These very visual lessons are designed to help memorize and incorporate the fruit of the Spirit into your life.
Be Loving - 1 Corinthians 16:14
Be Joyful - John 15:11
Be Joyful - Proverbs 17:22
Be Peaceful - Isaiah 26:3
Be Patient - Romans 12:12
Be Kind - 1 Corinthians 13:4
Do Good - Galatians 6:9
Be Faithful - 1 Samuel 26:23
Be Gentle - Proverbs 15:4
Be Self-Controlled - Proverbs 25:28
'Til Christ Be Formed in You - Galatians 4:19
Be Loving
Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
Materials: ice, tasty treats
What is your favorite treat? Do you like fresh blueberries or strawberries? Chocolate? Candy? Don’t you love how sweet it tastes?! Did you know that if you put an ice cube in your mouth until you can hardly stand the coldness, and then immediately put your favorite treat on your tongue, you won’t be able to taste it? The ice is so cold that it numbs your tongue’s taste buds and you aren’t able to really taste.
Did you know that the same thing can happen to people? We can get caught up in what we want, how we feel, and what’s happening to us. It’s like we’ve had ice applied to our hearts, and we have become numb to the people around us. We forget to think about the feelings, thoughts, and needs of people around us. Just like putting ice on your tongue can numb your taste, only thinking about yourself can numb your heart.
That’s not a good thing. Our loving Heavenly Father never intended for His people to just think about themselves. Rather, God uses us to encourage and help other people. But if we are only thinking about ourselves, we won’t stop to think to help and encourage someone who really needs it. It could be someone in your church family. It could be someone in your immediate family. It could be a good friend. There could be someone right next to you who needs you to do something nice for them.
It is so easy to think only of ourselves. It’s called carnal, human nature. We don’t naturally put others ahead of ourselves. It requires a deliberate act and conscious thought to put others first, to think about what they may need. Doing that - thinking about the needs of others - is what God’s people do. And that’s why Paul tells the Corinthians, “Let all that you do be done in love.”
The next time you taste your favorite treat (without the ice), I hope you’ll think about how to let people see your warm and loving heart.
Resource: http://playeatgrow.com/2013/12/helping-kids-to-begin-to-notice-needs.html/
Be Joyful
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
Materials: container, hot water, expanding shapes (looks like a pill initially)
Because it takes the experiment a few minutes to work, we’ll get it started right away. [Put the “pill” into a container and pour hot water over the top.]
While that’s working, let’s talk about joy. What is joy? How can your joy be full?
Joy is not exactly the same thing as happy. You can be happy about something that happens. You can be happy that something didn’t happen. Happiness tends to be tied to individual events. If you are usually happy, then you are a joyful person. You don’t always have to be happy to be a joyful person; you’re just happy most of the time. That’s what your default setting is.
Do you know people like that? I do. There are people who are almost always upbeat. They are known to be cheerful and you rarely hear them complaining. Then there are people who are grouchy and ready to complain about everything. The grouchy guy can be happy at times, but you know he’s going to be grouchy again before you turn around. His happiness is an emotion that comes and goes, but he really isn’t joyful.
So where does joy come from? Joy that lasts, joy that gives you strength to keep going even when bad things happen, joy that keeps you smiling even when things go wrong - that kind of joy comes from God.
Notice what Jesus said in John 15:11: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus told his disciples (and all of us) about our relationship with Him, about preparing a place for us to be with Him, about eternal life in His kingdom, about what He was going to do so that we could be with Him. God’s plan in our life gives us a goal to fix our eyes on. We don’t let the light and momentary troubles get us down (2 Corinthians 4:17) because we know that God’s in control; He’s working it out; and because He loves us, we can trust that things will work out for our good.
So what about this “pill”? Don’t you think it’s interesting that it didn’t expand until I poured water over it? Do you remember what water is a symbol for in the Bible? The Holy Spirit. So if I add water to the pill and it expands, what do you think having the Holy Spirit working in your life will do to your joy? Your joy will grow - or maybe like Jesus said, your joy may be full.
Here’s another object lesson. I pulled almost all of the corn yesterday. There was a small, secondary ear on one of the stalks. Look at the kernels that formed. Why does it look like this? The corn either didn’t have enough nutrients to completely fill out the ear - or there wasn’t enough water.
It’s the same thing in your life: If you don’t stay connected to the One who gives us and Who sustains us (God), and if you don’t have His Holy Spirit working in your life, God’s joy will not be in you and your joy will not be full.
So where you do get joy? The word that “joy” comes from is “rejoice.” Rejoice is an action - it is a celebration, an expression of praise and thanksgiving to God for what He has done in our lives. As you rejoice before God, the joy in your life becomes more and more full. You realize what God is doing, you focus on the good things He has done and that He promises to do, and your joy grows.
Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice (Philippians 4:4). . . . . These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).
Be Joyful
A joyful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Materials: a collection of silly jokes
Q. Do you know the little boy threw the clock out the window?
Q. Do you know what you get when you mix a rooster, a poodle, and a kangaroo?
Knock-Knock
Who’s There?
Amish
Amish Who?
You don’t look like a shoe.
Do you enjoy laughing? How does it make you feel? Do you feel better when you’re smiling or when you’re frowning? Do you feel heavier when you’re smiling or when you’re frowning? Most of us would rather be laughing than crying. It feels better. And there are a lot of comedians who make a lot of money because people want to laugh - at something! The funniest thing I have experienced in recent years was going to a Tim Hawkins concert. Tim was funny. But the silliest part of the whole evening was when they first came out to warm up the crowd. They said they were checking the sound system. So they told us to laugh like it was a moderately funny joke. Then they told us to laugh like it was really funny. Now imagine a whole auditorium full of people who are laughing. . . at nothing. It makes you laugh just because they’re laughing. Then when they told us to laugh like it was the funniest thing we’d ever heard, I thought I was going to cry because it was so funny! People belly laughing . . . over nothing. It was hilarious!
Laughing makes us feel better. Closely related to that is being able to do something we really enjoy. Something that brings us a lot of joy when we’re doing it makes us feel really good. Think of making a snowman after the first fresh snowfall, or jumping in a pile of leaves on a crisp autumn day, or playing in a creek in the summertime. What about eating a fresh peach straight from the tree or a handful of strawberries straight from the patch before they go into your bucket? What about drawing or coloring or writing a song or making up a new game to play with your friends? There are so many things which bring us joy.
