Josh Benner

Tag: joy

  • Sermon: Life in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16-25

    We often reduce the Christian life to a list of rules. Do’s and don’ts. But in Galatians 5, Paul calls upon Christians to walk and live by the Spirit and talks of the fruits of that Spiritual life. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are not commands here. They’re the byproduct…

  • Saturday Night Live sketch uses humor to tackle issues of meaning

    A recent Saturday Night Live sketch featured SNL alum Adam Sandler as the host of a fake tour company. The premise of the parody commercial is explaining what his Italian tour company can (and cannot) do for customers. If a person is unhappy in America, they will be the same unhappy person in Italy. “You’re…

  • The lost art of lament

    Lament is a topic that is often overlooked in American churches (especially in predominately caucasian churches). Lament is very common in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. We see it as a theme throughout the prophetic books, and the Bible has more books on prophecy than in any other genre. We see it in…

  • The fruit of the Spirit – something we can’t produce

    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. -Galatians 5:22-23 In the Book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit. It’s a section that fascinates me. Because the fruit is produced by the Holy Spirit in…

  • Difficulties as seasons for joy

    In his book “Above the Line,” Ohio State’s football coach Urban Meyer talks about his coaching philosophy. One of the things Meyer talks about in his book is what he calls “the R factor.” And by the R factor, Meyer is talking about the Response Factor. In the book, Meyer says: “We don’t control the events in…