Giving Fruit Baskets

This message confronts us with a challenging reality: the church has struggled to return to pre-COVID levels not because of logistics, but because we received permission to prioritize comfort over community. We're exploring Galatians, a book that warns us about being lied to—not just by obvious enemies, but by well-meaning people who subtly replace grace with legalism. The heart of this teaching centers on Galatians 5:22-26, where Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the singular fruit of the Spirit. Notice it's not fruits plural, but fruit—a unified expression of love manifested as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The profound insight here is that we often use checklists to judge others rather than inviting them into God's presence with compassion. We've become experts at identifying sin in others while neglecting to embody the transformative love of Christ ourselves. As Russell Brand recently observed, the world doesn't need more people to believe in God—it needs believers to act like they actually believe. Our biggest flex should be the cross, not our religious performance. When we truly grasp that Christ completed the law and we've been transformed by His blood, we stop devouring one another and start serving through love. The challenge is clear: are we trees that produce fruit, or just beautiful plants with destructive roots underneath?