Fruit of the Spirit

Sunday, April 14, 2013
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
Fruit of the Spirit with visuals and printables.
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 T teach this lesson, I have a basket, and add the visuals as we discuss each fruit quality. And please note, this lesson needs to be a discussion type lesson. I do not have all the things we talk about listed here, just enough to give you the start. You know what your students' needs are.
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If I offered you this piece of fruit (holding up a rotten banana), would you like to eat it? Let the children answer. Of course, you wouldn't. This banana is yucky and rotten. We want to throw that banana away. (This is another idea I have used for years and do not remember where I found it.)
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What if I offered you this banana (holding up the ripe banana)? Would you like to eat this one? Let the children answer. I bet you would like to eat this banana. It is yellow and ripe, and probably tastes really yummy. Our life is like these two fruits.

Today's scripture is Galatians 5:19-26. On one hand, we have people who do bad things and make us feel sad. While on the other hand, we have people who like to do good things, like help others and be nice to others. Which fruit do you think God wants us to be, the rotten banana or the ripe banana? Let the children answer. God wants us to be good fruit. Paul writes to us in the Bible about the Fruit of the Spirit. He talks about the way Christians should treat others and how we should do things that make God happy with us!  

Paul tells us the good Christian qualities God expects us to be. This is what our Bible lesson is about today.  Here are the good qualities that God wants us to have:
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
1. Love is unselfish and loyal.  Christians show love by doing things for others and being nice to family, friends and pets. Remember, God says to love your enemies. That’s hard to do sometimes, but it’s what God expects!
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
2. Joy   means being happy and not grouchy. It means don’t be grouchy when your parents tell you to something you don’t like to do. The Bible says to obey your parents!
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html

3. Peace is being content with what God has given us. Be happy with what you have.
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
4. Longsuffering is  patient, not whining or complaining. Remember, patience with your brothers or sisters, no matter how hard that is.
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
5. Kindness is giving and helpful. How about saying something nice to someone that you see is feeling down?
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
6. Goodness means caring and understanding. Do a little something extra to help out at home.
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
7. Faithfulness means to be true to God. You all know right from wrong. You all know what God expects. You all know what He says not to do. So, try real hard not to!
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
8. Gentleness is being tender and calm. Again, being kind to your family, friends and your pets.
https://www.biblefunforkids.com/2013/04/fruit-of-spirit.html
9. Self-control is managing your wants and emotions. Oh, this is a hard one! Don’t do things that you know you shouldn’t be doing. If you have to hide it or lie about it, don’t do it. Be careful how you act. Be careful what you say. Be careful of the friends you pick.

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  I finished the lesson with these thoughts. I passed around the above basket with the packages of fruit snacks. I said that we have talked about fruit and how God wants us to be as Christians. Here is a package of fruit snacks.  It says fruit on the package. Does God want us to be fake, like this is? And, just because it looks like fruit on the outside, does that mean it is good fruit on the inside?  Does He want us to worship on Sunday morning, then leave the building and then do whatever we want and not what He wants? Then, kids being kids, one said... Well, it says made from real fruit... I replied that it is made by a little bit of real fruit, that is not all fruit. Does God want us to be a little bit Christian, or partially a Christian? Or, does He want us to be 100% pure as a Christian? They all knew that answer! And, as was mentioned by Renee Hunter, fake fruit does not reproduce!

If you think about fruit: It’s good for you, it keeps you healthy, and it reproduces more fruit. If you do things that are good for you, do things to be healthy and bring people to Bible study with you, then you are being what God expects.
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To set up my room for this lesson, I put away the tables and chairs, put down a blanket and we had a 'picnic' on the floor. I put the basket of real fruit in the center so everyone could snack while we talked and have bottled water for them to drink.
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These are the teacher's visuals for this lesson. I cut the fruit out, attached each part of the lesson on the back of each piece, and laminated them. I will have a basket and add the visuals as we discuss each fruit quality.  Click here to print the above visuals.
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This is the students basket and fruit. The kids cut out the fruit and added it as we discussed the different fruits. You can print it here.
I added an updated version of the above. The basket is the same, but the fruit is smaller and on one page only, instead of 3! Click here to download the new version.
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The above download has a basket for you to print and put together. I have baskets that I use, so I will not need to print them. Also, you can use a paper/plastic bowl if you would rather save the time and printing. If I were using it for one or two students, then I would print it (it's really cute), but for a class, I would rather purchase the baskets, since I can get them at a very good price. For directions on putting the basket together, please look here.
Bible Verse: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Galatians 5:22 (NKJV)
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Here is a worksheet if you would like to purchase the Fruit of the Spirit stickers. They can usually be found at your local Bible book stores and teacher stores, or you can purchase them here.
I usually have the kids write in the words to help with memory, but a lot of first graders have a hard time with the bigger words, so you can print the sticker worksheet with the words already there, or with a blank line for them to write it in. You can print them here:
(See matching visuals below)

And there is also a picture to color, and you can print it here.
http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/ProductView.aspx?np=N&id=3291&keyword=3291&oid=2278
I have used these in the past and they coordinate with the stickers & sticker sheet above:  Carson-Dellosa Fruit of the Spirit (CD-3291) set for my visual aid. They are bigger and colorful. I print my lesson and attach to the back of each picture. 
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This is the bulletin board I use with this Bible lesson.
 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission.

48 comments

  1. Hi! I found you on the Manic Monday Linky! I teach in a public board in Ontario, Canada, but I love the message behind this! It is such a great message about character, and I'm sure I can modify it for use in my classroom!

