Fruit of the Spirit Series: Gentleness
Galatians 5:22-23; Matthew 5:5
Eric Henderson, Senior Associate Pastor, erich@churchbcc.org
“You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.”
-Inigo Montoya, Princess Bride
In today’s world, being “gentle” is not something we often aspire to unless we’re holding a baby, trying to deliver some criticism, or need to fire someone without an “incident.” However, a closer look at gentleness in the Bible should have us all rushing out to get “prautés” tattooed on our forearms.
I. What is gentleness?
II. What does it look like in Jesus’ life?
III. What might it look like in your life?
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Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
Begin by reading Galatians 5:22-23 and Matthew 5:5 aloud, taking turns reading the passages.
Pray over the group before beginning discussion.
Are there groups of people in opposition to you that you find are difficult to be gentle towards?
Pastor Eric says, “Followers of Jesus should be the most unoffendable people on the planet.” How does this make you feel to hear?
Pastor Eric said, “Gentleness then, is ultimately about faith. It is about trusting God to win the battle in the end instead of going to extremes to win the battle on our own terms.” Where in your life do you see that a lack of faith is showing up as a lack of gentleness?
Pastor Eric said that gentleness is the “quality of the person whose anger is so controlled that they are always angry at the right time and never at the wrong time.” What do you think is the right time and the wrong time to be angry?
Read through our inhaling and exhaling habits in the Rule of Life. What do you need to restore and receive in order to cultivate gentleness in your life?