Children's Lessons on the Fruits of the Spirit

Fruit Bowl

• You can do a series of lessons on the fruits of the spirit by focusing on one fruit for each lesson. Teach the children about Galatians 5:22-23. Tell them that every time they remember that verse or another you assign from the bible, they'll be able to tack a piece of fruit made from construction paper to a "fruit bowl" on the bulletin board. You can also have the children assemble mixed-up cards with the verse written on them to practice remembering the verse.
  
  A sock puppet can be used as a character in the fruits of the spirit lessons. Have him join the children for the bible study portion of the lesson to talk together about the fruits of the spirit.
  
  

Rocking the Fruit Basket

• You can discuss the fruits of the spirit with the children by asking them why it is important to employ the fruits, and how they can do this in their everyday lives. Have the children act out for the class what it means to be the different fruits.
  
  You can also play an active game with the children. The children sit in chairs in a circle and are assigned a fruit of the spirit. A child stands in the middle and calls out a fruit; those children who were assigned that fruit must vacate their seats and find another seat, along with the child in the middle. The kid left standing is the new caller. He can call out "rocking the fruit bowl" to make all the children find new seats.
  
  

Good Fruit and Bad Fruit

• Show the children two examples of fruit; one piece is rotted and one is healthy. Explain to the children how some fruit is bad and some is good. Discuss with them that if you have accepted Jesus as your savior, you start to exhibit more of the fruits of the spirit. If people do not follow Jesus as they should, they can exhibit bad fruits, such as dishonesty, jealousy, anger and selfishness. Demonstrate this by having two children stand at the front of the room, one as a good fruit and one as a bad fruit. The rest of the children have cards with good and bad attributes listed on them; they use tape to stick the cards to the correct tree.
  
  

Questions and Discussions

• While the children are sitting in a circle, explain to them that the fruits help the kids do what's right for Jesus by helping them to be good examples for other people. These are fruits that nobody can do without God. Ask the children four questions they can discuss in small groups: "Do you believe in your heart that you have the Spirit of God living inside you? Why or why not?" "Do you believe that other people are drawn to God because of how you act?" "What fruits do you exhibit most in your life now?" "Which of the fruits does God need to help you do better on?" Finish with a prayer.