But be careful. There are things in this world that look like they will bring you joy, but they are not Godly. If God wouldn’t have anything to do with them, you know they will not bring you joy in the end. Sometimes people tell jokes which are not godly, using bad words or which bring bad thoughts to mind. People may laugh at them, but they are not going to lift you up. They will not make you joyful. There are things you find to do which look fun at the start, but if they are not godly, you won’t find yourself having so much fun at the end.
It has been proven that people who are joyful are healthier than people who are grumpy. Don’t be a grump. Think about the blessings God has given you. Look for the funny things around you. Learn how to laugh at yourself - because we all do silly things at times. And spend lots of time with God and with God’s people. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Find your joy in the Lord.
A joyful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Be Peaceful
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
Materials: a sponge cut into small squares, containers of clear water, containers of colored water
What do sponges do? Their name has become synonymous with soaking something up. In the physical case of a sponge, it’s liquid. If you’re talking about little kids, they soak up (and imitate) your words and actions.
But once the liquid if soaked up, then what does the sponge do. It releases the liquid - just like someone who soaks up, and imitates you, will then turn around and do exactly what you were just doing.
So do you ever get “squeezed” in your life? Sure you do! Whenever you feel pressure to do something, or when you feel anger and frustration bubbling over, or when something bad or unexpected happens - that’s when we feel “squeezed.”
The Biblical word “tribulation” comes from a Latin word which means “to press” - like when you squeeze grapes to get the juice.
That squeezing in your life, that tribulation, is not unexpected. Jesus knew we would be squeezed, that we would have tribulation. He told His disciples in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
So squeezing is going to happen. But what comes out? When a sponge is squeeze, what comes out is whatever was soaked up. Whatever is in you, good thoughts or bad thoughts; angry and hateful actions or kind and generous actions; love, joy, peace or hatred, discontent, and discord; that’s what comes out.
So what determines whether we’re going to have good things or bad things in our thoughts and actions and words? Do you pick up negative thoughts or positive thoughts from others? Do you spend time around people who use good language or bad language? Do you watch tv and pick up attitudes and ideas that are God-honoring or which are not pleasing to God? Music. Movies. Books. Whatever it is that we fill our mind with is what we will display to others when we’re under pressure and what’s inside is squeezed out.
But do you know that if you are filled with the peace of God, there’s not room in your life for discord. If you are filled with the joy of God, there’s not room in your life for discontent. If you are filled with the love of God, there’s not room for hatred.
This is how it works. Look at the sponge soaking up the clear water. Once the sponge is full, if I put it in the container with colored water, there’s no room to soak up any more water.
So how can we be so full of God’s peace that we won’t be upset and full of discord? Isaiah (26:3) says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” When you keep your mind on God - because you trust Him - you trust that He loves you, He’s got your best interest at heart, He’s working all things out for your good because you love Him, when you keep your mind on God, God keeps you in perfect peace. And when the pressure comes and you’re squeezed, the peace of God is what the people around you see.
I want to be a sponge that soaks up God’s peace so much that that’s what people around me see when I’m squeezed.
Based on: https://www.creativebiblestudy.com/Bible-object-lesson-sponge.html
**Be Patient
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Materials: An orange to peel, several wrapped boxes nestled inside one another to slowly open, or a pile of nesting cups to take off one at a time
When I ask Pepper if he wants a treat, he is quite adamant that he wants it now - not ten days from now, not ten hours from now, not ten minutes from now, not ten seconds from now. Pepper wants that treat immediately.
We’re not too different from Pepper. If I offer you something special, you want it right now. You don’t want to wait until after supper, or after you get home, or after potluck, or even after church. You want that something special now.
But our world does not deal in everything you want happening right away. In fact, rarely do we get what we really want immediately. We don’t plant tomatoes and immediately pick the fruit. We don’t pick up a guitar and immediately play exquisitely. We don’t buy a puppy and immediately have a well-trained, well-behaved dog. We often have to wait for what we want: a ripe tomato, an accomplished guitar player, a well-behaved dog.
The memory verse in Romans indicates that we also need to be patient when things are not going well, when we’re experiencing tribulation. That’s really hard! We find it hard to be patient when things are going smoothly. So when you are hurting, it’s really hard to be patient. But God has given us a couple of reminders to help. Did you notice where this admonition is? Be patient in tribulation is found sandwiched between two other admonitions: Rejoice in hope and be constant in prayer.
We can be patient in tribulation when we know the suffering will not last forever. And we know the suffering will not last forever because we have hope in God. That is, when we love God and have a relationship with Him, we know God is in control of our lives. We know God will never give us more than we can endure. we know God has our best interest at heart. We know God loves us. Thus, the suffering will end. Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
We can also be patient in tribulation because we always can talk to our Redeemer, our Savior, our Help in Ages Past. We know we can come boldly before the throne of grace in time of need. God will hear our prayers - when we have a relationship with Him, seeking to do His will. It doesn’t mean that our tribulation immediately disappears, but we know we can go to the only One who can help and He will hear us.
So what does being patient look like? Is it whining about the situation and what you want? Well, think about it: you can be rejoicing and whining at the same time. So being patient doesn’t involve whining. Is it being agitated, anxious, and mentally jumping up and down in anticipation (like Pepper wanting a treat?) No! It’s waiting, calmly and with the assurance that demonstrates your faith in God.
Being patient doesn’t come easily to any of us. Being patient in tribulation is even harder. But God gives us lots of opportunities to practice. And He gives us instructions. Rejoice in hope. Be constant in prayer. And maybe, just maybe we can learn to be patient in tribulation.
Be Kind
Love is patient and kind . . . 1 Corinthians 13:4
Materials: hourglass egg timer, travel-size toothpaste
If you had a travel-size container of toothpaste, could you squeeze all of the toothpaste out of the tube before the sand ran through the egg time?
Sometimes this is how we live our lives. We feel like we have a job to do within a limited amount of time. So we jump in and we try to get the job done. But in the process, we are not careful about how we did the job.
When you squeezed the toothpaste out, did it go all over the table? All over you? All over the floor?
