A Sunday School study plan for kids by Bible Lessons 4 Kids including large group lesson, small group lesson and family devotions. For more information, please read About Bible Lessons 4 Kidz.
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Main Point: We must depend on the Holy Spirit in order to show love to others.
Key Verse: So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. - Galatians 5:16a
Props: Apple; Paper and pencil; 2 strings, 2 straws, 2 balloons, scotch tape
Teacher, Take out a nice crisp apple and take a big bite. Use facial expressions to show how much you are enjoying it. Really exaggerate! Then describe it. Say: I love apples. Red ones are my favorite. It is so sweet and juicy and refreshing. I would have to say, the apple is the best part of the tree. It’s definitely the prettiest part. And it’s definitely the best tasting part - I sure wouldn’t want to eat the bark or the roots! And another cool part of the apple is - after you finish eating it, guess what you’re left with? Seeds! Right there in your hand are about five seeds. They have the potential to grow into five more trees which will produce no-telling how many more apples.
Ask: What is your favorite kind of fruit? Say: Oh, those are all so good. Yes, I would definitely say that the best part of any tree is it’s fruit. Today we are going to talk about a different kind of fruit. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It’s not fruit that you hold or eat, but like this apple, the fruit of the Spirit is refreshing and good for you. Everything about it is good.
Say: During Jesus’ final days on earth, He made a special promise to His disciples. He said, “What I'm about to tell you is true. It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Friend will not come to help you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:6-8) The Friend that Jesus was talking about was God’s Holy Spirit. Does Jesus always keep His promises? Yes!
When the time was right, Jesus went into heaven to be with His Father. Sure enough, about a week later, all the disciples were together with other believers, praying. There was an amazing sound and each of the people there were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Being filled with the Holy Spirit is an amazing thing! And Jesus promises that even today, when we put our trust in Him, we will be filled with this same Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5).
In the next few weeks, we’ll be learning about what life is like when we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Some of God’s qualities, or characteristics, show through us when His Spirit lives in us. These characteristics are what the Bible calls fruit.
Let’s turn in our Bibles to Galatians 5:22. If you know this verse, say it with me.
PPT CUE: Verse
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
PPT CUE
Today, we’ll focus on love. What is love? Listen for answers. Love is a word we hear a lot. It’s a word we say a lot. I might say, “I love ice cream,” or “I love sunny days.” Those are the feelings we have - affection for something.
But the word used for fruit in this verse is talking about our actions! (”Fruit” Greek: karpos - work, act, deed.) The Bible has a beautiful definition of what love is in 1 Corinthians 13, beginning in verse 4:
Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people's wrongs.
Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. Love never fails.
Does the Bible mention romantic things like red roses or heart shaped candy? No. These verses tell us many of the actions of love: Being kind, not being rude, not bragging, protecting, and trusting are things we can do.
Remember, love is one of God’s characteristics. In fact, the Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). These verses tell us what God is like! God is patient and kind...(go through verse, replacing “love” with “God.”)
Ultimately, God showed the greatest love for us by sending His Son for us. Is sending an action? Yes! Who can recite John 3:16 for us? God gave His Son. Is giving an action? Yes! God sent Jesus to take away our sin and bring us back to Him.
When Jesus was on earth, people could see what true love looked like. Jesus was always patient. I think of Peter, who very often spoke out of turn or said the wrong things. Jesus was patient with him. Jesus taught Peter, day after day, for three years. Was that an action?
Jesus was always kind. Remember His first miracle? He was at a wedding and they ran out of wine. His mother, Mary, asked Jesus to help out. Quietly, Jesus turned large jugs of water into wine. He was very kind to the bride and groom, and to His mom. Was that an action?
Jesus didn’t brag. Wow! If anyone deserved the right to brag, it would be Jesus! He was perfect! And He was powerful. But the Bible says that He was humble. He was the opposite of proud. He even washed the dirty, smelly feet of His disciples. Was that an action? A bragger would say, “I’m better than you. You wash my feet.” But Jesus did just the opposite.
Jesus did not look out for His own interests. He put other’s needs before His own. Jesus could have stayed in heaven where He is rightfully worshipped by the angels (Revelation 5:11-12). But He left the glory of heaven to come to earth. (That would be sort of like giving up your vacation in Disney World to stay home and rake your nieighbor’s yard instead.)
Jesus chose to come to earth even though He knew many people would treat Him terribly. In fact, He gave up His own life to pay our sin debt. Was that an action? The disciple John, who saw Jesus beaten and hung on the cross, wrote:
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. - John 15:13
And Jesus did not keep track of other peoples’s wrongs! Use paper and pencil to write a list. Say: That would be like writing down a list: “I see that you lied. I know that you hate that person. I see that you are ungrateful.” No! Jesus did not do that! Just the opposite, Jesus wiped all of our sins away forever and ever! Tear up the list! Because of Him, our sins are gone!
In Jesus, we see the perfect love of God lived out in action!
Say: If I am a believer in Jesus, if my trust is in Him, I should be living this kind of life. I should be showing this kind of love to other people every day. But you know what? I have learned that on my own, I can’t show love very well. No matter how much I know I should be patient, in my own strength, I get really frustrated and impatient. No matter how much I know I should put other’s needs before my own, in my own strength, I end up doing what I want to do.
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There is only one way for me to show true love to others! Earlier, I read the verses that list the fruit of the Spirit. Well, if we back up to the beginning of that passage, the Bible says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.” (Galatians 5:16a) Of course, our wonderful God would not tell us how we should love, and then leave us without the POWER to do it!
Illustration: Let’s look at it this way. Galatians tells us that love doesn’t brag. But let’s say that my teacher told me privately that I made the highest grade in the whole class on our spelling test. Now, I know I shouldn’t brag, but all the kids are talking about how hard the test was, and I am dying to blurt out, “I made a 100!” Maybe if I just leave my test out on my desk someone will see it. Is that still bragging? Yep.
