Advent Week 2 Recap

Peace & Goodness

Saturday has come again. Today ends the second week of Advent. We spent three days each on two of the fruit of the Spirit: Peace & Goodness. Below are all the posts to review and catch up if you missed any or want to dig deeper on one of them. Also, the song I recorded for “goodness” just dropped and the link is below. If nothing else, read again our passage from Galatians, included in full at the end of this post.

Tomorrow is the third Sunday of Advent.
We’ll begin with the fruit of Joy,
which is the traditional theme for this Sunday,
and then on Wednesday dig into Kindness.

Peace

More than a Ceasefire - Jesus gives peace not as escape from conflict, but as presence within it, by the Spirit.

God’s Children - Peacemaking is not maintenance or avoidance, but active participation in God’s work of shalom.

The Spirit’s Breath - The risen Christ breathes peace into fearful people and sends them to carry it into the world.

Here is the song I shared to convey Peace:

Goodness

Intrinsic Moral Essence - Goodness is not merely behavior, but an inner reality shaped by the Spirit that produces fruit.

Heart Transformation - The rich ruler shows how outward obedience can mask a heart still unwilling to be transformed.

The Soul Feels Its Worth - The widow’s offering reveals that true goodness is measured by trust, not amount, and seen by Jesus.

And introducing the song I recorded for Goodness:

Galatians 5:13-26

You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!

I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. A person’s selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one’s selfish desires. They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do. But if you are being led by the Spirit, you aren’t under the Law. The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the self with its passions and its desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit. Let’s not become arrogant, make each other angry, or be jealous of each other.