Sometimes when we’re in a hurry, we are not careful about how we accomplish our task. We are not careful about completing it accurately. We are not careful about completing it thoroughly. We are not careful about how we treat the people around us - because our whole goal is to get our job done.
The egg timer reminds us of something else: once the time is gone, we can’t get it back. We will never get to decide how to spend this morning again. Yesterday is history and cannot be rewritten.
Furthermore, the egg timer reminds us that our time is limited. We need to be careful of the time that we do have because we don’t have an unlimited amount.
The toothpaste tube also teaches us something: once we’ve done something, we can’t undo it. When you squeeze all the toothpaste out, you can’t put it back. There are no erasers in the actions of life. There are no delete buttons. So we have to think very carefully about our actions.
So what sort of actions should we work towards doing? How about the actions which glorify God, which demonstrate that we belong to God? Let’s start with love. Our God is love. And the apostle Paul tell us that love is patient and kind. We already talked about patient. What does it mean to be kind?
When you are kind, you are not mean. You are not hurtful. You are not selfish. You do not treat everyone like you are more important than they are. When you are kind, you help other people. You encourage others. You say things that are true, but are also gentle and loving.
We don’t have a lot of time in this life. And we don’t get to go back and live our days over again. So let’s strive to be loving, patient and kind.
Do Good
And let us not grow weary of doing good . . . Galatians 6:9
Materials: a hard-boiled egg, an apple, a small container of baking soda and one of vinegar, a clear container, a towel.
How do you know if it’s a good apple or a bad apple? Sometimes there are spots where you suspect a worm might have crawled. Sometimes it’s kind of dented or wrinkly. But you can’t always judge an apple by its outside appearance. You might just get a bite that isn’t so appetizing, especially if you find half a worm.
How do you know if this is a good egg or a bad egg? If you have a bowl of water, and it floats, it’s bad! But if you don’t have a bowl of water, you wouldn’t know until you crack it open. If it’s bad, watch out. It’s going to smell!! If it’s really, really bad, when you start to crack it, it will explode. And that’s very, very smelly . . . and messy!
We talk about good apples and good eggs. But why are they good? Because they are still good to be used in some way - some way that usually involves eating them. So it’s not enough that the apple and the egg look nice on the outside. In our definition of good, we want to be able to eat them.
I’d imagine you couldn’t begin to count the number of times your mom told you, “Be good.” Now did she mean that you should look nice on the outside? Or did she mean that your behavior should be good? Or that your thoughts should be good? In most cases, when your mom tells you to be good, she wants you to act in a certain way, to follow the rules, to stay out of trouble.
We know what Mom means when she says, “Be good,” but in reality, Jesus said there is no one who is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18). So instead of telling us to be good, the apostle Paul tells all of us - adults and children alike - not to grow weary of doing good. Don’t you find it interesting that Paul has to say this? It indicates that it requires effort to do good. It requires perseverance. It might not always be your first choice. It’s hard. Our carnal minds would rather be bad sometimes because it appears to be so much more fun.
But remember the bad egg and the bad apple? They are not very useful to the one who finds them, except maybe as fertilizer in the garden. In a similar way, if we are not dedicated to doing good, we’re not very useful to God.
Now vinegar and baking soda are very good for a lot of different things. And together they make a wonderful reaction. But once they’ve combined and foamed, they’re not good for anything any more. Or are they? At first glance we might say that since the base-acid reaction is done, what’s left is just a mess and not good for anything.
Sometimes we’re like the vinegar and baking soda. We see a job we can do and we’re very willing to do it. It certainly draws a lot of attention. But once that attention is gone, are we just done? If no one is watching us, are we still willing to do what is good and right? Are we willing to continue serving and doing good, even if no one acknowledges or appreciates us?
The vinegar and baking soda combine to form carbonic acid and sodium acetate. Then almost immediately the carbonic acid breaks down in to carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide escapes into the air. We are left with water and sodium acetate. The sodium acetate is what is commonly used to flavor salt and vinegar potato chips.
Even when people don’t realize it, the vinegar and baking soda are still good for something. They are still useful. And even when no one around notices, we are very useful to God if we are willing to be used by Him. It may not look like we had envisioned. It might not even be fun. But Paul tells us not to become weary, or tired, of doing good.
But we have to keep in mind that God put us on this earth for His glory. And when He puts something in our path to do, we need to do it with all of our heart, working as for the Lord, not for men. We should never grow tired of doing that - working for His glory.
Be Faithful
The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness . . . 1 Samuel 26:23
Materials: overhead transparency, dry erase marker, paper
Faithful means being loyal, constant, or steadfast. It means being true to the facts or the original.
So if you have a faithful friend, they will always treat you as a friend. They won’t make fun of you behind your back. They won’t act like they like you when you’re around, but talk badly about you when you’re not there. A faithful friend is loving and supportive all the time.
So if you have a faithful dog, he follows you around. He protects you. He wants to be with you. He will go to great lengths to do what pleases you. He doesn’t bite you. He isn’t enticed by other people or things. He’s your dog and everyone knows it.
If you have a movie that is faithful to the book it was based upon, it doesn’t change the storyline. It doesn’t introduce new characters. The movie turns out the same way the book ends. The movie is faithful to the original book, to the facts in the book.
God is also faithful. He is constant and steadfast. He never changes. He is good. He is love. He is patient and long-suffering. And because God is faithful, you can absolutely depend upon God to always be this way.
It should, then, come as no surprise that God rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. If you do what is right and you are steadfast in what you do, you please God - because God is righteous and faithful!
So we know what it means to have a faithful friend, or a faithful dog, or a movie faithful to a book, but what does it mean for you to be faithful - in a way that pleases God? It means that when God tells you what to do, you make sure that’s what you do. It means that when you tell people you are a Christian, that you make sure you act like a Christian should act.
If there’s a box on the table labeled “matches,” I would expect it to have matches in it. In order for it to be true to the fact of what it says, matches should be in it. If I find something other than matches in it, it was not faithful to what it said. In the same way, if you say that you are a Christian, what comes from you - your words and actions - should look Christian, according to God’s definition!
Remember, the memory verse says that God rewards everyone for his or her righteousness and faithfulness. So think of the characteristics you have that are righteous, like honesty or helpfulness. If you are consistent in those characteristics, that’s pleasing to God.
