#6 in the Series: ‘Fruit of the Spirit’

How can you be JOYFUL DURING SUFFERING? Bob briefly shows us church history figures who underwent major suffering and persecution, yet had amazing joy throughout. He then reveals why they had this joy and how we can too, regardless of our own disasters, worries, or deep concerns. He refers to appropriate passages in the Bible that reveal joy during horrendous sufferings, and compares this joy with the joy we feel when lovely things happen just as a natural part of life. However, throughout the Bible there are constant references to suffering, and often accompanied by the joy of knowing God personally and trusting in him. But Bob has only selected a couple, however, reading the Bible, and chatting with others about what we each learn, is of great benefit as we grow to personally know God better.

Tacked on the end of this sermon video is a comment about our church – part of Announcements at the beginning of the church service. The thoughts on what I (this writer) sees as the greatest need for each one of us.
It is vitally important for us to reach out to others, particularly those in the community who do not yet know God, but to be more effective in this, the initial step is to grow our personal relationship with God Himself deeper than it is now. The benefits of this are great, but the value to God in his love for us is that He can be much closer to us, to guide us through all the challenges and delights that we may experience in life.