#9: NINE ATTRIBUTES OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE
Mark down how well you exemplify the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit in your life by circling the number that fits you best.
Love 6 7 8 9 10
Joy 6 7 8 9 10
Peace 6 7 8 9 10
Patience 6 7 8 9 10
Kindness 6 7 8 9 10
Goodness 6 7 8 9 10
Faithfulness 6 7 8 9 10
Gentleness 6 7 8 9 10
Self-Control 6 7 8 9 10
Choose 3 attributes that you understand well and write them down below along with what they mean:
1)
2)
3)
*Do you know any people in the Bible that have these attributes? Write down the names of one of them next to each attribute.
Love __________
Joy __________
Peace __________
Patience __________
Kindness __________
Goodness __________
Faithfulness __________
Gentleness __________
Self-Control __________
Step 1: Presentation
Collect the surveys your children filled out from the week before that talked about the definitions of the fruit of the Spirit. Use the results of the survey to split the class into pairs, groups, or individuals and have them present each attribute to the class.
Lead-in: tell the class that each presentation needs to have 3 parts:
+ The name and definition of the attribute they were given.
+ A Biblical character whose life clearly demonstrates this attribute
+ Whether or not this attribute is present in their own lives and anything they want out of this attribute.
Today we’ll talk about this fruit. Do you like fruit? What’s your favorite fruit? There are so many different types of fruits, and not a single one of them is the same. They look different, and they feel and taste different when you eat them too. (Apples, pears, and persimmons are crunchy, while soursops are soft. Mangosteins are very yummy while durian…is….well…). The Bible talks about fruit, but it’s a different kind of fruit. It’s not an actual fruit, but something called the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is kind of like the fruit we eat in that it also has different and distinct types.
So, where does this fruit come from? The explanation is simple. When we invite Jesus to step into our lives, the Holy Spirit stays with us and He produces this special type of fruit in us. As we grow and learn more about Jesus, the Holy Spirit will give us more and more fruit and we will become more like Christ.
Galatians 5:22 writes that there is one fruit of the Spirit but 9 different attributes / characteristics. Those are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control”. The Holy Spirit wants to give us these wonderful attributes.
Show the students how to present the information they have on each attribute given to them.
Step 2: Clarification
These are some short definitions that can be used as suggestions. Teachers should research more about Biblical figures (particularly the people that are taught about in your Sunday School classes) to help illustrate these attributes in a way that’s easy for your students to understand.
Before explaining these attributes, remember that God wants us to become better every day and for spiritual fruit to be continually produced in our lives. The Holy Spirit Himself will help us with these attributes of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control”, because under our own strength, it’s very difficult to produce this ourselves.
1) Love: Think about someone that loves you no matter what happens. You can make mistakes or wrong them, you could be the most beautiful or the most ugly person alive, and they’d still love you the same. That’s exactly the love that God has for all of us. His love is even greater and stronger than the love our parents have for us. He can help us love others the way we’re supposed to.
2) Joy: Joy looks like being very, very happy. But it’s more than that. Joy is a feeling you have in your heart even when everything isn’t perfect. And we can try very hard to be happy, but only God can really give us this source of happiness that comes from within.
3) Peace: When we talk about this one, people who haven’t yet accepted Jesus often think of a peaceful, quiet scene. No war, death, or sickness. But that’s not what spiritual peace is. Jesus says, “… my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” This peace He’s talking about is the peace we feel by being reconciled with God through Jesus’ death. It’s the security of being able to take refuge in the shade of the Most High God in the midst of life’s various circumstances (Psalm 91).
4) Patience: Patience is waiting. It’s not demanding to have your share no matter what. Children don’t often have patience. But even adults find it difficult to obtain this attribute. This is because patiences goes hand in hand with words like “waiting” and “losing out”. So all you can do is depend on the work of the Holy Spirit so that the fruit of patience will be cultivated in your life.
5) Kindness: Between someone you’re close to and a beggar on the street, who would you be more courteous and gracious to? Kindness means more than treating the other people around you well. It means showing compassion towards someone that might not even have the ability to give you anything back.
6) Goodness: Courteousness and goodness is the next fruit of the Spirit. Someone with this attribute is someone who’s aware of the goodness of God in their lives. I used to be a bad person, but God saved me and gave me the opportunity to become His child. Because of this, now I want to demonstrate my generosity and kindness to the people around me.
7) Faithfulness: There’s probably not a lot of you who’ll pick this one, huh? That’s because this isn’t an attribute that’s talked about often; mostly it’s used among Christians. Faithfulness means always keeping your promises and commitments even when it’s difficult. Someone who’s faithful does what they say, is trustworthy, and devotes themselves to the work that they believe they should do for God or for others they love and care about.
8) Gentleness: “Gentle” is a word that is often used in advertisements: gentle material, gentle tissues, gentle skin, etc. Gentleness expresses the ideas of diffusion, strong absorption, not resisting or causing damage. God is implying something similar when He talks about this character trait. When something bad happens, someone with a gentle spirit doesn’t have the tendency to argue or become stubborn. When someone gives their opinion, they listen, and when they need to say something, they’ll say it with a steady, even voice.
9) Self-control: This last attribute is important. Self-control means being even-tempered, not excessive, not reacting in an out-of-control way. Someone who’s even-tempered can control what they do – they don’t just do whatever they feel like. Another way to define self-control is being in control of your actions.
Every one of these spiritual attributes are amazing! They’re cultivated through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Give the authority to rule over your life to the Holy Spirit and follow the path of God so that your life will continually produce this good fruit, more and more every day.