But how do you stay faithful to what God wants from you? You have choices every day. Are you going to be generous or selfish? Are you going to be loving or hateful? Are you going to tell the truth or a lie? Are you going to be obedient to your parents or disobedient?
It’s like a transparency film over the paper. If it’s not a righteous choice, a Godly choice, a choice that pleases God, it doesn’t get written on the paper. If it’s a decision that is faithful to God’s ways, then you can write it on the paper.
The reality is that sometimes we mess up. We make a wrong choice. We don’t act in a right way. We are not faithful to God. So we repent, telling God that we’re sorry, and then we try again.
It can be discouraging to find out how many times we make a wrong choice. How many times did your mom have to scold you or punish you this week for making a choice that was not right, that was not faithful to God’s ways? If you are not happy with how often you were in trouble, you can always ask God for His help in making the right choices. It’s an extra help in choosing to put the transparency over the paper so that the wrong choices can’t get through.
We have lots of choices to make in this life. Our goal is to make choices which are righteous and faithful to God, so that God will be pleased.
Be Gentle
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
Materials: cards, toy cars
Have you ever tried to build a house of cards? Itʼs not easy, is it?! You have to be very
what? What words could you use to describe how you have to build the card house?
Maybe “careful.” Perhaps “deliberate.” Maybe “precise.” You also have to be very gentle.
Gentle means treating something with care, as if it were very fragile or very precious to you.
Even after youʼve built the house of cards, if you decide to drive your car around it, you
have to be very careful or gentle. If you hit a corner, the whole thing might collapse.. If you decide to drive through the house of cards, you have to be very, very gentle and precise and careful.
Can you think of things you have to be very gentle with? Kittens, puppies, babies.
Transplanting seedlings. Decorating cakes. There are many times in your life when you
have to be gentle in what you do. Otherwise, someone could really get hurt. Something
could be ruined beyond repair.
So in Proverbs 15:4, it says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” What does that mean? Does that mean you have to lick an ice cream cone very gently? Does it mean that you have to eat very gently? No. In this verse, “a gentle tongue” is another way of saying “the gentle or nice words you choose to
speak to someone else.” Think of how that definition works in this verse.
The Message puts it this way, “Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.”
In other words, the words that you choose to say to someone can either build them up or tear them down. You can speak gently and help someone, or you can be mean and cause irreparable damage.
Think very carefully both about what actions you choose and what words you choose. You want your words and actions to be beneficial to others, to help them, to be good. You want to be gentle.
Be Self-Controlled
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28
Materials: wide-mouth jar, plastic bowl, empty toilet paper roll, tennis ball
{Place the jar on a table. Put the bowl on top of the jar. Stand the toilet paper roll in the middle of the bowl. Place the tennis ball on top of the roll. This is a great physics experiment for teaching laws of motion. But we’re going to use it for self-control.}
How can I get the ball into the jar without touching the ball? It’s a very “controlled” action. I have to hit the bowl just right, knocking it out of the way and allowing the ball to fall straight into the jar. If I tap the bowl, the ball just falls off the roll and the bowl just falls off the jar. Similarly, you can imagine what will happen if I hit the bowl really hard! The bowl and jar and ball will go flying! That doesn’t accomplish my goal either.
But if I firmly hit the bowl, the bowl flies out of the way, allowing the ball to drop right into the jar.
The degree to which I hit the bowl is analogous to my self-control. If I merely tap the bowl, it’s like being too lazy to put much effort into a task. Nothing much happens if you don’t put effort into a job.
On the other end of the spectrum, if I really hit the bowl hard, sending everything flying, it’s like the man who has no self-control. He gets angry very quickly. He gets overly excited over little things.
What does that look like? If I give you an envelope of stickers, you show little self-control if you stick them all over the walls, your Bible, your mom. It’s inappropriate behavior. It’s not right and it doesn’t end well. That’s like hitting the bowl too hard. But I can give you an envelope of stickers and ask you to make a picture with them. If you won’t even open the envelope, that’s like tapping the bowl. It isn’t anywhere close to accomplishing your goal. You don’t want either extreme. You don’t want to hit the bowl too soft or too hard. You don’t want to put stickers all over, but you do want to complete your job. It’s kind of like the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” isn’t it?!
You want to be just right - not too hard, not too soft. You want to be self-controlled.
Adapted from: https://www.futureflyingsaucers.com/self-control-object-lesson-joshua-7/
Until Christ is Formed in You
. . . until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19
Materials: Coloring sheets for all of the fruit of the Spirit lessons, candy molds, candy [powdered sugar, food coloring, raspberry extract (or your favorite), water - Mix until stiff enough to hold its shape.]
We started three months ago talking about the fruit of the spirit.
Love: Like putting an ice cube in your mouth keeps you from tasting, the ice in your heart can keep you from loving other people.
Joy: Like an ear of corn forms all of the kernels when the plant has access to abundant water and nutrients, so your joy can be full when you love and serve God.
Peace: Like a sponge squeezed can only release what it has inside, you will show what’s really in your heart when you’re put under pressure. Knowing God and seeking to please Him is a good way to make sure your heart is filled with His peace.
Patience: Like waiting for a tower of cups to be built, we often have to have patience in our lives. Patience is the fourth fruit of the Spirit.
Kindness: Like trying to put toothpaste back into its tube, so our words cannot be unspoken. We have to be careful about what we say and what we do - to make sure that we are kind.
Goodness: A bad apple can negatively affect the whole barrel. We must choose to act in good and right ways.
Faithfulness: As a dog is faithful to its master, so we must choose to be faithful to our Master, Savior and Soon-Coming King.
Gentleness: As you have to be careful driving your little cars around a house of cards, so we must be very gentle in the things we do and the words we speak.
Self-Control: Like trying to hit a ball on a tube with just the right amount of force so that it will drop into the jar, so we must learn to control our actions - not too little, not too much. But just right.
Having each of these fruit of the Spirit is another way of saying that Christ is formed in us. His character, His ways of conduct, demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit perfectly.
But like a candy mold can shape the candy into different shapes, we all look different on the outside. It’s when you taste the candy that you know it’s sweet. Similarly, when Christ is formed in us, our actions and our words are evidence of what’s inside. We need to seek God with all of our heart, until Christ is formed in each of us!
