Growing Good Fruit
Go to the grocery store as a family and let each child pick out their favorite fruit. Enjoy the fruit at home together and talk about what each fruit needed to grow. (If you have older children, you may ask them to find out something that others may not know about their fruit.)
For example: A pineapple plant starts from the pineapple itself (from the leafy top). Once the pineapple head takes root, it will take two to three years to bear fruit and it grows to be almost 4 feet high by 4 feet wide. Once it is matured, a large flower will grow in the middle of the plant and eventually be replaced by a pineapple itself. Once the pineapple is harvested, a new fruit will grow in its place the following year. That is a lot of work for one pineapple.
What does a plant need to grow fruit? (Good soil, water, sunlight, right temperature, etc.)
Growing fruit is usually a slow process. When we plant the seed of God’s Word in our minds, it will produce fruit—not the kind we can eat, but good qualities and actions.
Read Galatians 5:22-23 aloud.
What kind of fruit will the Holy Spirit produce in us? (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control)
The more we read and obey the Bible, the more we will see good things—fruit—in our lives.
God’s Thoughts and Truth
Items needed:
- Pieces of construction paper
- Markers or crayons
- Yarn, twine, or string
- Tape
Make a banner to review Galatians 5:22-23.
What fruit does the Holy Spirit produce in us? (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control)
Jesus’ words are all true and were written down in the Bible. Different men wrote God’s words in the Bible, but His Spirit directed each one. The Bible is not filled with man’s ideas, but with God’s truth. God’s Word, the Bible, contains truth about how to live and grow to be more like Jesus. Every time we open and read the Bible, we can learn more to help us live like Jesus.
Assign different phrases of the verse for the children to illustrate. (The older ones can help the younger ones write the words while the younger ones can “decorate” their pages.) Tape these to the string, hang it so everyone can see it, and recite it together at least once a day.
Are You Connected?
Items needed: A branch with leaves (from a fruit tree or grape vine would be even better)
Break a branch off a tree and bring it into the house. Check the branch each day to see if there is any fruit. (Statements such as: I hope we get some grapes from this vine. How long will it take to get an apple from this tree?) After a few days and the leaves are withering, ask the children:
Do you think this branch will produce any fruit? Why or why not?
For a branch to produce fruit, it must be connected.
Jesus told us in His Word that He is the vine, and we are the branches. If we stay connected to Him, we will bear fruit. Read Galatians 5:22-23 and discuss the fruit of the Spirit and ways you can use these in your life.