The Fruit of the Spirit is a great, tangible way to see what the Holy Spirit produces in all who follow Jesus. There are many ways to make it fun, easy, and just as impactful. Here is a Bible lesson you can use to introduce the Fruit of the Spirit to your kids. 

Before the lesson, pray and think about what the Fruit of the Spirit means to you. How does it manifest in your daily life? Keep in mind to share those thoughts throughout the lesson. 


Biblical Reference: “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 (NIrV)  (or any version you may choose)


What you will need: Various kinds of fruit (real preferably) in separate paper sacks, blindfolds (optional), Fruit of the Spirit characteristics printed on separate cards (2 sets), 


Intro: Ask the group, “Who loves fruit?” On a great summer day, fruit is just what we all desire.  My favorite is [share your favorite and why]. (show an example of fruit) Check this one out. What do you notice about its shape, size, and color? How unique, right? Some fruits grow on trees; others can be found on bushes or vines. We can tell what type of bush or tree it is because of what it produces. This [fruit example] is from a [fruit tree/bush]. Today we will learn about the fruit, or characteristics, the qualities the Holy Spirit produces in us as followers of Jesus, but first, who is ready for a game?


Hook & Game: Paper Sack Fruit Guess. Before the lesson, place fruit in paper sacks, one fruit per sack. Call up three to four volunteers and place a bag in front of them. Blindfold them if desired. Ok, volunteers, your job is to guess the fruit by feeling it in the sack without looking! Take turns going down the line and allowing the students to discuss what fruit they think it is. Guide them with questions regarding the descriptors of the fruit. Give an applause to [friend’s names] that got it right! Let’s all open our Bibles to Galatians 5 and learn about the fruit that can be inside all of us!


Main Points/Bible Study: Galatians is a letter written by Paul.  Ask the group: “Who knows about Paul?” Spend some time going over who Paul is: started as a hater of Christians, encountered Jesus, and became a powerful force for Jesus, teaching everyone about Him. He wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia. He talks to the churches in this letter about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, that we can live by faith, and that as Jesus followers, we are children of God! How awesome! 


Pull out some of the real fruit examples. Then, Paul shares about fruit, which seems odd, right? He shares with the churches in Galatia that as followers of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit. Who? (Have the group shout and repeat: Holy Spirit) inside of us.  The Holy Spirit is part of God’s plan for us to have a helper to guide us throughout life after Jesus returned to heaven. The Holy Spirit helps us understand Scripture, guides us to make God-honoring choices in our daily lives, and gives us the strength to share Jesus with the world. One thing Paul tells us is that the Holy Spirit also produces FRUIT in us!  Now is he talking about apples, oranges, grapes? No! Let’s look at Galatians 5 to see the real fruit we can access through the Holy Spirit in our lives.


Read Galatians 5:22-23, or have a volunteer read.  Pull out one of the fruit of the spirit cards you prepared. For extra fun, call up volunteers and let them pick out one fruit at a time and stay on the stage to help display them. 


Ask each volunteer: What fruit did you choose? Let’s put ourselves in order from the verse. Invite them to move around to put themselves in order. The fruit you see is different from the apples, etc., we saw earlier in our game. These are descriptions of the things we have the opportunity to access as followers of Jesus. 


We can choose to have love for everyone around us no matter their circumstance.  We can even love those friends and family members that might be super hard to love.  Showing that kind of love, without wanting anything in return, is a Fruit of the Spirit kind of love. Dismiss the volunteer holding the love sign.


We can have joy in the hardest of days with the Holy Spirit’s help! Ask: Is joy the same as happiness? No Joy is there no matter the circumstance because we can trust that God is good and loves us. Dismiss the volunteer holding the joy sign. 


Peace is the ability to have a supernatural calm when life might be a little rocky.  We can have peace that passes understanding. Dismiss the volunteer holding the peace sign. 


Now, patience might be really hard for us.  Ask the group: What does patience mean to you? This ability to wait in the midst of chaos is from The Holy Spirit. He can help us be patient every day! Dismiss the volunteer holding the patience sign.


Kindness and goodness are things we probably all would agree are great to show. I have a feeling you may even know people who are kind and do good things, even when they do not know Jesus. These fruits can show others the Holy Spirit in us when we choose to be kind and good without anything in return. Dismiss the volunteer holding the kindness and goodness sign.


The next two are faithfulness and gentleness. We can be faithful to any promises we make, just as God is faithful to us. We can show gentleness through our words and actions. When we choose to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us in this way, those around us will find a trustworthy, gentle, and faithful friend! Dismiss the volunteer holding the faithfulness and gentleness sign.


Finally, we have self-control. Ask the group: what does self-control mean to you? Not only when we are asked not to eat a ton of sweets, but we can have self-control when we want to react with unkind words (explain any other example you have) and when we do, we reveal the Holy Spirit in us. Dismiss the volunteer holding the self-control sign.


Close: Each of the Fruit of the Spirit can come to light at various times in our day. We can show others who Jesus is to us simply by allowing the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in us. When we continue to show others who Jesus is, fruit is a result! (spend time presenting the Gospel here).  How can you continue to show the Fruit of the Spirit this week? (invite answers)


Extra Game: Use the Fruit of the Spirit cards and invite two groups to compete on putting them in order. 

There Are So Many Fun Ways To Teach Kids About The Fruit Of The Spirit. Check Out These Fruit Of The Spirit Curriculum Ideas:

Other Fun Fruit Of The Spirit Resources You Can Use In Your Children's Ministry

Fruit Of The Spirit Bingo

Fruit Of The Spirit Coloring Page

Fruit Of The Spirit Trivia Games

Fruit Of The Spirit Children's Ministry Lesson

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Children's Ministry Curriculum