BIG IDEA: The Holy Spirit helps me to live like Jesus.
This free Bible lesson, Fruits of the Spirit, will teach preschool and elementary students about the fruits the Holy Spirit produces in Christians as described in Galatians 5:22-23.
FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: Galatians 5:13-26
All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.
Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.
PREP & SUPPLIES
- printed “Farmer’s Market Fruit Stand” signs (9)
- printed “Farmer’s Market” story cards (18)
- card stock
- tape
- printed “Farmer’s Market Shopping Basket” recording sheets (1 per student)
- pencils
- printed “Fruit of the Spirit Tree Craft” pages (1 per student)
- glue
- scissors
- coloring supplies
MEMORY VERSE: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
- Allow students to focus on reciting the verse with a partner or small group.
- Encourage them to create motions that go along with the words of the verse.
LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY
(SLIDE 3) I’m going to set a timer for ONE MINUTE. You are going to talk with a partner or a small group NAMING AS MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FRUIT as possible.
Give students one minute to verbally list as many types of fruit they can. After the minute, come back together and have students call out the different types of fruit they thought of.
There are many types of fruit in the world, but today we are going to learn about the most important fruit of all. It’s called the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
You can’t eat this fruit or grow it in a garden. The fruit of the Spirit is something that grows in your life with the Holy Spirit’s help. The Holy Spirit is God. He lives inside Christians (people who trust Jesus to save them from sin) to help them follow Jesus.
Fruit is something that GROWS, just like all of the great qualities listed in today’s memory verse. (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control)
We can’t produce this kind of fruit on our own. Remember, we are born sinners because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Our hearts naturally want to sin by disobeying God.
(SLIDE 4)
Sin is like “bad fruit” in our lives that “grows” from our sinful hearts.
What are some sinful things that might be in our lives? (allow responses; lying, cheating, stealing, disobeying parents and teachers, bad words, etc.)
(SLIDE 5)
But the good news is that Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sin! When you trust in Jesus to save you from sin, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you to help you grow good fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to grow this special kind of fruit in our lives. How do we get the Holy Spirit’s help? (by trusting in Jesus and asking Him to save us from our sin)
BIBLE LESSON
(SLIDE 6) The writer of this passage of scripture found in Galatians, is the apostle Paul. Paul was a follower of Jesus who wrote most of the New Testament of our Bible. Many of his writings teach us how to live like Jesus.
Choose a student volunteer to read the passage on the screen out loud or read it aloud yourself.
[…Serve one another in love. The whole law is fulfilled by obeying this one command. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” If you say or do things that harm one another, watch out! You could end up destroying one another. So I say, live by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then you will not do what your desires controlled by sin want you to do. Galatians 5:13-16 NIrV]
What does Paul say is the one command that we should follow? (love your neighbor as you love yourself)
What does this mean? (allow responses and discussion)
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself” is one of the laws that God told Moses to give to the people way back in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:18 (NIrV) says: “Do not try to get even. Do not hold anything against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the LORD.”
God wants us to love other people as much as we love ourselves.
Is it difficult to love others sometimes? (allow responses and discussion)
It is hard to love others sometimes, because our sin nature causes us to be selfish and only care about ourselves and our own wants and desires. But the Bible tells us that with the help of the Holy Spirit’s power, we can learn to go against our own sinfulness and live like God wants us to live.
How do we get the Holy Spirit’s power? (by trusting in Jesus and asking Him to save us from our sins)
When we trust in Jesus and ask Him to save us from our sins, He sends the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. The Holy Spirit never leaves us and is always with us guiding us and helping us.
This passage continues with Paul teaching us about how our sin is the opposite of what God wants for our lives.
(SLIDE 7)
Choose a student volunteer to read the passage on the screen out loud or read it aloud yourself.
[The desires controlled by sin do not want what the Spirit delights in. And the Spirit does not want what the desires controlled by sin delight in. The two are at war with each other. That’s why you are not supposed to do whatever you want. Galatians 5:17 NIrV]
Why are we born sinners? (because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden; sin was brought into the world and we are all born sinners)
Paul tells us in this passage that sin makes us want things that are opposite of what God wants for our lives. What does “opposite” mean? (different, not the same)
Paul says that what we want and what the Holy Spirit of God want are “at war” with each other. He says that is why we shouldn’t do whatever we want. Does that mean that EVERYTHING you want, or want to do, is wrong? (allow responses)
No, this doesn’t mean that everything you want, or want to do, is wrong. It means that as a person born with a sinful heart, you will have times in your life that you want something or you want to do something that is opposite of what God wants for your life.
Who can help you learn what God wants for your life? (the Holy Spirit; some students will say Jesus or God)
What are some things that you can do to help you learn what God wants for your life? (pray, read the Bible, go to church, talk to trusted adults about your questions, etc.)
In the next part of the passage, Paul teaches us about sin in our lives and how it tries to control our hearts.
(SLIDE 8)
Choose a student volunteer to read the passage on the screen out loud or read it aloud yourself.
