Where does Spirit’s Fruit fit in?
The Spirit’s Fruit collection was the second set of books Ascending Leaders published for small group use, after Christ Habits, but we recommend you start with these as soon as you’ve gone through Your Pathways and before you dive into the spiritual disciplines found in Christ Habits.
There are nine books in this collection, and we suggest you use them in the following order:
- Fruitful Living
- Thriving Love
- Giving Forgiveness
- Living Joy
- Practicing Peace
- Choosing Patience (Gentleness and Humility)
- Nurturing Goodness (Kindness, Generosity and Compassion)
- Fulfilling Faithfulness
- Satisfying Self-Control
Each book has six sessions for your small group. In general, each session is divided into three unique learning experiences.
- Personal preparation: Each participant should read the session material and do the short exercise at the end of the reading. If you are ever short on time, you will be better served if you skim the reading and do the exercise, than if you skip the experience of the exercise.
- Small-group discussion: The group discussion questions follow the exercise page for each session. You are NOT expected to have answers for these questions before you meet. Join in the discussion and share your thoughts and insights.
- Hiking Partners: The last question on the group discussion page can be most effective in smaller sub-groups of 3-4 people, which we call “hiking partners.” This is a time to step out and apply the principles from the session. If it is feasible to keep the same “hiking partners” each week, the encouragement experience is even stronger.
Our desire is that this is not simply a learning experience, but an opportunity for the Spirit of God to work in our hearts to make our natural behaviors be more like Jesus.
Becoming like Jesus is what the Christian walk is all about. And becoming like Jesus requires us to change how we live, think, talk and love. And this is where the Spirit’s Fruit collection is so meaningful: It challenges us to not only discover the truth about who we really are, but it takes us on a “journey of sanctification.” It helps us cultivate the Spirit’s fruit in every part of our being. It is my privilege, therefore, to commend this resource to all readers.
Look Inside
Once you’ve completed the Spirit’s Fruit studies, you’ll be ready for Christ Habits! Stay tuned for more information next week…