving. (see Matthew 18:2-4) While this requires repentance and trust – it truly does encapsulate the glory of a rested soul. Let us take our restlessness, discouragement, fears and distresses to our Father, placing the full weight of our hope in Him who alone is strong enough for all that we carry. --------- To help us keep God’s word planted deep into our hearts we encourage you to memorize a Psalm over the Summer. (The children in Grace Airways will be memorizing all of Psalm 23. We are confident that by hiding God's word in your heart in this way will bear fruit that will last all throughout your life. If you have not yet memorized a psalm this summer, 131 would be a good one to attempt as a culmination of all the ground we have covered through the various psalms we have studied. And it is only 3 verses! --------- Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 131

Disorder, turmoil, disarray, and chaos cease under the authority and command of God. We see this iIn the beginning of time when God creates order within the heavens and earth (Genesis 1). We see this In the midst of stormy seas when Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, commanding them to be still. (Mark 4:35-41). Psalm 46 expresses this overarching truth of God’s power and glory through descriptive imagery and real world examples. Our God is a well proved help in times of trouble. He is mighty and impenetrable. At the uttering of His voice, the earth melts. This is why we can find refuge in Him. As we grow in recognizing and understanding the power, authority and command of God in the midst of our turmoil our worship of God will deepen. Let us direct this psalm to our doubts and our fear. The Lord of Hosts is truly with us. He does in fact love us. Jesus has proven this to be true. --------- To help us keep God’s word planted deep into our hearts we encourage you to memorize a Psalm over the Summer. (The children in Grace Airways will be memorizing all of Psalm 23. We are confident that by hiding God's word in your heart in this way will bear fruit that will last all throughout your life. Every summer in Grace Airways the children memorize a psalm. Click here for a video from 4 years ago when they memorized Psalm 46!! --------- Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading psalm 46

If one were to use their best Jack Nicholson voice and declare; “You can’t handle the truth!”, those of us who have seen the movie would have a depth of knowledge to pull from in that conversation.  There are phrases in this psalm that are like that – those who have read and understood the corresponding scriptures have a depth of knowledge to pull from in their understanding of these poetic and prophetic words of David.  Hebrews 7 gives us insight into Genesis 14 and how Psalm 110:4’s statement “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” relates to Jesus. Additional insights from the New testament can be found in Matt 26:64; Acts 2:34; 1 Cor 15:25, Col 3:1, Heb 12:2, Rom 11:26-27; Heb 5:10. The point of it all is that Psalm 110 is all about Jesus! Jesus as Messiah, Jesus as King, and Jesus as Priest.  Let us sit in awe at the character of our God who has given us His word so that we can know Him. He has crafted scripture in a magnificent and beautiful way and revealed so much about Himself within its pages. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever – all for the praise honor and glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! --------- To help us keep God’s word planted deep into our hearts we encourage you to memorize a Psalm over the Summer. (The children in Grace Airways will be memorizing all of Psalm 23. We are confident that by hiding God's word in your heart in this way will bear fruit that will last all throughout your life. --------- Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading psalm 110

Psalm 136 is bookended with the exhortation; “give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy and steadfast love endure forever.” In our attention deficient culture the repetition of this psalm requires intentional focus so as not to tune out or skim over one of the most important statements in all of scripture. The mercy and steadfast love of God endures forever!    - His love and His mercy *endures* – it bears up, sustains, holds up under.  - His love and His mercy are *steadfast* – fixed, firm, resolute, unwavering.  - His mercy and steadfast love endure *forever* – it remains the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and for all of time. As the psalmist rehearses the God of creation and His redemptive activity upon this earth so we too can rehearse the magnitude of the God we worship and the redemptive activity He has worked on our behalf.   As the psalmist rehearses the God of creation and His redemptive activity upon this earth so we too can rehearse the magnitude of the God we worship and the redemptive activity He has worked on our behalf.  “After I die I will have no more chances, to love You from impossible circumstances so even if all of my prayers go unanswered thank You for all of these days. I praise You, praise You, praise You, God. ” - Andy Squyres --------- To help us keep God’s word planted deep into our hearts we encourage you to memorize a Psalm over the Summer. (The children in Grace Airways will be memorizing all of Psalm 23. We are confident that by hiding God's word in your heart in this way will bear fruit that will last all throughout your life. --------- Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading psalm 136

Do you have a favorite brand?  We all have a favorite brand in some aspect of our lives. This is a brand that we don’t have to think about. If given the option, the default choice is this brand.  What would it take for you to convert to another brand?  Not just try it once or twice, but fully convert to another brand, making it your favorite. This new brand has become your default. You no longer buy the previous brand, and are even encouraging others to switch to the new brand.  We are wired to prefer the familiar, from a favorite type of coffee to a favorite seat. Because we don’t like change, it takes a lot to fully convert to something different.  In Psalm 34, David is challenging us to consider converting to fully following God. This is more than just an intellectual ascent to historical events, but a full commitment to knowing and following God as the chief goal in life. Just like David, we can realize who God is and commit to becoming people after His heart.  Prepare for this week’s teaching by reading Psalm 34