Pastor Cana reads into Luke 17:11-19, where He meets ten lepers that He sends to the priests, but they are healed along the way. However, only the Samaritan returns to praise God’s glory and thanked Jesus. For us, Christ restores us from our uncleanliness, separation, and exile, so our response should emulate the Samaritan’s: praise amidst our gratitude.

In 1 Samuel 15:10-11 and 24-28, Saul, the king that God anointed to lead the Israelites, loses the Spirit of God for ignoring God’s commands. Saul was the perfect king by every nation’s standard, doing what kings should do, but as Pastor Cana explains, God’s favor isn’t measured by expectations, declarations, or previous presence, but by obedience to God’s Spirit. We are free from being “good Christians”! Instead, attentiveness to God’s Spirit will guide us to live our faith.

The final fruit of the Spirit that Pastor Cana presents is the fruit of self-control, as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, where his athletic metaphors apply to spiritual discipline. Prioritizing the Good News of God over ourselves teaches us self-control for our Christian witness.

We look at Revelation 7:9-17 with Pastor Cana to find that the author describes the saints that gather in God’s throne room outside of time to worship Him. God draws, unites, and shepherds all the saints together, so we rejoice by remembering the saints of past, present, and future.

John 1:1-14 gives us a poem/song reflecting on Jesus’ significance of His coming. Pastor Cana shows us in the scripture that Jesus, not the Bible, is the Word of God. With this information, we can look at all scripture texts through the interpretive lens of the Word of God.

When we look into Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 with Pastor Cana, we are left with the wisdom that God’s good gifts, the simple things, help us be freed to enjoy our lives without worrying about their impact and weight. We can give our lives less weight and make them instead more meaningful.

The author of Revelations 5 shares a vision for the Seven Churches of Asia. As Pastor Cana explains, for Revelation, God’s conquering and victory are about sacrifice, not slaughter. We are urged to worship a sacrificed Lamb as sacrificed people.

The author of Revelations 2:1-11 writes to the churches of Ephesus and Smyrna. As Pastor Cana explains, Revelation’s specific context and message to specific people can offer us similar comfort t and hope. Let us appreciate the struggles the ancient and modern churches share in common.

For this sermon, Pastor Cana takes to Proverbs 27:5-6, which advises the distinction between the harsh truths from our loved ones and the sweet lies our enemies tell us. Because God calls us to be righteous, we should be friends who receive and offer truth, even when it is painful.

The next Fruit of the Spirit in Pastor Cana’s sermon series is reflected in Proverbs 15:1, 4, and 16:24, which speaks of the consequences of righteousness and wickedness. Preparing for the fruit of gentleness in our hearts means mindfully considering our lives.