Be Loving - 1 Corinthians 16:14
Be Joyful - John 15:11
Be Joyful - Proverbs 17:22
Be Peaceful - Isaiah 26:3
Be Patient - Romans 12:12
Be Kind - 1 Corinthians 13:4
Do Good - Galatians 6:9
Be Faithful - 1 Samuel 26:23
Be Gentle - Proverbs 15:4
Be Self-Controlled - Proverbs 25:28
'Til Christ Be Formed in You - Galatians 4:19
Be Loving
Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
Materials: ice, tasty treats
What is your favorite treat? Do you like fresh blueberries or strawberries? Chocolate? Candy? Don’t you love how sweet it tastes?! Did you know that if you put an ice cube in your mouth until you can hardly stand the coldness, and then immediately put your favorite treat on your tongue, you won’t be able to taste it? The ice is so cold that it numbs your tongue’s taste buds and you aren’t able to really taste.
Did you know that the same thing can happen to people? We can get caught up in what we want, how we feel, and what’s happening to us. It’s like we’ve had ice applied to our hearts, and we have become numb to the people around us. We forget to think about the feelings, thoughts, and needs of people around us. Just like putting ice on your tongue can numb your taste, only thinking about yourself can numb your heart.
That’s not a good thing. Our loving Heavenly Father never intended for His people to just think about themselves. Rather, God uses us to encourage and help other people. But if we are only thinking about ourselves, we won’t stop to think to help and encourage someone who really needs it. It could be someone in your church family. It could be someone in your immediate family. It could be a good friend. There could be someone right next to you who needs you to do something nice for them.
It is so easy to think only of ourselves. It’s called carnal, human nature. We don’t naturally put others ahead of ourselves. It requires a deliberate act and conscious thought to put others first, to think about what they may need. Doing that - thinking about the needs of others - is what God’s people do. And that’s why Paul tells the Corinthians, “Let all that you do be done in love.”
The next time you taste your favorite treat (without the ice), I hope you’ll think about how to let people see your warm and loving heart.
Resource: http://playeatgrow.com/2013/12/helping-kids-to-begin-to-notice-needs.html/
Be Joyful
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
Materials: container, hot water, expanding shapes (looks like a pill initially)
Because it takes the experiment a few minutes to work, we’ll get it started right away. [Put the “pill” into a container and pour hot water over the top.]
While that’s working, let’s talk about joy. What is joy? How can your joy be full?
Joy is not exactly the same thing as happy. You can be happy about something that happens. You can be happy that something didn’t happen. Happiness tends to be tied to individual events. If you are usually happy, then you are a joyful person. You don’t always have to be happy to be a joyful person; you’re just happy most of the time. That’s what your default setting is.
Do you know people like that? I do. There are people who are almost always upbeat. They are known to be cheerful and you rarely hear them complaining. Then there are people who are grouchy and ready to complain about everything. The grouchy guy can be happy at times, but you know he’s going to be grouchy again before you turn around. His happiness is an emotion that comes and goes, but he really isn’t joyful.
So where does joy come from? Joy that lasts, joy that gives you strength to keep going even when bad things happen, joy that keeps you smiling even when things go wrong - that kind of joy comes from God.
Notice what Jesus said in John 15:11: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus told his disciples (and all of us) about our relationship with Him, about preparing a place for us to be with Him, about eternal life in His kingdom, about what He was going to do so that we could be with Him. God’s plan in our life gives us a goal to fix our eyes on. We don’t let the light and momentary troubles get us down (2 Corinthians 4:17) because we know that God’s in control; He’s working it out; and because He loves us, we can trust that things will work out for our good.
So what about this “pill”? Don’t you think it’s interesting that it didn’t expand until I poured water over it? Do you remember what water is a symbol for in the Bible? The Holy Spirit. So if I add water to the pill and it expands, what do you think having the Holy Spirit working in your life will do to your joy? Your joy will grow - or maybe like Jesus said, your joy may be full.
Here’s another object lesson. I pulled almost all of the corn yesterday. There was a small, secondary ear on one of the stalks. Look at the kernels that formed. Why does it look like this? The corn either didn’t have enough nutrients to completely fill out the ear - or there wasn’t enough water.
It’s the same thing in your life: If you don’t stay connected to the One who gives us and Who sustains us (God), and if you don’t have His Holy Spirit working in your life, God’s joy will not be in you and your joy will not be full.
So where you do get joy? The word that “joy” comes from is “rejoice.” Rejoice is an action - it is a celebration, an expression of praise and thanksgiving to God for what He has done in our lives. As you rejoice before God, the joy in your life becomes more and more full. You realize what God is doing, you focus on the good things He has done and that He promises to do, and your joy grows.
Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice (Philippians 4:4). . . . . These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).
Be Joyful
A joyful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Materials: a collection of silly jokes
Q. Do you know the little boy threw the clock out the window?
- He wanted to see time fly.
Q. Do you know what you get when you mix a rooster, a poodle, and a kangaroo?
- A cock-a-poodle-roo
Knock-Knock
Who’s There?
Amish
Amish Who?
You don’t look like a shoe.
Do you enjoy laughing? How does it make you feel? Do you feel better when you’re smiling or when you’re frowning? Do you feel heavier when you’re smiling or when you’re frowning? Most of us would rather be laughing than crying. It feels better. And there are a lot of comedians who make a lot of money because people want to laugh - at something! The funniest thing I have experienced in recent years was going to a Tim Hawkins concert. Tim was funny. But the silliest part of the whole evening was when they first came out to warm up the crowd. They said they were checking the sound system. So they told us to laugh like it was a moderately funny joke. Then they told us to laugh like it was really funny. Now imagine a whole auditorium full of people who are laughing. . . at nothing. It makes you laugh just because they’re laughing. Then when they told us to laugh like it was the funniest thing we’d ever heard, I thought I was going to cry because it was so funny! People belly laughing . . . over nothing. It was hilarious!
Laughing makes us feel better. Closely related to that is being able to do something we really enjoy. Something that brings us a lot of joy when we’re doing it makes us feel really good. Think of making a snowman after the first fresh snowfall, or jumping in a pile of leaves on a crisp autumn day, or playing in a creek in the summertime. What about eating a fresh peach straight from the tree or a handful of strawberries straight from the patch before they go into your bucket? What about drawing or coloring or writing a song or making up a new game to play with your friends? There are so many things which bring us joy.
