Partnership Sunday | February 8, 2026

Galatians 5 is presented as the foundation for a life of Christian service: freedom in Christ is not an invitation to self-indulgence but a summons to humble love for others. The long partnership between school and church is celebrated as a stewardship that meets both educational and spiritual needs, handed down through prayer, sacrifice, and faithful work. Sin is diagnosed not merely as obvious moral failures but as the everyday distortions of good desires—where legitimate appetites become idols, power becomes entitlement, and shortcuts promise position at the cost of obedience. Turning to Matthew 4, three patterns of temptation are sketched—pleasure, power, and position—each answered by Scripture and submission to God’s word.

The contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit is sharpened: lists of destructive behaviors serve less as a checklist and more as a mirror for self-examination, while the Spirit’s fruit—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—marks the character of those abiding in Christ. True service, therefore, is both outward activity and inward formation; educational institutions and churches exist to shape students and teachers into bearers of Christlike virtues so that actions naturally flow from transformed hearts. Practical implications are drawn for teachers, administrators, parents, and students: service in paid work or volunteer roles is worship when it proceeds from humility and Christlike motives, not from the desire for recognition or control.

Prayer is invoked as the engine of transformation—confession, dependence, and the Spirit’s work lead to freedom from particular sins and to a life increasingly conformed to Jesus. The closing benediction presses a hope that God will fill the community with joy and peace, producing overflow by the power of the Spirit so that service becomes the means by which the gospel reaches families, neighborhoods, and the wider city.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Freedom demands humble, loving service Freedom in Christ is never neutral; it reorients liberty toward sacrificial love for the neighbor, making service the visible expression of spiritual freedom. When freedom is untethered from love, it becomes license; when rooted in Christ, it becomes stewardship. This redefinition calls for constant self-examination: is liberty serving others or self? [74:17]
• 2. Sin turns good gifts into gods Desires that God created—hunger, ambition, affection—become idols when they are elevated above obedience to God and care for others. The danger lies not only in gross sins but in the quiet elevation of legitimate goods into ultimate ends. Spiritual maturity names the idol and returns the good to its rightful place under God’s lordship. [83:06]
• 3. Identify temptation: pleasure, power, position Temptation often follows recognisable patterns: appetite seeks control, sight craves privilege, and persuasion offers shortcuts to position. Recognising these categories helps disclose the heart’s deeper hunger—security, significance, or instant gratification—so Scripture can be applied precisely. Vigilance and Scripture-shaped responses break the cycles that lead to moral collapse. [80:41]
• 4. Fruit of the Spirit reshapes actions The Spirit’s fruit is not a list of ideals to perform but the natural byproduct of union with Christ; as the vine produces grapes, the Spirit produces Christlike character. Growth is communal and formative—teachers, students, and families participate in shaping one another toward gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. The aim is not moralism but formed hearts that serve without seeking reward. [79:28]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:55] - Heritage of Partnership
• [66:36] - Prayer for School Community
• [72:47] - Theme: Serving Hearts, Serving Hands
• [74:17] - Freedom, Love, and Neighbor
• [79:08] - Flesh versus Fruit of the Spirit
• [81:00] - Temptation: Matthew 4 Overview
• [86:55] - School and Discipleship Role
• [91:35] - Closing Prayer and Benediction

Bible reading
Galatians 5:13-26 (ESV)
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 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. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Observation questions

1. According to Galatians 5:13-14, what is the primary purpose of the freedom we have in Christ?
2. What are the two contrasting lists presented in Galatians 5:19-23, and what is the ultimate consequence for those characterized by the first list?
3. In the account of Jesus' temptation in Matthew 4:1-11, what were the three types of temptation Satan used, and how did Jesus respond to each one? [01:21:00]
4. What is the relationship between "walking by the Spirit" and not gratifying the desires of the flesh, as stated in Galatians 5:16?

Interpretation questions

1. The passage warns against "biting and devouring" one another. What does this vivid imagery reveal about the destructive potential of using our freedom for self-indulgence rather than loving service?
2. How does the concept of turning a legitimate appetite into an idol, as seen in the temptation of pleasure [01:23:06], help us understand the deeper nature of sin beyond just obvious moral failures?
3. The "fruit of the Spirit" is described as a singular noun, a cluster of virtues. What does this suggest about how these character traits are developed in a believer's life, as opposed to the "works of the flesh"?
4. In the temptation of position [01:25:46], Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to ruling the world. Why are shortcuts to God's promises so appealing, and what do they ultimately cost us?

Application questions

1. Freedom in Christ reorients liberty toward sacrificial love for our neighbor. In your current season of life, where is one specific relationship or context (family, work, school) where you feel challenged to use your freedom to serve rather than to indulge yourself? [01:14:17]
2. Sin often turns good gifts into gods. What is a good desire or appetite in your life (e.g., for security, significance, comfort) that you have noticed has a tendency to become an ultimate thing, demanding your obedience over God? [01:23:06]
3. The fruit of the Spirit is the natural byproduct of union with Christ. Which one characteristic from the list in Galatians 5:22-23 do you most want to see the Spirit grow in you, and what would it look like for that virtue to "flow out" in your interactions this week? [01:19:28]
4. Service can be an act of worship when it proceeds from humility. Think about a role you have, paid or volunteer. How can you intentionally shift your motive in that role from seeking recognition or control to reflecting Christ's humble love? [01:17:54]
5. Temptation often follows patterns of pleasure, power, or position. Which of these three patterns do you find yourself most vulnerable to, and what is one practical way you can "combat it with God's word" as Jesus did? [01:20:41]
6. Our hearts are shaped in community. Who is one person in your life (a fellow believer, family member, colleague) that you can partner with to help each other grow in Christlike character and service?