"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control."
Galatians 5:22-23
This creative object lesson helps kids understand the
importance of recognizing and using these gifts.
Supplies: You'll need Bibles, newsprint, tape,
markers, index cards, pencils, and several concordances.
Before the children arrive, tape the newsprint to the wall
to create a large mural. On the mural draw a tree with roots. Also
draw nine pieces of fruit in the tree, and write one of the fruits
of the spirit on each piece of fruit. At the top of the mural,
write the verse.
Gather the children and say: Today we're going to learn a
verse about fruit. To do that we'll think like orchard farmers.
Sometimes orchards produce good crops, and sometimes orchards
produce bad crops. Have the children refer to what you've drawn
below ground and above ground to answer the following questions.
Ask:
• What conditions affect the crop above ground and below
ground?
• If we want our orchard to grow the crops I have written
on the pieces of fruit, what would the conditions need to be like
in our lives?
Say: A crop is the result of the farmer's work
plus the state of the environment. Let's do some investigating
about what the Bible says about these fruits and how to grow a good
crop of them.
Hand out the index cards and pencils. Form as many groups
as you have concordances. Divide up the fruits of the Spirit among
the groups. Have each group look up their "fruits" in the
concordance and then look up the verses in the Bible to see what
the Bible teaches about developing the fruits of the Spirit. Then
have the children write on the cards what they learn about growing
a good crop of spiritual fruit.
Give the children several minutes to work. Periodically
get the children's attention and call out, "And the fruit of the
Spirit is…" and have the groups call out in the order of Galatians
5:22-23 the fruits they've been assigned. For example, if Group 1
has been assigned "love" and "joy" and Group 2 has been assigned
"patience" and "kindness," Group 1 will call out its words, and
then Group 2 will call out its words.
After several minutes of work, have each group report to
the entire class what they've learned. Let groups post their cards
on the mural next to their group's fruits. After each group
reports, have the entire class recite the verse.
