‘Love’ Fruit of the Spirit Childrens Lesson

BIG IDEA: I CAN SHOW LOVE

AIM: The aim of the ‘Love’ Fruit of the Spirit Childrens Lesson is to help children realise that through God’s Spirit they are able to show the love of God to others. This is the first lesson in the Tutti Frutti series.

INTRO QUESTION: What is your favorite fruit?

BIBLE STORY VIDEO AND SONG IDEAS are available on our dedicated Pinterest Board.

GAME IDEAS:

1. Fruit Salad. (regular/widescreen) Go around the room giving each child one of 3-4 fruit names. Children sit in an individual hula hoop and are given the name of a fruit. When their fruit is called they can move to another child’s hula hoop. When ‘fruit salad’ is called all the children can move into a different hoop.
2. Fruit Cups. (regular/widescreen) Choose a player to watch where the fruit goes. Place the fruit under one of three of the same cups. Move the cups super fast. Ask the child to tell you which cup the fruit is underneath. If they guess correctly they win a point for their team.
3. Oranges or Apples? (regular/widescreen) Children are put into teams – apples or oranges – to play a noughts and crosses style game. Children take turns to place their fruit. They must place an apple or orange three in a row – horizontally, vertically or diagonally to win the game. Alternatively have the leader place all the apples and oranges (live objects or print outs) and the children tell the leader where to place them.

BIG VERSE: …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control… Galatians 6:22-23.

(regular/widescreen)

Download Bible Cards.

SET the Scene:

Remind the children that today we are thinking about the Fruit of the Spirit that is love. You can explain that the fruit of the Spirit means that when we have God – the Holy Spirit (God is three persons but one God) – there will be things that are shown in our lives. Just as a tree produces fruit, when we have God in our lives good fruit is produced. Yet when we don’t, often bad fruit is created. Galatians 5 tells us all about the things that are not good that are created, but in this series we will focus on the good fruit that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us when we allow Him into our lives.  The story to help us understand the fruit of love is the Good Samaritan.

Read Luke 10:26-37. You can also tell the story of the Good Samaritan through using the Good Samaritan Monologue.

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. Who was Jesus telling this story to?
2. How many people passed by the man on the road?
3. Who helped the man?
4. How did he help the man?

 

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

1) GOD IS LOVE

You will need to share a story about how you felt God’s love in your own life.

Say: God is love. That’s what the Bible tells us in 1 John 4. He doesn’t just show love or have love, no, He IS love. That means love is part of God’s character and who He is. He loves us with an unconditional love – that means that no matter what we do He loves us. God will always love us and His love for us will never go away.

It’s amazing what knowing God love can do in your life! Those that know they are loved can live a life of love. That’s because the Bible tells us in 1 John 4:19 “we love because He first loved us.” We can stand strong, firm and secure, knowing that we have a God that loves us. So when Jesus tells this story to the people, He knows that He is a God of love. He is telling the people what it is like to love others in a very real way.

2) LOVE SO OTHER’S WILL KNOW GOD’S LOVE

You will need a stamp of a heart or the word ‘Love’. Go around the room stamping the stamp on each child’s hand. You will need to use references to sports teams that your kids are familiar with.

Say: When we show others God’s love they remember what we have done and it shows them what God is like. The Samaritan was somebody that everyone expected to be bad. The Jewish people didn’t like the Samaritans. They did not get along. So when Jesus told this story the people would have been very surprised to learn that the Priest and Levite walked past, but the Samaritan helped him. It would be like telling you that a fan from your sports team [insert name here] was robbed and left for dead, members of the team came and saw him, but walked on by, yet someone from the opponent’s team [insert opposing team here] stopped and helped them. The person that we did not expect to help was the one who did.

When we can love, even when people don’t expect us to, people will remember it. Jesus said “love your enemies” and “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. Our enemies wouldn’t expect us to love them, that’s not the way the world works. But Jesus shows us a new way – a way that everyone can know His love. When I show others God’s love, it’s like I go around with a stamp [take your heart stamp and stamp the children’s hands]. You have that heart with you now wherever you go. When we love others, we leave them wondering where that love came from. We might even get the opportunity to tell them! So let’s love others so that they know God’s love – the kind that will never leave them or let them down.

3) LOVE BY CARING FOR OTHERS

Use the ‘Love Love Love’ images and the ‘Love Looks Like this’ images of kids helping to show different ways that we can show others that we love them.

Say: Who do you love? [Get feedback] How would you show your love? [Get feedback] How do your parents, or the grown ups that look after you show love? [Get feedback] How about your siblings? [Get feedback] Grandparents? [Get feedback] Friends? [Get feedback]

We can show love to others in so many ways; kind words, helpful actions, spending time with them, giving gifts, listening to them. The list is endless! The Good Samaritan showed love by paying attention when others ignored, binding up the man’s wounds and paying for him to get better whilst he stayed with the innkeeper.

God wants us to show others that they are loved; that’s how we love our neighbour as we love ourselves: by doing real things for real people. We can care for others so that they know God is a God that loves to take care of them. How will you show those around you that they are loved this week?

SEARCH the Scriptures:

LOVE ME DO. (regular/widescreen) Hold up a Bible character and ask the children to think of people that loved that person.

You can download images of and view the Bible characters here.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How do we know the people from the Bible were loved?
2. How can we know we are loved?
3. Who can we love?
4. Have you ever shown someone love and not had it returned? How did it feel?
5. How can you make others feel loved?

SENSE How You Feel:

1. Make a popsicle theatre scene of the Good Samaritan. 
2. Sensory: have a doctors kit with bandaids and bandages on a sensory table.
3. Build: the scene of the Good Samaritan helping the man out of Lego and building blocks.
4. Mould: the Good Samaritan helping the man out of clay and playdough.
5. Fill in/Color the activity booklets for 5-7s  and 8-11s.

SEEK God:

Pray:

1. We can’t love others until we know that we are loved first. Do you truly know the love of Jesus in your heart and life?
2. Do you need help to love those around you? Is there someone that you find particularly annoying? Are there people that you don’t really enjoy spending time with? Or perhaps you’re just wanting God to remind you of those you have forgotten that need His love.