Fruit of the Spirit Sunday School Lesson
FREE Fruit of the Spirit Sunday School Lesson! Teach kids that the Fruit of the Spirit Can help us in any situation. And by the end of this lesson, kids will be able to name all the Fruit of the Spirit. Bananas are possibly one of the most well known, and most commonly used fruits. Whether or not it’s your favorite fruit, bananas are used in desserts, bread, pancakes, and even ice cream. Just like the banana can be used in many different ways, God gave us the Fruit of the Spirit to guide us no matter what situation we face. The Fruit of the Spirit is more versatile than even the banana. We can use them every day. In every situation, the Fruit of the Spirit is the recipe for pleasing God. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School! And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids! Take a look at our Fruit 12-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum.
Fruit of the Spirit Sunday School Lesson For Kids:
BOTTOM LINE:
The Fruit of the Spirit can help us in any situation.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will name all the Fruit of the Spirit.
KEY PASSAGE:
Galatians 5:22-23
MEMORY VERSE:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)
SUMMARY:
Bananas are possibly one of the most well known, and most commonly used fruits. Whether or not it’s your favorite fruit, bananas are used in desserts, breads, pancakes, and even ice cream. Just like the banana can be used in many different ways, God gave us the Fruit of the Spirit to guide us no matter what situation we face.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for the Fruit of the Spirit.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)
“I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain joined to me, and I to you, you will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me.” John 15:5 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Divide the room into girls and boys. Have the boys read the verse aloud, and then have the girls read it aloud. Who can read the loudest?
SMALL GROUP:
Give all the kids a Bible. After you read the verse, give the kids the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SKIT
THE LUNCH LADIES: EAT BANANAS
ITEMS NEEDED:
A bunch of bananas
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
2F
CHARACTERS:
Doris and Lucille - School lunch ladies
Lucille enters, looking around.
LUCILLE: Hey, Doris, the coast is clear!
Doris enters.
DORIS: Children, listen up, please!
LUCILLE: Listen up, kids, we have something to say!
DORIS: My name’s Doris, and this is Lucille. We’re the lunch ladies at your school.
LUCILLE: We took this job because we know the importance of good nutrition. We believe in serving good, healthy food to young people to help fuel their day.
DORIS: Unfortunately, our school budget doesn’t allow for good, nutritious food. That’s why we serve chicken patties. And salisbury steak. And chuckwagon.
LUCILLE: What is chuckwagon?
DORIS: We have no earthly idea.
LUCILLE: We’re not supposed to do this, but we’re here today to tell you to please eat something else. Eat something healthy.
DORIS: Like a banana!
LUCILLE: Yes! Like a banana. Bananas are great for you. They have all sorts of vitamins and minerals. And you can eat them in so many different ways!
DORIS: You can make a banana split!
LUCILLE: Or slice them up in your cereal.
DORIS: Or dry them and make banana chips. They go great with dip!
LUCILLE: You can even fry them up!
DORIS: Or add them to your peanut butter sandwich.
LUCILLE: Bananas are the perfect fruit for any occasion, just like the Fruits of the Spirit.
DORIS: Oh, I love that fruit! The Fruit of the Spirit comes from God, and it’s perfect for any situation you may encounter.
LUCILLE: The Fruit of the Spirit will teach you to love others, including the guy on the school board who cut our lunch budget. It will teach you to have joy about your job, even when it’s chuckwagon day. It will give you the peace you need to not strangle the guy who says we can’t afford bananas, and the patience to listen to all his excuses.
DORIS: I think they get the idea. The Fruit of the Spirit are the perfect fruit to help you through any situation, just like these bananas are the perfect any time, any place snack.
LUCILLE: So have a banana for lunch.
DORIS: Not the chuckwagon.
LUCILLE: And ask God to give you the Fruit of the Spirit so you can keep your hands off that rotten, stinking guy on the school board who insists that chuckwagon is a good meal.
OBJECT LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
Banana chips
Dips, including caramel, peanut butter, Nutella, etc.
For this series, every object lesson will be a fruit snack. This week is banana chips with dip. Serve all the kids a small cup of banana chips and provide a variety of dips for them to try. Be careful of those with allergies to nuts.
Bananas can be eaten in so many different ways. You can slice them long ways or short ways. You can grind them up and bake them in bread or freeze them into ice cream. Bananas can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert. And yes, you can eat them by themselves.
The Fruits of the Spirit are even more versatile than bananas. The Fruit of the Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Whatever situation you find yourself in, the Fruit of the Spirit can help you make the right choices and share God’s Spirit with others.
Whenever you see bananas - and believe me, they are everywhere - think of the Fruit of the Spirit. They can be everywhere if we let them, and they will never guide us in the wrong path.
LARGE GROUP GAME
HOW TO OPEN A BANANA
ITEMS NEEDED:
A screwdriver
A pair of pliers
A wrench
Bananas
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose three players for this game. Give each player a banana. Have each player reach into a box and pull out one of the three tools. On your mark, the three players will race to see who can peel their banana using the tool they choose. First one to peel their banana, without destroying it, wins.