But be careful. There are things in this world that look like they will bring you joy, but they are not Godly. If God wouldn’t have anything to do with them, you know they will not bring you joy in the end. Sometimes people tell jokes which are not godly, using bad words or which bring bad thoughts to mind. People may laugh at them, but they are not going to lift you up. They will not make you joyful. There are things you find to do which look fun at the start, but if they are not godly, you won’t find yourself having so much fun at the end.
It has been proven that people who are joyful are healthier than people who are grumpy. Don’t be a grump. Think about the blessings God has given you. Look for the funny things around you. Learn how to laugh at yourself - because we all do silly things at times. And spend lots of time with God and with God’s people. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Find your joy in the Lord.
A joyful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Be Peaceful
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
Materials: a sponge cut into small squares, containers of clear water, containers of colored water
What do sponges do? Their name has become synonymous with soaking something up. In the physical case of a sponge, it’s liquid. If you’re talking about little kids, they soak up (and imitate) your words and actions.
But once the liquid if soaked up, then what does the sponge do. It releases the liquid - just like someone who soaks up, and imitates you, will then turn around and do exactly what you were just doing.
So do you ever get “squeezed” in your life? Sure you do! Whenever you feel pressure to do something, or when you feel anger and frustration bubbling over, or when something bad or unexpected happens - that’s when we feel “squeezed.”
The Biblical word “tribulation” comes from a Latin word which means “to press” - like when you squeeze grapes to get the juice.
That squeezing in your life, that tribulation, is not unexpected. Jesus knew we would be squeezed, that we would have tribulation. He told His disciples in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
So squeezing is going to happen. But what comes out? When a sponge is squeeze, what comes out is whatever was soaked up. Whatever is in you, good thoughts or bad thoughts; angry and hateful actions or kind and generous actions; love, joy, peace or hatred, discontent, and discord; that’s what comes out.
So what determines whether we’re going to have good things or bad things in our thoughts and actions and words? Do you pick up negative thoughts or positive thoughts from others? Do you spend time around people who use good language or bad language? Do you watch tv and pick up attitudes and ideas that are God-honoring or which are not pleasing to God? Music. Movies. Books. Whatever it is that we fill our mind with is what we will display to others when we’re under pressure and what’s inside is squeezed out.
But do you know that if you are filled with the peace of God, there’s not room in your life for discord. If you are filled with the joy of God, there’s not room in your life for discontent. If you are filled with the love of God, there’s not room for hatred.
This is how it works. Look at the sponge soaking up the clear water. Once the sponge is full, if I put it in the container with colored water, there’s no room to soak up any more water.
So how can we be so full of God’s peace that we won’t be upset and full of discord? Isaiah (26:3) says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” When you keep your mind on God - because you trust Him - you trust that He loves you, He’s got your best interest at heart, He’s working all things out for your good because you love Him, when you keep your mind on God, God keeps you in perfect peace. And when the pressure comes and you’re squeezed, the peace of God is what the people around you see.
I want to be a sponge that soaks up God’s peace so much that that’s what people around me see when I’m squeezed.
Based on: https://www.creativebiblestudy.com/Bible-object-lesson-sponge.html
**Be Patient
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Materials: An orange to peel, several wrapped boxes nestled inside one another to slowly open, or a pile of nesting cups to take off one at a time
When I ask Pepper if he wants a treat, he is quite adamant that he wants it now - not ten days from now, not ten hours from now, not ten minutes from now, not ten seconds from now. Pepper wants that treat immediately.
We’re not too different from Pepper. If I offer you something special, you want it right now. You don’t want to wait until after supper, or after you get home, or after potluck, or even after church. You want that something special now.
But our world does not deal in everything you want happening right away. In fact, rarely do we get what we really want immediately. We don’t plant tomatoes and immediately pick the fruit. We don’t pick up a guitar and immediately play exquisitely. We don’t buy a puppy and immediately have a well-trained, well-behaved dog. We often have to wait for what we want: a ripe tomato, an accomplished guitar player, a well-behaved dog.
The memory verse in Romans indicates that we also need to be patient when things are not going well, when we’re experiencing tribulation. That’s really hard! We find it hard to be patient when things are going smoothly. So when you are hurting, it’s really hard to be patient. But God has given us a couple of reminders to help. Did you notice where this admonition is? Be patient in tribulation is found sandwiched between two other admonitions: Rejoice in hope and be constant in prayer.
We can be patient in tribulation when we know the suffering will not last forever. And we know the suffering will not last forever because we have hope in God. That is, when we love God and have a relationship with Him, we know God is in control of our lives. We know God will never give us more than we can endure. we know God has our best interest at heart. We know God loves us. Thus, the suffering will end. Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
We can also be patient in tribulation because we always can talk to our Redeemer, our Savior, our Help in Ages Past. We know we can come boldly before the throne of grace in time of need. God will hear our prayers - when we have a relationship with Him, seeking to do His will. It doesn’t mean that our tribulation immediately disappears, but we know we can go to the only One who can help and He will hear us.
So what does being patient look like? Is it whining about the situation and what you want? Well, think about it: you can be rejoicing and whining at the same time. So being patient doesn’t involve whining. Is it being agitated, anxious, and mentally jumping up and down in anticipation (like Pepper wanting a treat?) No! It’s waiting, calmly and with the assurance that demonstrates your faith in God.
Being patient doesn’t come easily to any of us. Being patient in tribulation is even harder. But God gives us lots of opportunities to practice. And He gives us instructions. Rejoice in hope. Be constant in prayer. And maybe, just maybe we can learn to be patient in tribulation.
Be Kind
Love is patient and kind . . . 1 Corinthians 13:4
Materials: hourglass egg timer, travel-size toothpaste
If you had a travel-size container of toothpaste, could you squeeze all of the toothpaste out of the tube before the sand ran through the egg time?
Sometimes this is how we live our lives. We feel like we have a job to do within a limited amount of time. So we jump in and we try to get the job done. But in the process, we are not careful about how we did the job.
When you squeezed the toothpaste out, did it go all over the table? All over you? All over the floor?
