You Can't Do It Alone

In this message, Pastor Julie continued our series on the Holy Spirit by teaching about the fruit of the Spirit — and how the key to a fruitful life is not striving, but abiding. Use this guide to keep talking about the kind of fruit you’re growing and the Spirit-filled life you’re cultivating.  

SERMON HIGHLIGHTS

• The Holy Spirit is not a force to be wielded, but a Person to be known. 
• Fruit doesn’t come from trying harder and harder — it comes from knowing the Holy Spirit better and better. 
• Connection precedes production.
• You can’t manufacture fruit; fruit must be grown. 
• Even when pruning feels painful, it’s not punishment. 
• God cares about your character more than your comfort.

KEY TERMS

• Ruach: God’s breath gave life to humanity
• Remain (meno): live with; take up residence

KEY SCRIPTURES

• Genesis 1:2
• Exodus 13:21
• Leviticus 6:12, 9:24
• Matthew 3:16
• Acts 2:3
• John 15:2,4-5,8
• Galatians 5:22-23
• Romans 8:28

START TALKING 

• What’s your favorite fruit—and what does that say about you? 

KEEP TALKING

• Read Galatians 5:22–23. What fruit do you feel God producing in you right now? 
  • Which fruit feels underdeveloped in your life? 
• Jesus said in John 15:4, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” Where do you struggle most with remaining—in prayer, in Scripture, or in community?
• Think about a time when you experienced God’s pruning—when something was taken away, shifted, or refined. How did that experience grow your character or draw you closer to God?
• What’s one thing that may be hindering the Holy Spirit’s work in your life—and what would it look like to surrender it this week?

KEEP IT GOING

• There are many misconceptions about the Holy Spirit, but rest assured, He’s not a force or a mystical being; He’s a person. And like God the Father and God the Son, you can have a relationship with Him and know Him personally. Check out this resource to learn more about being filled with the Spirit.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, we’re so grateful you would make us your dwelling place. Please take up residence in our hearts. Prune us so you can transform us from the inside out. We want to look more like you. Amen.