So, since I know it’s wrong to brag, because it will make my friends feel bad, my goal is to keep my mouth shut and my paper hidden through the rest of the day. Tie a long string to a pole high enough for all to see, or have another leader hold the end. Put on the uninflated balloon racer. Hold your end of the string taut, horizontal to the ground. Say: So this balloon is me , trying to get to the end of the day without bragging. (Point to other end of the string - as if the string is the long day.) It’s a long day with many opportunities to “mention” my grade. Do you think I’ll get there on my own? No.
But, wait! Remember, Galatians said to let the Holy Spirit guide me. I am a believer, so I’m full of God’s Holy Spirit. Give some slack in the string. Blow up the balloon. Pinch the neck; do NOT tie it. Say: I am filled with power. I have to depend on God’s Spirit! Now let go of the balloon, and it will race to the other side.
When you are listening to the Holy Spirit and depending on Him, He’ll give you the power to show the actions of love. You can show kindness to someone who can’t do anything for you. Maybe you can help a teammate with his baseball swing, or give clothes to someone in need. You can never show the fruit of the Holy Spirit without depending on the Holy Spirit! It’s His fruit after all - not mine! It’s the fruit of Who? The fruit of the Spirit!
This is a lot to cover in one lesson! Truly, learning to show love is a life-long goal. Left on your own, it’s an impossible task. God doesn’t expect you to do it! He expects you to let Him do it through you!
PPT CUE: Main Point
Main Point: We must depend on the Holy Spirit in order to show love to others.
1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Main Point: Joy comes from being with God.
Key Verse: (God,) You will fill me with joy when I am with You. – Psalm 16:11b
Props: A boomerang (or banana, or paper with smile drawn on it, or anything that looks like a smile), a jug of water, two plastic cups (one with several holes poked in the bottom).
Say: When the time was right, Jesus went into heaven to be with His Father. And after He left, He sent His Holy Spirit to live inside His disciples, just like He promised (Acts 2:1-4). And today, when we put our trust in Him, we are filled with this same Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5). When we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, some of God’s great characteristics start to grow in our lives. The Bible calls these characteristics fruit. Galatians 5:22 says:
PPT Cue
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NIV)”
Last week we talked about love. We love each other with our actions. Jesus showed His love in the most incredible way: He laid down His life to bring us back to God.
Say: What makes you happy? What makes you sad? Listen for answers. What if I got a new puppy? Would I be happy or sad? Hold the boomerang in front of your mouth like a smiley face. I think I would be happy about that! But what if I broke my leg and had to go to the hospital and get a cast? Hold the boomerang in front of your mouth like a frown. That wouldn’t be so much fun. Or what if I were a football player and I won the Superbowl? Hold the boomerang in front of your mouth like a smiley face. That sure would give me something to smile about! But what about on the inside? Do we always feel on the inside how we look on the outside? Do you ever look like this (smile) on the outside but really feel like this (frown) on the inside? What if you could always smile on the inside, no matter what?
Say: Today, we’ll look at joy. Joy is the smile we have inside, no matter what is happening around us.
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Some people think that joy and happiness are the same, but there is actually a big difference. The word happy comes from the same word as happen. We feel happy if something good is happening to us at that moment. But this means that being happy is just temporary – it doesn’t last. One minute something good could be happening and we are happy, but the next minute something bad could be happening and we don’t feel happy anymore.
Joy is different. Joy does not depend on what is happening to us – it stays deep down in your heart no matter what! (2 Corinthians 7:4)
PPT Cue: Key Verse
God is our source of joy. Psalm 16:11 says: “(God,) You will fill me with joy when I am with You.” God is so good and everything He does is amazing! When we spend time with Him, we get to know Him more. We are filled with joy because of who God is and how He cares for us.
Moses spent time with God when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on the top of Mt. Sinai. It was the closest anyone had ever been to God. Moses learned more about God. He saw that God is powerful, full of justice, good, forgiving, caring, loving, and faithful (Exodus 34:6-7). Moses also learned more about God’s promises (Exodus 34:10). Because of his time with God, something really incredible happened to Moses!
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. He had the two tablets of the covenant in his hands. His face was shining because he had spoken with the Lord. But he didn't realize it. Aaron and all of the people of Israel saw Moses. His face was shining. So they were afraid to come near him.
But Moses called out to them. So Aaron and all of the leaders of the community came to him. And Moses spoke to them. After that, all of the people came near him. And he gave them all of the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
Moses finished speaking to them. Then he put a veil over his face. But when he would go to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil. He would keep it off until he came out. Then he would tell the people what the Lord had commanded. They would see that his face was shining. So Moses would put the veil back over his face. He would keep it on until he went in again to speak with the Lord. – Exodus 34:29-35
Spending time with God changes us! Moses’ face actually looked different because he had been with God!
God is completely good and everything He created was good (Psalm 100:5, Genesis 1:31). Because God is the source of everything that’s good, joy is found by spending time with Him. Over and over in the Bible, we see that spending time with God fills His people with joy (John 15:9-11, Psalm 28:7, Isaiah 58:14).
[God,] You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. – Psalm 16:11
Say: The more time we spend with God, the more joy we will have. God is the source of our joy.
Turn on a lamp. Let’s look at it this way. (Call up a volunteer. Do NOT allow the child to touch the light bulb at any point!) Put your hands near the lamp. Can you feel the warmth? The closer you get, the warmer it feels. The lamp is the source of the warmth – just like God is the source of our joy. As long as you are near the lamp, you’ll feel the warmth. The more time we spend with God, the more joy we have.
We have a perfect example of someone who was always with God. Who is that? Jesus! Jesus has always existed (John 1:1-2, 14); He has always been with God. Even when Jesus left heaven to come to Earth, He was filled with God’s Spirit (Luke 4:1), and He constantly spent time in prayer listening to His heavenly Father (Luke 5:16).
Jesus said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me,” meaning that He was always with His Father (John 14:11). Jesus was always with His source of joy! He always had the true joy that comes from being with God!
But did Jesus ever have bad days? Did Jesus have some bad things happen to him during his life? Yes. What were some sad things that happened to Jesus? Jesus often felt sadness for the people of Israel (Mark 6:34). His friend, Lazarus, died. His friend, Judas, betrayed Him. And Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus went through terrible pain and suffering on the cross.
