Fruit of the Spirit — 9-Week Sermon Series
Nine Sundays, one fruit each — Galatians 5:22-23 preached slowly enough to be examined rather than admired.
Whole-church series; strong summer or small-group series
Download the full Fruit of the Spirit (9 weeks) sermon pack
Every week's outline, big idea, KJV key verse, and application question — plus a one-page verse set for the worship team and note lines for your own preparation. 9 weeks · US Letter · no signup.
Share this pack with your pastor, small group leader, or worship team.
Fruit is singular in Galatians 5:22. Nine qualities, one crop — which means you cannot pick the ones that suit your temperament.
Each week takes one fruit, defines it from Scripture rather than sentiment, and ends with a question the congregation can answer honestly.
The arc of the series
Love shapes the eight that follow. Weeks 1-3 concern God-ward disposition, weeks 4-6 concern others, weeks 7-9 concern the self.
Week-by-week outlines
Week 1: Love
Biblical love is a decision that behaves, not a feeling that speaks.
Outline
- Love defined by action (1 Cor 13:4-7)
- Love as the first fruit
- Love toward the difficult
Charity suffereth long, and is kind.
1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
Application question: Who is hardest for you to love, and what would love actually do this week?
Week 2: Joy
Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God in it.
Outline
- Joy distinguished from happiness
- Joy in tribulation
- The joy of the Lord as strength
The joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV)
Application question: What have you made a condition of your joy?
Week 3: Peace
Peace with God comes first; the peace of God follows.
Outline
- Peace with God (Rom 5:1)
- The peace of God (Phil 4:7)
- Peace with one another (Rom 12:18)
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
John 14:27 (KJV)
Application question: Where are you at war that you could make peace?
Week 4: Longsuffering
Patience is love's endurance under provocation.
Outline
- God's longsuffering toward us
- Patience with people
- Patience with process
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise... but is longsuffering to us-ward.
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
Application question: Who tests your patience most, and what does God's patience with you say about it?
Week 5: Gentleness
Gentleness is strength deliberately restrained.
Outline
- The gentleness of Christ
- Gentle speech
- Gentleness in correction
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)
Application question: Where have you used force because it was faster?
Week 6: Goodness
Goodness is generosity in action, not merely the absence of wrong.
Outline
- Good works prepared beforehand
- Doing good to all men (Gal 6:10)
- Goodness that costs
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men.
Galatians 6:10 (KJV)
Application question: What good could you do this week that no one would ever repay?
Week 7: Faith
Here the word means faithfulness — being someone whose word holds.
Outline
- Faithful in little (Luke 16:10)
- Faithfulness over brilliance
- The faithfulness of God as the pattern
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.
Luke 16:10 (KJV)
Application question: What commitment have you quietly let slide?
Week 8: Meekness
Meekness is not weakness; Moses and Christ are the Bible's two examples.
Outline
- Meek and lowly in heart
- Meekness in receiving correction (James 1:21)
- The meek shall inherit the earth
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.
Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
Application question: When were you last corrected, and how did you take it?
Week 9: Temperance
Self-control is the fruit that guards the other eight.
Outline
- Bringing the body into subjection
- Appetite, anger, and attention
- The Spirit's work, not willpower alone
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Proverbs 25:28 (KJV)
Application question: Which appetite currently rules you?
Planning notes
- Nine weeks is long; a mid-series testimony Sunday keeps momentum.
- Pair each week with a memory verse card for the congregation.
- Consider ending with a communion service on temperance.
Frequently asked questions
Why nine weeks?
Galatians 5:22-23 names nine qualities. Preaching one per Sunday gives each its own weight.
Can it be shortened?
Yes — group them three by three for a three-week series.
Is the series free to use?
Yes — free to preach, adapt, and print for your church.
Related resources
More sermon series
Four Sundays through Philippians — one chapter a week — built around Paul's insistence on joy while chained to a Roman guard.
Five Sundays through James — the most practical letter in the New Testament and the hardest one to preach without conviction.
Six Sundays through Matthew 5-7 — the longest recorded teaching of Jesus, preached as He gave it.
Keep Going
Continue Exploring Scripture
You've found one resource — here are more ways to go deeper into God's Word.
Today's Verse
Start each day with a hand-picked KJV verse and reflection.
Verses by Topic
Find what the Bible says about love, anxiety, strength, and 500+ more topics.
Bible Miracles
Discover the signs and wonders of God recorded in Scripture.
Angels & Spiritual Warfare
Angels, demons, and the armor of God — what the KJV really teaches about the unseen battle.
Bible Genealogies & Family Trees
Visual KJV family trees — the line of Jesus, the sons of Noah, the twelve tribes, and more.
Women of the Bible
Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Mary — the matriarchs, prophetesses, queens, and disciples of Scripture.