Sometimes when we’re in a hurry, we are not careful about how we accomplish our task. We are not careful about completing it accurately. We are not careful about completing it thoroughly. We are not careful about how we treat the people around us - because our whole goal is to get our job done.
The egg timer reminds us of something else: once the time is gone, we can’t get it back. We will never get to decide how to spend this morning again. Yesterday is history and cannot be rewritten.
Furthermore, the egg timer reminds us that our time is limited. We need to be careful of the time that we do have because we don’t have an unlimited amount.
The toothpaste tube also teaches us something: once we’ve done something, we can’t undo it. When you squeeze all the toothpaste out, you can’t put it back. There are no erasers in the actions of life. There are no delete buttons. So we have to think very carefully about our actions.
So what sort of actions should we work towards doing? How about the actions which glorify God, which demonstrate that we belong to God? Let’s start with love. Our God is love. And the apostle Paul tell us that love is patient and kind. We already talked about patient. What does it mean to be kind?
When you are kind, you are not mean. You are not hurtful. You are not selfish. You do not treat everyone like you are more important than they are. When you are kind, you help other people. You encourage others. You say things that are true, but are also gentle and loving.
We don’t have a lot of time in this life. And we don’t get to go back and live our days over again. So let’s strive to be loving, patient and kind.
Do Good
And let us not grow weary of doing good . . . Galatians 6:9
Materials: a hard-boiled egg, an apple, a small container of baking soda and one of vinegar, a clear container, a towel.
How do you know if it’s a good apple or a bad apple? Sometimes there are spots where you suspect a worm might have crawled. Sometimes it’s kind of dented or wrinkly. But you can’t always judge an apple by its outside appearance. You might just get a bite that isn’t so appetizing, especially if you find half a worm.
How do you know if this is a good egg or a bad egg? If you have a bowl of water, and it floats, it’s bad! But if you don’t have a bowl of water, you wouldn’t know until you crack it open. If it’s bad, watch out. It’s going to smell!! If it’s really, really bad, when you start to crack it, it will explode. And that’s very, very smelly . . . and messy!
We talk about good apples and good eggs. But why are they good? Because they are still good to be used in some way - some way that usually involves eating them. So it’s not enough that the apple and the egg look nice on the outside. In our definition of good, we want to be able to eat them.
I’d imagine you couldn’t begin to count the number of times your mom told you, “Be good.” Now did she mean that you should look nice on the outside? Or did she mean that your behavior should be good? Or that your thoughts should be good? In most cases, when your mom tells you to be good, she wants you to act in a certain way, to follow the rules, to stay out of trouble.
We know what Mom means when she says, “Be good,” but in reality, Jesus said there is no one who is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18). So instead of telling us to be good, the apostle Paul tells all of us - adults and children alike - not to grow weary of doing good. Don’t you find it interesting that Paul has to say this? It indicates that it requires effort to do good. It requires perseverance. It might not always be your first choice. It’s hard. Our carnal minds would rather be bad sometimes because it appears to be so much more fun.
But remember the bad egg and the bad apple? They are not very useful to the one who finds them, except maybe as fertilizer in the garden. In a similar way, if we are not dedicated to doing good, we’re not very useful to God.
Now vinegar and baking soda are very good for a lot of different things. And together they make a wonderful reaction. But once they’ve combined and foamed, they’re not good for anything any more. Or are they? At first glance we might say that since the base-acid reaction is done, what’s left is just a mess and not good for anything.
Sometimes we’re like the vinegar and baking soda. We see a job we can do and we’re very willing to do it. It certainly draws a lot of attention. But once that attention is gone, are we just done? If no one is watching us, are we still willing to do what is good and right? Are we willing to continue serving and doing good, even if no one acknowledges or appreciates us?
The vinegar and baking soda combine to form carbonic acid and sodium acetate. Then almost immediately the carbonic acid breaks down in to carbon dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide escapes into the air. We are left with water and sodium acetate. The sodium acetate is what is commonly used to flavor salt and vinegar potato chips.
Even when people don’t realize it, the vinegar and baking soda are still good for something. They are still useful. And even when no one around notices, we are very useful to God if we are willing to be used by Him. It may not look like we had envisioned. It might not even be fun. But Paul tells us not to become weary, or tired, of doing good.
But we have to keep in mind that God put us on this earth for His glory. And when He puts something in our path to do, we need to do it with all of our heart, working as for the Lord, not for men. We should never grow tired of doing that - working for His glory.
Be Faithful
The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness . . . 1 Samuel 26:23
Materials: overhead transparency, dry erase marker, paper
Faithful means being loyal, constant, or steadfast. It means being true to the facts or the original.
So if you have a faithful friend, they will always treat you as a friend. They won’t make fun of you behind your back. They won’t act like they like you when you’re around, but talk badly about you when you’re not there. A faithful friend is loving and supportive all the time.
So if you have a faithful dog, he follows you around. He protects you. He wants to be with you. He will go to great lengths to do what pleases you. He doesn’t bite you. He isn’t enticed by other people or things. He’s your dog and everyone knows it.
If you have a movie that is faithful to the book it was based upon, it doesn’t change the storyline. It doesn’t introduce new characters. The movie turns out the same way the book ends. The movie is faithful to the original book, to the facts in the book.
God is also faithful. He is constant and steadfast. He never changes. He is good. He is love. He is patient and long-suffering. And because God is faithful, you can absolutely depend upon God to always be this way.
It should, then, come as no surprise that God rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. If you do what is right and you are steadfast in what you do, you please God - because God is righteous and faithful!
So we know what it means to have a faithful friend, or a faithful dog, or a movie faithful to a book, but what does it mean for you to be faithful - in a way that pleases God? It means that when God tells you what to do, you make sure that’s what you do. It means that when you tell people you are a Christian, that you make sure you act like a Christian should act.
If there’s a box on the table labeled “matches,” I would expect it to have matches in it. In order for it to be true to the fact of what it says, matches should be in it. If I find something other than matches in it, it was not faithful to what it said. In the same way, if you say that you are a Christian, what comes from you - your words and actions - should look Christian, according to God’s definition!
Remember, the memory verse says that God rewards everyone for his or her righteousness and faithfulness. So think of the characteristics you have that are righteous, like honesty or helpfulness. If you are consistent in those characteristics, that’s pleasing to God.
