Galatians 5:16-23, John 15:9-14
April 14, 2024
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“‘Evangelion’ (that we call the gospel) is a Greek word, and signifies good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that makes a man’s heart glad, and makes him sing, dance and leap for joy.”

~ William Tyndale (1494-1536), English scholar and Bible translator

“Your choice isn’t whether to passionately seek pleasure. Trust me, you do. Your only option is where you’ll look or whom you’ll love or whose offer of pleasure you’ll accept. I hardly need remind you, or perhaps I do, that the world will do everything in its power and employ whatever means necessary and spare no expense to capture the allegiance of your heart.”

“The single most important principle I ever discovered is this: the goal or purpose of the Christian is precisely the pursuit of happiness – in God. The reason for this is that there is no greater way to glorify God than to find in Him the happiness that my soul so desperately craves.”

~ Sam Storms (1951-present), contemporary pastor and author

“The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British novelist and Christian apologist

“The reason why many poor souls have so little heat of joy in their hearts is that they have so little light of Gospel knowledge in their mind. The further a soul stands from the light of truth, the further he must be from the heat of comfort.”

“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath…”

~ William Gurnall (1616-1679), English Anglican minister and author

“When grace penetrates into the depth of an anguished soul, joy in the Lord anchors faith.”

~ Willem VanGemeren (1943-present), Dutch author & professor

Sermon Passage

Galatians 5:16-23, John 15:9-14 (ESV)

Galatians 5

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

John 15

⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.