*Note: The part about “sexual sin” and “drunkenness” has been intentionally left out of the passage due to the age of the audience.*
[The result of sin’s control in our lives is clear. It includes impure acts and wild living. It includes worshiping other gods and evil powers. It also includes hatred and fighting, jealousy and fits of anger. Sinful desire is interested only in getting ahead. It stirs up trouble. It separates people. It wants what others have. People who live like this will not receive God’s kingdom. Galatians 5:19-21 NIrV paraphrased]
This passage talks about many different types of sins that people commit. Raise your hand to name one of the sins the passage mentions. (allow responses)
Paul is teaching in this passage that any sin in our lives can control us in a bad way. He says that we should not let sin control us.
Who do we need to help us if we don’t want to let sin control us? (the Holy Spirit; some students will say Jesus or God)
(SLIDE 9)
The next verse in this passage is our memory verse for this week.
Choose a student volunteer to read (or say from memory) from the slide.
[But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV]
What is Paul teaching us in this passage? (allow responses and discussion)
He is teaching that we can’t be good enough or try hard enough to produce these “fruits” on our own. But the Holy Spirit can help us grow to be more like Jesus as He produces the “fruit” in our hearts and lives.
(SLIDE 10)
Think about a fruit tree. If the apples, or oranges, or whatever type of fruit growing on the tree is healthy, what do you know about the health of the tree? (allow responses and discussion)
A healthy tree means that it has good “roots”, it is being watered, it is getting sunlight and being taken care of.
How can we relate these things to our lives? (allow responses and discussion)
If our lives have good “roots” that can mean that we are very solid and know how to follow Jesus. If we are “watering” our lives and getting “sunlight”, that can mean that we are reading our Bible, going to church, and making good friendships with other people who love Jesus.
Our lives should be very different after we have trusted Jesus to save us from sin. God wants us to grow “fruit” in our lives that shows we know Him and love Him. Just like a fruit tree, others should be able to see a difference in people who love and follow Jesus (Christians) because of the good “fruit” that is in the Christian’s life.
How much “fruit” can you grow by yourself? (allow responses)
None! We cannot grow “fruit” by ourselves. It is called the “fruit of the Spirit” because God’s Holy Spirit is Who gives it to us! When we trust Jesus and ask Him to save us, Who does He send to live inside of us? (The Holy Spirit)
The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of people who love Jesus, follow Jesus, and ask Jesus to save them from sin, and He helps that person live like Jesus!
(SLIDE 11)
THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS ME TO LIVE LIKE JESUS. That is our Big Idea this week.
Dear God,
Thank you for your Word, the Bible, that you gave us to help us learn how to live like and follow Jesus. Thank you for the passage about the fruit of the Spirit that we learned about today. Please help us to remember this week that you want to produce these fruits in our hearts and lives. Help us to grow and be more like Jesus every day. Please continue to bless our time together here as we praise you for all of the wonderful things you do for us.
We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen.
LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY
How many of you have ever been to a Farmer’s Market?
A Farmer’s Market is where you can go to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables.
(SLIDE 12)
Today, we are going to have a pretend Farmer’s Market.
Around the room there are “fruit stands” set up. At each stand, there are two story cards. One story is about the “fruit of the person” and one story is about the “fruit of the Spirit”. It is your job to decide which one is which.
As you visit each “fruit stand” you can keep track of your answers on your “Farmer’s Market Shopping Basket” recording sheet. You will match the letter on the card with the choice on your recording sheet. *BE SURE THAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO WHICH “FRUIT STAND” YOU ARE WORKING ON AND RECORD IT IN THE CORRECT BOX ON YOUR PAPER.*
You can choose a partner or a small group to work with.
Pass out “shopping basket” recording sheets and pencils to each student.
LEADER NOTE: There are 9 “fruit stand” stations. You will need to assign groups/partners to begin at different stations so they are not all bumping into each other. You can consider giving students a timer at each station or you can allow them to move around as they complete a station.
If you have younger students you may choose to pair them up with older students so they have help with reading the stories.
(SLIDE 13)
After the activity, you can allow students to check their answers.
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
We have learned today that God wants you to have good “fruit” in your heart and life. You need the Holy Spirit to help you produce good “fruit”.
Today you are going to make a “fruit of the Spirit” tree to remind you of this Truth we learned about today from the Bible.
When you get your paper, you will cut on the dotted line to separate the tree from the “fruit” circles. Then, you will cut out each piece of “fruit” and glue them to the tree. There are also two questions below the tree for you to think about as you are working. You can color your fruit tree if you would like to.
BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.
Discussion Prompts for Leaders:
- Name one of the 9 fruits of the Spirit. (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)
- Who can have the Holy Spirit living inside of them? (anyone who trusts Jesus and asks Him to be their Savior from sin)
- How much fruit can you grow by yourself? (none)
- Who do you need to help you produce good fruit in your life? (the Holy Spirit)
- What are some things you can do to “water” the fruit in your life? (pray, read the Bible, go to church, make strong Christian friendships)
- What is this week’s Big Idea? (The Holy Spirit helps me to live like Jesus)
- What is this week’s memory verse? (Galatians 5:22-23)
CLOSING REFLECTION
We learned that we need the Holy Spirit to help us learn to live like Jesus and produce good fruit in our hearts and lives. When we ask Jesus to save us from our sin, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts to guide us and teach us how to live like Jesus. Living like Jesus means that we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our hearts.
Reflection Questions:
- How can you “grow” the fruit God wants you to have this week?
- How can you help others to learn about the fruits of the Spirit?
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
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