Remember our smile and frown? During these times, Jesus was not smiling on the outside (hold up the boomerang again like a frown), but inside, it was a different story (hold up the smile). Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us keep looking to Jesus... He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to.”
This verse says that Jesus looked past the pain and shame of the cross because of the joy He looked forward to. What joy was He looking forward to? Bringing us to God! Jesus endured the pain of the cross so that He could experience the great joy of bringing you and me to God!
As believers in Jesus, we have God’s Holy Spirit living inside of us. We are filled with the same Spirit that Jesus was filled with. Our relationship with God is even better than that of Moses! Moses came face to face with God, which is incredible, but we have God’s Spirit living inside of us, which is even better! (John 16:7) And just like Jesus did, we can go to God at all times to pray and get to know Him more. We can know God just as Jesus did! We can be filled with the same joy that Jesus is filled with!
Remember, joy is deep in our hearts. Joy does not depend on what is happening to us – it stays in us no matter what! Even when Jesus knew He had to die on the cross, He still had joy. And we can be the same way! For instance, I’m not happy when I strike out in baseball or when my friends don’t treat me right. But I still have joy because I know that God is in control, and He can use every situation for my good (Romans 8:28).
Out of all the fruits of the Spirit, joy seems to be the one that is most often overlooked. We always talk about how important it is to love people, be kind, and be peaceful, but we rarely talk about joy. But joy is very important because it is the easiest fruit for people to see, and people are attracted to joy when they see it. When people see joy in you, they will want to know why you are joyful.
Most likely, our face won’t glow like Moses’ did. But when we are full of God’s joy, people will be able to tell. When something bad happens, we won’t fall apart or look like this (show a terribly worried face) because we know that God is with us and He’s looking out for us. If we are full of joy, we can look like this (show a confident, peaceful face) even when things aren’t going just the way we think that they should. No matter what “happens” we are confident in God. That is true joy.
Jesus told His disciples about a way to expand their joy – to make their joy even fuller. In John 15:10-12, Jesus says:
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love. In the same way, I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy will be in you. I also want your joy to be complete. Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you.”
Jesus says that He loves us and He wants us to spend time with Him, know Him, and do what He tells us to do. Being with Him is how His joy is in us. And if we love others, our joy will be complete. Our joy will be it’s fullest when we take in Jesus’ love, and then share it with those around us. Last week we talked about love, the first fruit of the Spirit. Here, we see that one fruit leads to another: loving each other leads to the most complete joy!
Illustration: Joy works something like this. Set up your cups and water jug. Have the cup without holes sitting on a table, hold the cup with holes in one hand, and hold the jug in the other. Make sure you are holding the cup with holes directly above the other cup. Spending time with God fills us up with joy, like this jug fills up this cup with water. Pour water into the cup you are holding. But we cannot just keep all our joy to ourselves! It leaks out of us and fills up others, just like the cup in my hand is filling up the other one. But what happens if we stop spending time with God? Stop pouring the water. Not only do we stop being filled with joy, but the other people around us are not filled up either. We cannot make joy on our own – all true joy comes from God! When you are filled with His joy, it will spill out to others, and your joy will be complete.
Romans 15:13 says, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Key Verse: (God,) You will fill me with joy when I am with You. – Psalm 16:11b
PPT Cue: Main Point
Main Point: Joy comes from being with God.
1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
PPT CUE
Main Point: Peace comes from knowing that God is in control.
Key Verse: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! – Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Props: An easel, a few markers; optional: hamster or gerbil
PPT CUE
Say: For the past couple of weeks, we have been talking about the fruit of the Spirit. Can anyone tell me what the fruit of the Spirit are? Listen for answers. That’s right! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (NIV)” The fruit of the Spirit are some of God’s characteristics. They grow in us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. So far, we have talked about love and joy.
Last week, we saw how Jesus had joy even in the most difficult part of His life here on earth. He had this joy because He was never separated from God, His Father. Today, we are going to talk about peace.
Say: I need a few volunteers today. I have an easel and some markers with me. Can I get some volunteers to come up and draw what peace looks like for you? Choose two or three volunteers. Just draw a picture of what you think peace looks like. Thank volunteers and have them sit down when they finish. Ask group if they agree with these pictures.
Say: I once heard a story where a teacher asked some students to do what our volunteers just did – to draw a picture of what they think peace looked like. One student drew a picture of a large field. Another drew a picture of a sunset. But one student drew a picture of a huge, raging waterfall, with gallons of water crashing on the rocks below. Does that sound peaceful to you? What made the picture peaceful was that above the waterfall, there was a bird sound asleep in its nest! Even though there was danger below, the bird knew he was safe in the tree branch that held him – he was at peace.
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So what is peace? Some people would say that peace is the opposite of war, when there is no fighting or violence. There is peace in our homes when nobody is arguing or fighting. That is having peace with others. There are two other types of peace.
There is also peace with God. When Adam and Eve started out in the Garden of Eden, they had peace with God. They walked with Him and spent time with Him (Genesis 3:8a). But when Adam and Eve chose to sin by trusting Satan instead of God, the peace that they had with God was broken (Genesis 3:10). The Bible says every person has sinned (Romans 3:23), and every person has lost the peace that God wanted to have with him or her (Isaiah 57:21).
But God wanted to restore the peace we had with Him, so He promised to send a Savior to restore that peace (Genesis 3:15).
The Savior that God promised was Jesus! God fulfilled His promise when He sent Jesus, His Son, to earth. The prophet Isaiah called Jesus the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Anyone who believes in Jesus is made right with God; their peace with God is restored!
“There is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” – Acts 10:36b NLT
Thirdly, there is peace within our own hearts. This is something we deal with every day, so this is what we’ll talk about the most today. We have peace in our hearts when we are not worried, upset, angry, or afraid. This is something that people may not be able to see on the outside, but we know it’s there on the inside. When we don’t have peace we feel sort of like this (do a hand motion to show unrest) on the inside. We think about all the things that can go wrong. Our mind races and our heart beats quickly. God does not want His people to live without peace in their hearts and minds.
