Galatians 5:22-23But the fruit of the Spirit is L---, J--, P----, patience, K-------, G-----, F------------, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23But the fruit of the Spirit is...

Against such things there is no law.

The Fruit of the Spirit: FaithfulnessJames 2:14-24

Lord, please help me to be the person my dog thinks I am.

Why do we love our pets so much?They are loyal and trustworthy

In scripture faithfulness to God is the first priority

One GodOne love

One loyalty

Our faith history from its inception is unique in its

requirement to love God aloneEven now many believe if one

god is good, then ten gods must be better

And while logic may be on your side…Try and sell that to your spouse or partner

Some things can be sharedBut some things are so intimate that they

require a high level of loyalty

A true and deep relationship with God requires a certain level of intimacy,

faithfulness, loyalty and trustWe all value faithfulness…

MarriageFamily

FriendshipWork

The second call to faithfulness is to each other

We are faithful to God firstWe are faithful to each other out of

respect for God and one anotherMarriage

Baby dedications

James 214 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Faith, James tells us, should be visibleIt must have action

It needs to be evident in our lives

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Faith without action is talkIf you believe, you live your life based on

you belief system“Put your money where your mouth is”Knowing there is a God and believing in God are two completely different things

Our relationship with God needs to connect us to our relationship with

others and with our world; our surroundings

Our faith in God is lived out visibly in service and in relationships

Our faith in God in made visible in…Our churches

Our families and how we treat themOur work ethic

Even in keeping our word to ourselves

Keeping our own promisesCompleting what we set out to do

DietExercise

EducationPlans

Our loyalty to God should spill into every avenue of our lives

Whether we know it or not we value faithfulness

CarJob

Relationship

Proverbs 206Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?

God requires…Our faithfulness to him

We be faithful to each otherWe be faithful to ourselves

Faithfulness is…A wonderful and priceless gift we give to our Lord, each other and ourselves