During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.
Galatians 5:22–23
When you welcomed Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you were reborn spiritually and the Holy Spirit began to live in you. When this happened, the Spirit began to produce fruit in you. This special fruit cannot be eaten, but it is given to us to help us live in a way that pleases God. We cannot produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit out of our own efforts no matter how hard we try.
The way the fruit impacts us may look a little different from person to person. Which of the fruit do you find to be your healthiest fruit? Perhaps you are naturally joyful, or maybe you are a very patient person. Whatever your most healthy fruit is, the Holy Spirit can use this to help you and others. Take a moment to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help all of His fruit, even those that are less healthy in your life to grow. The Holy Spirit wants these to thrive in you!
Encourage families to talk how fruit is produced on a tree. What makes it grow? They can ask the children to share what they learned about the fruit of the Spirit.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet every child as she comes into the class with a warm handshake or high five and a smile. Ask them to name a fruit they like to eat and describe what it tastes like.
Today you will learn about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Come and sit with me in a circle. I have a piece of fruit in my hand.
In the middle of the circle, there is an empty basket. I will place this piece of fruit inside of the basket. Let’s imagine this basket is filled with many pieces of fruit. With your eyes closed, use your imagination to see this beautiful basket full of fruit. Imagine your favourite fruit. Think about what it looks like: What shape is it? What colour? How does it smell? How does it taste? Now open your eyes. You will take turns placing your imaginary favourite fruit in the basket.
Allow 4–5 children to respond.
Fruit usually tastes sweet. Fruit gives our bodies vitamins and energy that we need to do the things we must do each day. Today, we will talk about a special type of fruit. Unlike the fruit we eat, this special fruit is not something we can see or taste. This special fruit helps us to live in a way that pleases God.
The type of fruit we are talking about today is called the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These are qualities that are produced when we are connected to God. They are the qualities that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives. Just like we learned about creation, trees produce fruits that are the same as the tree. So what kind of fruit does the Holy Spirit produce? Listen to these verses:
Read these verses directly from your Bible.
But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.
Galatians 5:22–23
These Bible verses tell us about fruit that is produced or grown in you by the Holy Spirit. Once you have this fruit, it can be seen in your actions, thoughts, and words. Today, we will focus on 5 ways fruit is seen in a person: joy, peace, love, kindness, and faithfulness. Think about these different qualities.
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
The fruit of the Spirit include kindness, love, joy, peace, and faithfulness. When you hear 1 of these words in the story I am about to read, clap once. Let’s practice.
Say each of the following words and lead the children in clapping once after each word.
Very good! Now listen for these words as I tell you the story of a girl called Wanita. Her parents taught Wanita to be kind by sharing with others. Her parents always reminded her that sharing is a way of showing kindness and love to others. Think back to our lessons about kindness.
Okay, now let’s stop clapping for a moment.
Allow 1–2 children to respond.
Kindness is a loyal love that shows itself through actions, words, and thoughts. Those who are not Christians can be kind. The Holy Spirit can encourage you to be kind to those around you. It is not always easy to show kindness and love to other people. But the fruit of the Spirit of kindness comes from the change that the Holy Spirit works in your heart to change you so that being kind is something that you naturally are.
Let’s see how Wanita shows the fruit of the Spirit to love her friend. We will start clapping again when we hear the words kindness, love, joy, peace, and faithfulness.
Wanita was full of joy, but it was not easy for her to share her joy with her friend Kyla. Kyla often felt sad. Kyla was not joyful because of some of the challenges she faced. Her mother was very sick and Kyla took care of her. Seeing her mother sick made Kyla sad and angry. Her heart was not at peace.
Allow 3–4 children to respond.
One day, Kyla asked Wanita, “Why do you have so much joy?” Wanita answered that even though her life was not always easy, she was faithful to God. She knew that God sent His Son to die so that she and others could be forgiven for their sins. She knew that God loved her and was always with her, and this helped her to be joyful. She knew that the Holy Spirit would help her if she asked for His guidance. Wanita prayed for God to help her focus on the good things in her life. She prayed with Kyla for the Holy Spirit to comfort her and fill her with peace.
Ask the children to stop clapping when they hear a fruit of the Spirit.
Her faithfulness helped her because she knew that because she believed in God, God would always love her and be with her. It also helped her to focus on the good things in her life.
Wanita prayed for comfort and peace for her friend. She showed love and kindness to her by explaining her joy.
In our story, Wanita struggled to share her joy with her friend Kyla. For Kyla, it was difficult to be at peace and filled with joy because she worried about her mother. Many of us experience different challenges in life. But do you know what? God wants to help us through the Holy Spirit to be filled with joy and peace no matter what is happening. God wants us to ask Him for help and to trust that the Holy Spirit can help to give us hope. This is seen in our memory verse:
May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.
Romans 15:13
God wants to fill us with the joy, peace, and hope only the Holy Spirit can provide!
Today you learned about the fruit of the Spirit. Listen again to what the Bible tells us about this special fruit.
But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.
Galatians 5:22–23
Let’s draw some of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Some of the fruit work together. In our story, we saw that kindness and love worked together. I am going to read some real– life situations. For each situation, you will draw a picture of what the fruit looks like. Then I will ask some of you to share what fruit you drew and why.
For example, I might say this situation: a person helped a friend who fell to the ground to get up. You might draw this scene as showing love or kindness.
Give each child a stick and a small space in the dirt to draw. If you have paper and pencils, have the children use those instead. Allow children a minute to draw, and then ask a couple of children what fruit they saw and allow them to share their drawings.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give each of the children a pencil and allow them to draw their pictures on the page.
Thank you for drawing the fruit you saw in those situations. I know you put a lot of thought into your drawings. As you go through this week, look for examples of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your own life or in the lives of others around you. Remember that you can ask the Holy Spirit to help you stay connected to Jesus and help you to be loving, kind, joyful, peaceful, and faithful. Our memory verse tells us more about the Holy Spirit.
May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.
Romans 15:13
If you are using the Memory Verse poster, show it to the students now.
As you read the verse, do the following motions with the children. Repeat the memory verse and motions 3 times. Show the Memory Verse poster if you are using it.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Galatians 5:22–23, over the children.
Blessing: May your life be filled with the fruit of the Spirit: love, kindness, joy, peace, and faithfulness. May your words and actions show each of these to others.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