During His time on earth, Jesus restored peace everywhere He went. One day, after Jesus had been teaching parables to a large crowd, He and His disciples were on a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly, a huge, wild, raging storm appeared! The disciples of Jesus were terrified, but Jesus was so calm that He was asleep in the bottom of the boat. His disciples woke Him up because they were afraid they would drown in the storm (Mark 4:38, Luke 8:24).
“He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.” – Mark 4:39
Wow! Use your hands to show me what you think the water looked like during the storm. (Wave hands wildly.) Then what did it look like after Jesus spoke? (Make a smooth motion.) God loves to give us word pictures. Calming the raging sea was a picture of what Jesus can do to a person’s heart. Sometimes people feel stormy inside their hearts. (Wave hands wildly.) The disciples felt that way in the boat. These professional fishermen were so overwhelmed with fear that they didn’t know what to do. They were sure that they would drown in the storm. Jesus not only calmed down a huge storm outside, but He also brought peace to His disciples in their hearts. (Make a smooth motion.)
A little while later, a man named Jairus asked Jesus to come help his daughter. She was dying. On His way to help her, a huge crowd was following Jesus. In the crowd, there was a woman with a terrible disease. She came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes, because she believed that if she could touch Him, she would be healed. She touched him, and she was healed because of her faith (Luke 8:48)!
“‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. They all said they didn't do it. Then Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pushing against you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from Me.’ The woman realized that people would notice her. Shaking with fear, she came and fell at His feet. In front of everyone, she told why she had touched Him. She also told how she had been healed in an instant. Then He said to her, ‘Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’” – Luke 8:45-48
Jesus truly blessed this woman. She came to Jesus very upset about her disease. She had been to every doctor, but no human being could help her. She was worried and upset about her condition. Jesus healed her body and took away her suffering. But then, she was worried that she might get in trouble for touching Him without asking. She was actually shaking with fear. Have you ever been so afraid or worried that your body was shaking on the outside? Shaking on the outside is a sure sign that someone is shaking on the inside! But Jesus did not want her to live in fear and worry! He called her front-and-center to let her know that she was not in trouble. He was very pleased with her. He told her to go in peace. Not only did this woman receive the healing she was looking for, but she also received peace from Jesus.
Jesus can bring us this kind of inward peace.
When He was about to leave His disciples, Jesus told His followers, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.” (John 14:27a NLT) This peace stays with us even when we have something upsetting in our lives – like the raging waterfall under the sleeping bird.
For instance, what if my dad lost his job, and he didn’t know how we would pay our bills or buy food at the grocery store? That would be a pretty scary situation – I know I would tend to worry about that. But God does not want me to worry about it. He wants me to trust Him.
I want you to learn Romans 8:28a today. This verse is a promise from God, and God ALWAYS keeps His promises.
PPT CUE: Verse
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.
Repeat it after me. We know (We know) that in all things (that in all things) - God works (God works) - for the good (for the good) - of those who love Him (of those who love Him).
Let’s break this down:
We know. Does this mean we guess, we suppose? Maybe? No, we know. We are 100% certain.
That in all things. In how many things? Some things? Every once in a while? When God feels like it? In all things.
God. Who? You, or me, or your mom and dad? God. He is the focus – not us.
God works. What can God do? He can do anything! He is so powerful that He spoke and the Earth appeared. He spoke and the sun rose in the sky. He spoke and the human race began to breathe. He is all-powerful. When He works, watch out! Can anything stop God’s work? No way.
For the good: Is God good? Are the things He does good? Everything He does is very good!
Of those who love Him: Who is this talking about? It is each person who trusts Him! It is every person in the kingdom of God.
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Our all-powerful, all-good God is in control. He won’t let anything happen to one of His kids that is not what’s best for them.
So, even if my dad loses his job, I do not have to worry about it. I can have peace knowing that God is working out the situation in the very best way for my family and me. Maybe He has a better job waiting for my dad. Maybe He wants us all to learn to trust Him more. I may not know what’s best, but God does. There are no surprises for God. No situation slips past Him. If I am worrying – if I don’t have inner peace – it’s because I don’t believe that God is able to take care of me, or I don’t believe that God wants to take care of me. If I am worried, I do not believe the promise of Romans 8:28.
But when I trust God and trust His promises, I won’t feel like this (motion) on the inside. When I trust God, I’ll have peace.
Optional: Bring in a hamster or gerbil. Hold him up for the class to see. I wish I could let this gerbil know that he has nothing to be afraid of while I’m holding him. Whenever I pick him up, I know that he’s afraid because he squirms and shakes, and his little heart is racing. I wish he knew that there’s no way that I would ever let anything happen to him. In fact, he’s way safer here in my hands than if I let him down to run around on his own. On his own, he could get lost or stepped on, or an animal outside might grab him. If he would just trust me, he could relax and have a really fun, peaceful ride while I carry him around.
Do you see how we are often like this little hamster? We worry and fret over things in our lives, while the entire time we should just relax because God is holding us in the palm of His hand.
Remember, Jesus was sleeping peacefully in the boat during that raging storm. The disciples panicked while Jesus slept. Jesus trusted His heavenly Father. Jesus knew that His dad had Him in the palm of His hand. Just like Jesus, we will have peace when we trust that God is in control of everything.
PPT CUE: Key Verse
Key Verse: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! – Isaiah 26:3 NLT
PPT CUE: Main Point
Main Point: Peace comes from knowing that God is in control.
1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
PPT CUE
Main Point: Patience is trusting God to keep His promises in His perfect timing.
Key Verse: Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. – Psalm 37:7a
Props: One over-the-top decorated doughnut
Say: This week we continue to study the fruits of the Spirit. By now, we should all know which verses tell us the fruit of the Spirit. Let’s say them together.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23
Last week we learned that peace comes from believing that God is in control of everything and that He only wants what is best for us. This week we will learn about a similar fruit of the Spirit, patience.
Say: Before we start, I have a question. Did anyone go without breakfast this morning? I have a fresh, tasty doughnut today that I would like to give away. Does anyone want my free doughnut? Choose a volunteer, and have them come up to the front. Okay. I promise to give you this doughnut. Do you believe me? Okay then. The only thing is, I can’t give it to you just yet. I will give it to you, just not right away. Have volunteer sit down. Occasionally mention the doughnut throughout the lesson.