But how do you stay faithful to what God wants from you? You have choices every day. Are you going to be generous or selfish? Are you going to be loving or hateful? Are you going to tell the truth or a lie? Are you going to be obedient to your parents or disobedient?
It’s like a transparency film over the paper. If it’s not a righteous choice, a Godly choice, a choice that pleases God, it doesn’t get written on the paper. If it’s a decision that is faithful to God’s ways, then you can write it on the paper.
The reality is that sometimes we mess up. We make a wrong choice. We don’t act in a right way. We are not faithful to God. So we repent, telling God that we’re sorry, and then we try again.
It can be discouraging to find out how many times we make a wrong choice. How many times did your mom have to scold you or punish you this week for making a choice that was not right, that was not faithful to God’s ways? If you are not happy with how often you were in trouble, you can always ask God for His help in making the right choices. It’s an extra help in choosing to put the transparency over the paper so that the wrong choices can’t get through.
We have lots of choices to make in this life. Our goal is to make choices which are righteous and faithful to God, so that God will be pleased.
Be Gentle
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
Materials: cards, toy cars
Have you ever tried to build a house of cards? Itʼs not easy, is it?! You have to be very
what? What words could you use to describe how you have to build the card house?
Maybe “careful.” Perhaps “deliberate.” Maybe “precise.” You also have to be very gentle.
Gentle means treating something with care, as if it were very fragile or very precious to you.
Even after youʼve built the house of cards, if you decide to drive your car around it, you
have to be very careful or gentle. If you hit a corner, the whole thing might collapse.. If you decide to drive through the house of cards, you have to be very, very gentle and precise and careful.
Can you think of things you have to be very gentle with? Kittens, puppies, babies.
Transplanting seedlings. Decorating cakes. There are many times in your life when you
have to be gentle in what you do. Otherwise, someone could really get hurt. Something
could be ruined beyond repair.
So in Proverbs 15:4, it says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” What does that mean? Does that mean you have to lick an ice cream cone very gently? Does it mean that you have to eat very gently? No. In this verse, “a gentle tongue” is another way of saying “the gentle or nice words you choose to
speak to someone else.” Think of how that definition works in this verse.
The Message puts it this way, “Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.”
In other words, the words that you choose to say to someone can either build them up or tear them down. You can speak gently and help someone, or you can be mean and cause irreparable damage.
Think very carefully both about what actions you choose and what words you choose. You want your words and actions to be beneficial to others, to help them, to be good. You want to be gentle.
Be Self-Controlled
A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28
Materials: wide-mouth jar, plastic bowl, empty toilet paper roll, tennis ball
{Place the jar on a table. Put the bowl on top of the jar. Stand the toilet paper roll in the middle of the bowl. Place the tennis ball on top of the roll. This is a great physics experiment for teaching laws of motion. But we’re going to use it for self-control.}
How can I get the ball into the jar without touching the ball? It’s a very “controlled” action. I have to hit the bowl just right, knocking it out of the way and allowing the ball to fall straight into the jar. If I tap the bowl, the ball just falls off the roll and the bowl just falls off the jar. Similarly, you can imagine what will happen if I hit the bowl really hard! The bowl and jar and ball will go flying! That doesn’t accomplish my goal either.
But if I firmly hit the bowl, the bowl flies out of the way, allowing the ball to drop right into the jar.
The degree to which I hit the bowl is analogous to my self-control. If I merely tap the bowl, it’s like being too lazy to put much effort into a task. Nothing much happens if you don’t put effort into a job.
On the other end of the spectrum, if I really hit the bowl hard, sending everything flying, it’s like the man who has no self-control. He gets angry very quickly. He gets overly excited over little things.
What does that look like? If I give you an envelope of stickers, you show little self-control if you stick them all over the walls, your Bible, your mom. It’s inappropriate behavior. It’s not right and it doesn’t end well. That’s like hitting the bowl too hard. But I can give you an envelope of stickers and ask you to make a picture with them. If you won’t even open the envelope, that’s like tapping the bowl. It isn’t anywhere close to accomplishing your goal. You don’t want either extreme. You don’t want to hit the bowl too soft or too hard. You don’t want to put stickers all over, but you do want to complete your job. It’s kind of like the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” isn’t it?!
You want to be just right - not too hard, not too soft. You want to be self-controlled.
Adapted from: https://www.futureflyingsaucers.com/self-control-object-lesson-joshua-7/
Until Christ is Formed in You
. . . until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19
Materials: Coloring sheets for all of the fruit of the Spirit lessons, candy molds, candy [powdered sugar, food coloring, raspberry extract (or your favorite), water - Mix until stiff enough to hold its shape.]
We started three months ago talking about the fruit of the spirit.
Love: Like putting an ice cube in your mouth keeps you from tasting, the ice in your heart can keep you from loving other people.
Joy: Like an ear of corn forms all of the kernels when the plant has access to abundant water and nutrients, so your joy can be full when you love and serve God.
Peace: Like a sponge squeezed can only release what it has inside, you will show what’s really in your heart when you’re put under pressure. Knowing God and seeking to please Him is a good way to make sure your heart is filled with His peace.
Patience: Like waiting for a tower of cups to be built, we often have to have patience in our lives. Patience is the fourth fruit of the Spirit.
Kindness: Like trying to put toothpaste back into its tube, so our words cannot be unspoken. We have to be careful about what we say and what we do - to make sure that we are kind.
Goodness: A bad apple can negatively affect the whole barrel. We must choose to act in good and right ways.
Faithfulness: As a dog is faithful to its master, so we must choose to be faithful to our Master, Savior and Soon-Coming King.
Gentleness: As you have to be careful driving your little cars around a house of cards, so we must be very gentle in the things we do and the words we speak.
Self-Control: Like trying to hit a ball on a tube with just the right amount of force so that it will drop into the jar, so we must learn to control our actions - not too little, not too much. But just right.
Having each of these fruit of the Spirit is another way of saying that Christ is formed in us. His character, His ways of conduct, demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit perfectly.
But like a candy mold can shape the candy into different shapes, we all look different on the outside. It’s when you taste the candy that you know it’s sweet. Similarly, when Christ is formed in us, our actions and our words are evidence of what’s inside. We need to seek God with all of our heart, until Christ is formed in each of us!