#11 Joy

Notes

In this week’s instalment of our “Flesh and Fruit” series on Galatians 5, Pastor Brandon Hill unpacks the second fruit of the Spirit: Joy. Far more than fleeting happiness or a forced smile, biblical joy is a deep, Spirit-wrought contentment that survives bad weeks, cracked voices, and hard trials because it is anchored in Christ’s victory and the new creation already breaking in. Through rich Old Testament promises, laugh-out-loud stories, surprising stats, and ten practical ways to cultivate it, Brandon shows why Christians should be the most joyful people on the planet—and how we can actually live that out. Whether you’re riding high or barely hanging on, this message will point you back to the only source that never runs dry. Come and feast on the joy that Jesus gives.

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. 

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ga 5:16–26.