Now, this is going to take some patience from our volunteer. What is patience? Patience is being willing to wait for something without being annoyed or restless. You can even think of patience as waiting for something with a good attitude. You have to be patient when you wait for your brother or sister to finish playing with a toy or video game that you want to use. You have to be patient when you wait for a teacher to give you a doughnut. Those things usually only take a few minutes, but could you ever be patient enough to wait for something for 120 years?
In Genesis 6, God told Noah that He was planning to flood the earth because the people living at that time had become so evil. The Bible tells us that everyone in the world except Noah and his family were always thinking of evil and violence, and God was sad that He had made them (Genesis 5:7). God warned Noah that the flood was coming and told him to build a giant boat called an ark that Noah and his family could stay in while God flooded the earth. God also told Noah to take along a male and female of every animal and bird so that there would be animals alive after the flood. (Genesis 5:11-20)
God told Noah that there would be a flood, but God also chose to wait 120 years to send it! That’s longer than anyone lives today! Imagine if you had to wait for something for more than a century. That is an incredible amount of time to wait. It would take incredible patience for Noah to wait that long.
Did Noah ever get tired of waiting? Did he ever say, “I’ve been waiting for years and I haven’t even seen any clouds! I’m not building this ark!”? Or did he ever say, “All my neighbors think I’m crazy for building this ark. Now I feel silly. What a waste of time. I don’t think there is going to be any flood.” No! Noah never got impatient. Noah never gave up because he believed God’s promise that there would be a flood and that God would protect him and his family. So he obeyed God and he waited the entire 120 years until God finally said it was time to get on the ark. And on top of that, Genesis 7:10 says that after they got on the ark, they waited another week before the rain started. Clearly, Noah and his family had amazing patience to wait on the Lord. Noah had patience because he knew that God ALWAYS keeps His promises, and God’s timing is perfect.
Numbers 21:4-6 tells us about some people who were not patient. Many generations after Noah, God had led His people out of slavery in Egypt. He saved them from Pharaoh’s army and made great promises to them. But they were impatient and they complained - a lot! They wanted everything that God promised, right away. God was very angry that they demanded things from Him. His timing is perfect; He knows when to do everything. It is a lack of trust to be impatient with God.
Look at volunteer. Hey, by the way, did I mention how fresh and ooy-gooy this doughnut is?
As with all the fruit of the Spirit, we see a perfect example of patience in Jesus. Remember that Jesus was 100% man, but he was also 100% God (John 1:1-14). When Jesus was on earth, He waited to reveal that He was the Son of God. He did not immediately start telling everyone who He was. Jesus’ disciples and His family often wondered why Jesus waited to reveal who He was (John 7:3-5). But Jesus always had a good reason for waiting. Jesus only did what God told Him to do (verse), and God’s time for Jesus to tell who He was had not come yet. For example, Mark 1:1-40 says:
A man who had a skin disease came to Jesus. On his knees he begged Jesus. He said, “If you are willing to make me clean, you can do it.” Jesus was filled with deep concern. He reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing to do it,” He said. “Be clean!” Right away the disease left him. He was healed. Jesus sent him away at once. He gave the man a strong warning. “Don't tell this to anyone,” He said. “Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be a witness to the priest and the people that you are clean.” But the man went out and started talking right away. He spread the news to everyone. So Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. He stayed outside in lonely places. But people still came to Him from everywhere.
In this passage, a man with a skin disease went to Jesus begging Him to heal his disease. This man had faith that Jesus could heal him, and Jesus did. Jesus did a kind and amazing thing for this man. Would it have been easy for Jesus to let this man go tell everyone what He did, and take the credit? It sure would have. In fact, Jesus deserved to be praised for this miracle. But Jesus knew that it was not time for Him to receive praise for His miracles yet. Jesus trusted His Father’s plan completely. He knew God wanted Him to wait, and He had the patience to wait for God’s timing, so He told the man not to tell anyone about the miracle. Sadly, the man disobeyed Jesus. The healed man did not have the patience not to tell everyone about the miracle, and because of this, Jesus could no longer enter towns without it being a secret. The man’s lack of patience ended up getting in the way of Jesus’ ministry.
Look at the doughnut. By the way, I wonder if they had doughnuts like this back in Bible times.
Say: Our volunteer sure has been waiting a long time for that doughnut! I know it must have taken patience to wait this long. I think it’s been long enough – come get your doughnut! Have volunteer come get doughnut. Isn’t it a great feeling to finally get something you’ve been waiting for? We all love when someone keeps their promise to us. The best part of this fruit of the Spirit is that when we patiently wait on God’s promises, He always keeps them (Numbers 23:19)!
James 5:7-10 tells us to be patient. It says:
Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes. See how the farmer waits for the land to produce its rich crop. See how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You too must be patient. You must stand firm. The Lord will soon come back. Brothers and sisters, don't find fault with one another. If you do, you will be judged. And the Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, think about the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They are an example of how to be patient when you suffer. As you know, we think that people who don't give up are blessed. You have heard that Job was patient. And you have seen what the Lord finally did for him. The Lord is full of tender mercy and loving concern.
This passage says that people who are patient are blessed, like a farmer who waits for his plants to grow and produce great vegetables. If he just gives up and quits caring for his plants, there will be no crop! But when you are patient, and faithfully do what you are supposed to do, you will always be blessed!
But what does it look like to be patient when you are in (4th and 5th) grade? It could be having a good attitude waiting for your turn on the swings at recess. Or it could be not giving up on a friend that you want to know Jesus. Or maybe you could be patient by not being angry that your dad has not found a job yet. Be patient in these kinds of things, and God will bless you!
Teacher, insert a personal story of waiting patiently – or a story of your being impatient! If you have a story from when you were a child, that would be great. When you are impatient, bad things happen. And when you are patient, you will be blessed.