    Thank you!
    Erin
    Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving the nice comment! It is appreciated!

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    2. This is terrific!!! I just started this week in doing the Fruit of the Spirit with my 3rd graders in Sunday School. Your visuals are exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much for sharing it with others. God bless you.

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  2. I seen this on your FB page. I am getting together a lesson plan on Fruit of the Spirit for wednesday night service this summer. Thank you so much for posting info. My Mom & I love your banana lesson.

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  3. Fruit of my Spirit-I'm your newest follower :) Stop by anytime!

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  4. Wooow! The message of this blog is for kids but when I'd read it, it reminds me a lot. All of the fruit of the holy spirit are really encouraging for daily spiritual living and I wanted to live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Thanks for posting this! ;)

    Evangelical

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  5. HI Debbie, such a great blog! My Grandson just turned one so He is still young but I will be sharing this with my Daughter. What a nice resource for teachers. I love this Fruit of the Spirit lesson. Found you over at Think Tank Thurs. God Bless

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  6. Great unit! Glad I found you through the Hope in Every Season blog hop. Now off to explore your other posts!

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  7. This is awesome. I love that you broke down the lesson so its easy to repeat. I also like the idea of using both good and spoiled fruit.

    Thanks for linking up with Tender Moments
    Becky @ forthisseason.com

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  8. This is great and thank you so much for this lesson and tips. I am used to giving sermons to/with adults but less confident with children - we are leading Friday Junior Club at our church tonight on the theme of "Soul Food" with lots of games and also spiritual lessons about yeast (then making pizzas!) and the fruit of the spirit (then making fruit salad for dessert!). Your tips above are a great help - thank you.
    David - Melbourne, Australia

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    1. Wow! That sounds like fun! Thanks for sharing the ideas and I appreciate you stopping by and leaving the comments!

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  9. thanks so much, I was doing a fruits of the holy spirit poster for my confirmation, these were easy ways to explain all of the fruits! thank-you!

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  10. Thank you for these wonderful and creative lessons! I searched through so many blog sites before I found yours and it was worth the wait. I can't wait to use these with my kids this weekend! I am following!

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate it and thanks for following! Thanks for the really nice comment! I will check out your blog!

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  11. I really like your ideas and hands on activities and examples you use. One important thing that I think needs to be mentioned and taught to the kids, is that it is the Holy Spirit in our lives that helps us grow that fruit in our lives that we can't do it on our own. We can keep trying but we can't make the rotten banana become a nice banana. But the Holy Spirit in us can.

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    1. Thanks for the comment. Yes, I agree. Not every word that I teach is listed here. I figure each teacher, or reader, needs to study and add their own remarks. I try to keep it to the Bible. Also, you have to know the students, and depending on their ages, and their upbringing, how much they get to come to class (because they are at the mercy of parents, or in my class, grandparents, etc), they might not be able to understand the Holy Spirit, and Bible basics might be what needs to be taught. There are so many variables. I appreciate the comment and thank you for stopping by. And, I hope that other readers might see your comment and be able to add it to their lesson.

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  12. very interesting article. and the content of this article is fit for childrens.
    Spiritual Thoughts

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  13. This really helped me with my project!

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    1. So glad you found something! Thanks for leaving the comment! I appreciate it!

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  14. Oh these would be so good for my DD! Thanks so much

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  15. Very helpful. I will be using ur less in for my Sunday school kids today. Especially the banana story!

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    1. Thanks Jane! I appreciate the comment and the kids love the banana comparison! Thanks for stopping by!

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  16. We always used the dark bananas in bread or cake so rotten on those doesn't really work as they are still edible.(Also my Grandma loved the black skinned bananas to eat.) I think it would be better to have a moldy fruit of some kind. You never know if you might have a poor child who has to eat the darker bananas because they are cheaper, still edible and won't make them sick like moldy fruit would.

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  17. i love it. could try with the christian ed classes i help teach

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  18. Thanks a lot because I have modified to my class theme. This is really wonderful. May God bless....

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  19. Thank you Ms. Debbie for this. May the Lord bless you more. I like the printable so much.

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  20. Cute idea! Found you from #SocialButterflySunday.

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  21. This is such a smart idea. By using a visual the kids can relate to, I am sure they will remember this lesson for a long time.

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  22. Wow this lesson is so beautiful, I can't wait to try it with my girls! thank you so much for sharing, I will be coming back soon!

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  23. Very creative! Thanks for linking this post up to the #RaRaLinkup

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  24. Found you on Tell It To Me Tuesdays! I love this! I can't wait to do it with my kids!

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  25. What a cute idea! This is a great way to share important truths with our littles. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. I was trying to find something simple for my new first graders in Sunday School and decided on Fruits of the Spirit. I found your page and loved it! Thanks for taking the time to share and invest in our babies! Much appreciated! Lynn Vaughn

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  27. I have the Beginner class in Sunday school and we have been learning the 9 fruits of the spirit. The visuals you have posted are great. The kids enjoy the color and it is something they can relate to "fruit". Thanks for your wonderful website. You were a life saver for this teacher. I will be using your website often.

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  28. Ages ago Steve Green produces a kids' album in which he and a group of child singers sing the fruit of the Spirit. That's always how I remember the list!

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  29. This will be translated into Portuguese and used in Brazil! Thank you for sharing!


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  30. I am taking some of these ideas for my Bible class! Thank you!

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  31. This lesson plan is awesome, so simple to use. Thanks for sharing.

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  32. This is really helpful, I have been looking for a way to teach my 2nd graders this topic...you just made it very easy for me.

    Thanks...

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