VARIATION:
Instead of tools, have the kids try to peel a banana with their feet.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
The Fruit of the Spirit are more versatile than bananas and can help us in any situation.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
The Fruit of the Spirit can help us in any situation.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will name all of the Fruit of the Spirit.
KEY PASSAGE:
Galatians 5:22-23
INTRO:
Everyone has their favorite fruit, right? Some people are big fans of apples. Some people like citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit and tangerines. Some like berries - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, you name it. Some like exotic fruits like kiwi and pineapple. With so many choices and so many people in the world, there’s a fruit out there for just about every set of taste buds.
We’re going to talk about a lot of fruit in the next twelve weeks, and I hope we’ll be talking about your favorite. Today, we’re starting with a fruit that can do just about anything. This fruit can be a part of any meal. It can be a snack, or it can be dessert. It can be chopped, mashed, fried, or baked. It can be mixed into bread or pancakes or muffins. It can be blended into a drink, or frozen into ice cream. Or, it can simply be enjoyed the way God made it.
There’s no wrong way to eat a banana. Bananas are sweet and healthy, and just about everyone loves them. They’re perfect as a side at breakfast or as the main ingredient in your favorite pancakes. They go great with a peanut butter sandwich at lunch, and they can make a nice side dish at dinner. And when it comes to dessert, who doesn’t love a banana split?
There’s a famous passage in the Bible about fruit I want to share with you today. This fruit reminds me of bananas because like bananas, this fruit can do so many things. This fruit can help us make good choices. It can help us learn to treat others better. It can keep us from sin, and it can focus our mind on Jesus. I’m not talking about just one fruit, but nine fruits. Paul calls them the Fruit of the Spirit.
READ GALATIANS 5:22-23
MAIN POINT:
The Spirit Paul talks about here is the Holy Spirit. It is part of the Trinity with God the Father and Jesus, God the Son. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God sends the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. The Holy Spirit gives us guidance so that we can live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.
When Paul talks about the Fruit of the Spirit, he means the fruits that grow in our lives. When we are following Christ and striving to serve others, people see these “fruits” in us.
The Fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we are living by the Spirit, all of these things will be evident in our lives. We will be more loving toward God and others. We will be patient, slow to get angry or lash out. We will be kind and tender towards other people.
The Fruit of the Spirit are more versatile than even the banana. We can use them every day. In every situation, the Fruit of the Spirit are the recipe for pleasing God.
DRIVE IT HOME:
God wants us to love others. He wants us to love him, and he wants us to share his love with the world. That’s why the first fruit is love.
God also wants us to have joy. Joy is more than an emotion like happiness. Joy is knowing that no matter what happens, good or bad, God is in control. Even when we are sad, we can have joy, knowing that God is looking out for us.
Peace is something we can have when life is going crazy. It’s also something we can share. We can bring peace to bad situations by doing good and loving others.
Patience is something we all need more of! Patience means not just waiting, but trusting God is working all things out for our good.
Kindness, goodness, and gentleness are the way we treat others. God wants us to be kind and loving toward others, doing good where it is needed.
Faithfulness means being true to God, true to our loved ones, and true to our friends.
And self-control means learning to control our emotions and actions. We don’t react in anger. We think before we speak. We consider our words carefully. We resist temptation to sin, and we do the right thing.
When we give our heart to Jesus and really let him take control, the Fruit of the Spirit will grow in our lives. People will see Jesus in us through those fruits, and they will want Jesus for themselves. The Fruit of the Spirit can help us make a difference in this world. Let’s pray for God to send a harvest of fruit in our church so that we can share the love of Jesus.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for the Fruit of the Spirit.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER:
What’s your favorite way to enjoy a banana?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
John 15:5
Give all the kids a Bible. After you read the verse, give the kids the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pass the banana around the circle. Give each person a turn or two to act with the banana. See how many silly ways you can play with it. For example, can it be a phone? Or a hat? Or a nose?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Galatians 5:22-23
How many of you can name the nine fruits?
What is the “Spirit” as in Fruit of the Spirit?
How can God put the Fruit of the Spirit in our hearts?
What is one “fruit” you think you have a lot of in your life?
What is one fruit you want to work on this week and try to have more of?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Fill us with the Fruit of the Spirit so others see Jesus in us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER:
What’s your favorite way to enjoy a banana?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
John 15:5
Give all the kids a Bible. After you read the verse, give the kids the reference and see who can find it first in their Bible.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY:
Pass the banana around the circle. Give each person a turn or two to act with the banana. See how many silly ways you can play with it. For example, can it be a phone? Or a hat? Or a nose?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Galatians 5:22-23
How many of you can name the nine fruits?
How can we receive the Fruit of the Spirit in our hearts?
How do the Fruit of the Spirit help us share Jesus?
What is one “fruit” you think you have a lot of in your life?
What is one fruit you want to work on this week and try to have more of?
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Fill us with the Fruit of the Spirit so others see Jesus in us.
In Jesus’name,
Amen
For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Fruit of the Spirit Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).
Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Fruit of the Spirit.