There is an old saying that says, “Good things come to those who wait.” We know lots of very good promises in the Bible that are worth waiting for. Some of these are: God will supply all of your needs (Philippians 4:19), God will give you wisdom (James 1:5), God will get rid of all sadness one day (Revelation 21:4), and Jesus will come back to Earth (John 14:2-3).
If you become impatient about these promises, you are actually saying one of two things. Either you don’t believe that God always keeps His promises, or you don’t believe that God’s timing is perfect. But does God know best? Of course He does! He knows everything, and He will keep His promises at just the right time. If we believe this, if we have faith, then we will be patient like Noah and like Jesus. God has given you His Holy Spirit to remind you of His truth so that you can be patient in all things.
PPT Cue: Key Verse
Key Verse: Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. – Psalm 37:7a
PPT Cue: Main Point
Main Point: Patience is trusting God to keep His promises in His perfect timing.
1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
PPT CUE
Main Point: We should keep our thoughts on God’s goodness.
Key Verse: Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things. - Philippians 4:8
Props: An apple and some mud or dirt
Who can list the fruits of the Spirit that we have learned about over the past 4 weeks? Love, joy, peace, and patience. These are the fruits of whose Spirit? They are the fruit of God's Spirit. When we believe in Jesus, God's Holy Spirit lives in us, and His characteristics grow in us and show in us.
Say: Today, we’re going to have a little history lesson, but it’s a story you all have probably heard before. It’s a very, very old story – in fact, it’s the very first story there is! I’m talking about the story of creation, when God created the world and everything in it. Let’s look at Genesis 1, the very first chapter in the Bible.
PPT CUE: Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQBFuA5dlqI&feature=related
Teacher, read verses as they appear on screen. Every time the word “good” appears, point to kids and have them say “good.”
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn't have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:1-4
Stop right there and look at that last verse again. What did God think about the light that He made? It was good! God made light, and saw that it was good! I’m going to keep reading and we’re going to see more about what God thought of His creation. I need your help. Each time I point at you, I want you to yell the word “good” as loud as you can! Let’s practice. When I point to you, yell, “good!” Read Genesis 1:6-31. Throughout the passage, each time God calls His creation, “good,” point to the kids and have them yell, “good!”
God saw all of His creation, and thought it was not just good, but very good! But sadly, things did not stay very good for long. In Genesis 3, we learn that Adam and Eve, the first people, chose to listen to Satan instead of God. Satan told them that God was a liar and that they shouldn’t obey Him. Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie, so they disobeyed God. This was sin. Sin ruins everything. Soon God’s good creation was spoiled.
Say: But we also know that is not the end of the story. God loved us too much to let us stay in sin, separated from Him. Instead, He sent His son Jesus to bring us back to Him. When He was here, Jesus showed goodness to every single person He met. Jesus was just like His Father in every way (John 14:9), so everything about Jesus was good, because everything about God is good. There are many, many examples of Jesus’ goodness in the Bible, and I encourage you to read about them for yourself.
One of these examples is in Matthew 4:23-25. These verses say. “People brought to Him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them (Matt 4:24).” In a world full of sickness and pain, Jesus brought goodness. These verses also say that Jesus was healing so many people that huge crowds followed Him around (Matt 4:25). Jesus’ goodness was so great that crowds of people followed Him to be blessed by it!
Mark 2:1-12 tells another amazing story of Jesus’ goodness. One day Jesus was preaching inside a house in a town called Capernaum, and there was a huge crowd filling the house and overflowing to the outside. Some other men came to the house carrying their friend who was paralyzed on a mat. Mark 2:4-5 says, “But they could not get him close to Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole in the roof above Jesus. Then they lowered the man through it on a mat. Jesus saw their faith. So he said to the man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” Wow! Jesus just forgave a man’s sins because his friends had faith in Him! That by itself is an amazing story, but there is more. Mark 2:6-12 goes on to say:
Some teachers of the law were sitting there. They were thinking, “Why is this fellow talking like that? He's saying a very evil thing! Only God can forgive sins!”
Right away Jesus knew what they were thinking. So He said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’? Or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
Then Jesus spoke to the man who could not walk. “I tell you,” He said, “get up. Take your mat and go home.”
The man got up and took his mat. Then he walked away while everyone watched. All the people were amazed. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”
This was a wonderful day for the paralyzed man! Jesus healed his body and restored his ability to walk, which is what he probably came for. But even better and more importantly, Jesus forgave the man’s sins! The man was no longer separated from God! I can’t imagine how Jesus could have shown any more goodness to him.
PPT CUE: Key Verse
Say: Just like all the other fruits of the Spirit, the Bible says we are to have goodness in our lives and good actions for everyone to see. Read Philippians 4:8 with me.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.
This verse says we need to think about things that are “right,” “pure,” “excellent” – all these words mean “good.” What kind of good things do you think this verse is talking about? Is God’s creation a good thing? Yes! God’s creation is a wonderful thing to think about. But what about video games where you shoot people or TV shows that are full of fighting? Are those the kinds of good things we should think about? No. Those things are not noble or right or pure. Or what about math that you learn at school? Yes! All truth, even math, is God’s truth. What are some other good, right, pure things that we should spend time thinking about?
Why does the Bible say we should think about good things? Hold up an apple. Look at this apple. It is a good fruit, and if I wanted, I could eat it. It would be good for me because it’s a good fruit. But what if I got it dirty on the outside? Put dirt or mud on your apple. Would you want to eat this apple now? No! The apple is dirty now and I can’t eat it until I wash it off. This apple is like the Fruit of the Spirit, goodness, that we have been talking about. If you have goodness in your life, people can see it and they want the goodness you have. But if you spend all your time thinking about things that are not right, pure, or good, it’s like putting mud on the outside. Nobody wants your goodness if it’s coated in sin. Instead, think about good things like Philippians 4:8 says. Then, people will see the goodness in your life and it will point them to God – the source of all good things (James 1:17).
PPT CUE: Main Point
Main Point: We should keep our thoughts on God’s goodness.
1 © 2010 BibleLessons4Kidz.com All rights reserved worldwide. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. All rights reserved worldwide.
PPT CUE
Main Point: We must be gentle toward others with our words and actions.
Key Verse: A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1
Props: A hammer, a board with a nail halfway through, a soccer ball, a baby chick.
Say: For the past few weeks, we have been studying the fruits of the Spirit. Can anyone name all the fruits of the Spirit, or tell me what verse we find them in?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
Who remembers which fruit we studied last week? Goodness. That’s right. We learned about how when God created the world, everything was good, and that after we sinned, Jesus came to earth to make everything good again. This week, we’ll look at gentleness.
PPT CUE
Say: Think for a second about how you handle different things. Do you treat every object the same? Let’s look at an example of what I’m talking about. Can I have a volunteer to come help me? Choose a volunteer and have them come up front. Here I have a hammer, a nail and a board. Do you know what you do with these things? Can you show me? Have the volunteer hammer the nail. Think about this hammer and this nail. When you’re hammering a nail, do you need to take care that you don’t break the hammer? Or do you hammer very softly, so that you don’t hurt the hammer or the nail? No! Your hammer is made to hit things. You don’t have to worry about it breaking. You can hammer with it has hard as you want, and the hammer will be just fine.
Will two more people come up to help me today? I have a soccer ball with me today. Who here likes to play soccer? Choose two more volunteers. Volunteers, do you two know what to do with a soccer ball? Can you please show us what you do with one? Have volunteers kick the ball back and forth. Now let me ask you two a question. Were you ever worried that you would hurt the ball when you kicked it? No! You’re supposed to kick a soccer ball. You never worry about breaking or hurting it.
But some things are different. Will one more person please volunteer to help me? Choose a last volunteer. I have something else with me today, something different than a hammer or a soccer ball. Hand the volunteer the baby chick. Look at this sweet chick. Would you ever treat it like our other examples? Would you ever bang it around like a hammer, or kick it around like the soccer ball? Of course not! You don’t treat a baby chick like those things! You hold a chick very carefully and with gentleness. You wouldn’t jerk it around, you would move slowly. You are gentle with some things, like this chick. Gentleness is when we act with kindness and care towards something.
PPT CUE
Say: It’s pretty easy to see the difference between how we can treat things rough or gentle with our hands. Now, let’s think about being gentle with our words. Last week we talked about when God created the Earth and everything in it. How did God create things? God spoke; He used His words! Just think about that for a second. God spoke, and there was dry ground. Guess what we are standing on right now? We are standing on that dry ground – on the word that God spoke! God spoke and created the trees. Who in here has ever climbed a tree? Did you know that you were climbing on the word of God? The book of Job says that God spoke and told the ocean just how far it is allowed to go up on the shore. Who has been to the beach and run back and forth as the tide goes in and out? Did you know you were running with the word of God?
Have God’s words lasted? Yes! They have lasted for thousands of years and will last forever more. Words are very powerful things. Today, I want you to realize that your words are powerful. Everyone say, “My words are powerful.” Did you know that a brother can say something when he is 9 years old (use age of your students) that can affect his brother or sister for the rest of their life? A word spoken to a child can cause that child to act a certain way even when he is all grown up. (Leader, share a story of something that someone said to you when you were a child – good or bad – that has affected you in some way.)
Who in here has a brother? Who in here has a sister? Who has a parent? Okay, so we all live with other people. We speak a lot of words to those people. Our words can be harsh or our words can be gentle.
PPT CUE: Key Verse
A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger. – Proverbs 15:1
Some words are mean. They can feel like a hammer striking our heart and mind. But some words can be gentle and kind. They feel more like they are gently petting our soul.
Say: Just like all the fruits of the Spirit, the perfect example of gentleness is Jesus.
(Teacher Alert: the nature of this woman’s sin was sexual, so we should not mention this to the kids. You may not even want to have the kids turn here this week. The main point, certainly, is Jesus’ response to her accusers.)
One day, Jesus was sitting in the Temple courtyard teaching a group of people. Some Pharisees and other leaders marched in with a woman who had been caught sinning. The leaders did not care about the woman. They were testing Jesus to see if He would follow the Law. The law said that they were allowed to throw stones at the woman to punish her. “What do You say?” they asked Jesus.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger.
They kept asking Him questions. So He stood up and said to them, "Has any one of you not sinned? Then you be the first to throw a stone at her."
He bent down again and wrote on the ground.
Those who heard what He had said began to go away. They left one at a time, the older ones first. Soon only Jesus was left. The woman was still standing there.
Jesus stood up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Hasn't anyone found you guilty?"
"No one, Sir," she said.
"Then I don't find you guilty either," Jesus said. "Go now and leave your life of sin." – John 8:6b-11
Wow. Wasn’t that a beautiful gentle answer? Jesus didn’t scold the Pharisees. He didn’t yell at the woman because of her sin. He was gentle with both. We could say that Jesus even had the right to be harsh with both the Pharisees and the woman. But He gave a gentle answer, and His gentle answer changed all of their hearts!
Say: If Jesus’ gentle Spirit lives in us, then how should we speak to other people? Gently! No matter who we are talking to, we should use gentle speech.
You should know that even though someone may look pretty tough on the outside like this hammer (show hammer), on the inside, we are all tender and fragile like this chick (show chick).
Again, how would we treat the chick? Softly, slowly. carefully. Teacher: Write words on white board. So we should make sure the words that we speak are like that.
Remember Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger.” Use your words to turn anger away. Use your words to compliment and encourage, to build each other up. Use your words so that 20 years from now, someone will have a story to tell about how your words affected their life in a very good way. Your words are powerful and they will last!
And as with all the fruits of the Spirit, you just have to hang out with Jesus for them to show in your life. Spend time reading His word. Pray to Him all throughout your day. Ask Him what you should say to others!
Key Verse: A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1
PPT CUE: Main Point
Main Point: We must be gentle toward others with our words and actions.
PPT CUE
Main Point: God’s Spirit helps us control our thoughts and actions.
Key Verse: (God’s grace) teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful longings. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today's world. – Titus 2:12
Props: A chocolate cake
Say: For the past several weeks, we have been studying all the Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Can anyone tell me what this verse says?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
As we have seen, the Fruit of the Spirit grows in our lives when we are living with the Holy Spirit in us. This week, we will study the last fruit, self-control – which means this is our last week of studying the Fruits of the Spirit.
Teacher Note: The Greek word for self-control in Galatians 5:23 is “egkrateia” which means “temperance: the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites.”
Say: Who can name some wild animals? Take a look at these wild animals!
(Show pictures of animals).
Which animal is called the “king of the jungle”? Why do you think lions are called “king of the jungle”? They can do anything they want; they are fierce and wild!
Let’s take a look at a short video clip. (Show clip of lion tamer act.)
That lion tamer had control of those lions, didn’t he? That man can make the lion (which is naturally wild) do whatever he wants it to do. The man can make the lion do something it doesn’t want to do (like roll over), or the tamer can keep the lion from doing something that it does want to do (like biting the man). Clearly, the man was in control of the lion.
Today we’re talking about self-control. Can anyone guess what that means? With self-control, we control ourselves. We control our desires – our “want to’s”. Through self-control, we keep ourselves from doing something bad that we shouldn’t do, and we make ourselves do good things that we should do.
PPT CUE
Say: Once again, the perfect example of this fruit, self-control, is found in Jesus. Jesus is the one person who had perfect self-control His entire life. The Bible calls Jesus the one who “had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), which means He never sinned at all. Think about that kind of self-control! He never thought, “Just this one time, I can lie to my parents,” or, “No one will knew if I punch my brother.”
We might think, “Well, Jesus must have lived a life very different from me. He didn’t have to live with my sister!” We might think that no one ever bothered Him, or nothing ever went wrong for Him. This is not true at all! For one thing, the Bible tells us that Jesus had lots of brothers and sisters (Matthew 13:55-56). Is it easy to live with brothers and sisters without ever being annoyed or frustrated with them? No way! In fact, the Bible says that Jesus was tempted to sin in every way that we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15) which means His brothers and sisters probably bugged Him sometimes, but He never sinned. He was not mean to them, He didn’t hit them, He never stole their candy. He didn’t even think bad thoughts about them! That is amazing self-control!
But Jesus not only had self-control to keep Himself from doing wrong things. He had so much self-control that He was always able to the right things! He always did what God wanted Him to do, even when it was very, very difficult and painful. Do you remember the story that we talk about at Easter - when Jesus was arrested and taken to the cross? On the night that Jesus was arrested, before the soldiers came to take Him, He was on the Mount of Olives praying to God. Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup of suffering away from me. But do what you want, not what I want.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus knew that He would go through terrible suffering when He was arrested and nailed to a cross. No one would want to suffer by hanging on a cross! But by His incredible self-control, Jesus chose to obey God’s will rather than doing what He wanted to do.
Think about all the power that Jesus had. He had done so many miracles – He had healed the sick, created food to feed thousands, and cast out demons. He even raised people from the dead! Could Jesus have stopped the soldiers and the people from nailing Him to that cross? Yes! Of course! Jesus had all the power of God at His fingertips. He could have easily stopped the people from crucifying Him (Matthew 26:53). But He had the self-control to do exactly what God asked Him to do, even through all that pain and suffering. Jesus trusted that God’s plan was perfect. He wanted to save you and me from the punishment of our sin, so He willingly went to the cross. And after He did, God raised Him from the dead and now Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56)!
Jesus always had the self-control to keep Himself from sinning, and to obey God. The reason He had this amazing self-control was because He was full of the Holy Spirit, and He spent as much time as He could with His Father. The more time we spend with God, the more good fruit God will grow in our lives – and Jesus had the most spiritual fruit of anyone.
Say: So how do we have that kind of control over our own thoughts and actions?
Let’s pretend that you went to the Spring Festival at your school. There were all kinds of games to play. You decided to try the Cakewalk. When the music stopped, you were on the right number, so you won a cake! Let’s say you chose a huge chocolate cake, because chocolate cake is your very favorite thing to eat. (Hold up a chocolate cake.) You love chocolate cake so much, you wished you could eat the entire cake yourself. But should you? No! Why not? That would be terrible for your body; you would get really sick.
There are two ways to keep you from eating that entire cake. Someone could stop you, or you could stop yourself. Your mom could take the cake away and hide it, or you could just resist eating the whole thing. Which option sounds more like self-control? Is self-control when somebody keeps you from doing something, or when you can keep yourself from doing that thing? Self-control is when you control you, when you make yourself do the right thing.
Just like a lion naturally wants to prowl the jungle or roar at a human, our natural self (our sin nature) wants to do bad stuff sometimes. What are some bad things that we are tempted to do sometimes? You might want to grab what you want right when you want it; you might want to hit someone or yell at someone when you are angry; you might want to push someone when they get in front of you; you might want your own way instead of thinking of others. These are all actions that we must control for ourselves.
Also, there are some good things that we should do, that our natural self just doesn’t want to do. We should get up and get ready for school in the morning; we should do our homework; we should do our chores that our parents ask us to do. Again, it takes self-control to do the right things that we are supposed to do.
The term “self-control” is sort of a tricky phrase. It is “self”-control because no other person is doing it for us. But that doesn’t mean we are all on our own! God’s Holy Spirit that lives inside of each believer is the One who is really giving us the power to have self-control. When we believe in Jesus, God’s Spirit fills us – just like it filled Jesus (Luke 4:1). We can have self-control just like Jesus did when we depend on the Spirit to guide us. So no matter what is going on around us, we can keep from doing wrong things and we can do right things.
PPT CUE
(God’s grace) teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful longings. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today's world. – Titus 2:12
Say: We’ve talked about many fruits of the Spirit, and the Bible tells us that there are even more. Don’t ever think that you have to grow this fruit on your own! In fact, you can’t grow it on your own! Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to Me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can't do anything without Me.” (John 15:5)
PPT CUE
When we believe in Jesus, we enter God’s kingdom and God’s Spirit comes to live in us. The fruit of God’s Spirit grows and grows in us as we remain with Jesus – as we talk to Him, listen to Him, and read His word. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grow in us and show in us because of our relationship with Jesus.
PPT CUE: Main Point
Main Point: God’s Spirit helps us control our thoughts and actions.