Fruit of the Spirit

Games Workshop

Scripture Reference:

Galatians 5: 16-26

Memory Verse:
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a (NLT)

Purpose:
The children will explore what a Fruitful life looks like while playing a Fruity-Fun Giant Board Game. They will also see a science object lesson that illustrates that even though we can’t see the Holy Spirit, people can see signs that He is in our lives.

Objectives for the Fruit of the Spirit rotation
(see listing above)

Additional objectives for Games workshop
At the end of the session, the students will:

• have explored ways that they can “live the Fruit of the Spirit” so that people can see that the Spirit is in their lives.

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study, ....
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Practice the science experiment.
• If you don’t have a life-sized game board, you can create one on canvas painter’s tarps using the instructions from Jaymie Derden (State St. UMC) at the rotation.org website: link.. (Or you can create tabletop sized game boards on posterboard using the same game path format.)
• Game cards: copy the text for the cards (at the end of the lesson plan) into your word processor and print them out on cardstock. Use three different colors if you follow the State Street UMC directions with three different types of activity spots. Otherwise, combine and adapt the cards to fit your game board. (Make sure you shuffle the game cards, as they are listed here in a rather repetitive order.)

Room set-up:
If you are using a life-sized game board, spread it out on the floor. Set up tables and chairs if you are using a smaller game board.

Supply List:

• game board (see advance preparation);
• die (you can buy oversized dice at various "game" websites including http://www.trainerswarehouse.com, make one out of a cube shaped box, or use a regular sized game die, available at most discount stores);
• game cards printed on three different colors of cardstock (see advance preparation);
• buttons or some sort of marker tokens if you are not using a life-sized game board;
• whiteboard or flipchart and markers;
• world map;
• science experiment supplies: small drinking glass, paper towel, bowl or tub filled with water.
• Optional: fruit stickers (for journal pages).
• FOR SHEPHERD TIME: sample of a vine (either a cut live vine, silk vine garland, or a photo of a vine); plain piece of paper with John 15:1, 4 printed at the top with room for sketching below: Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.” (NLT)

Lesson Plan

Opening:

Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags. If not, ask the shepherd to supply a temporary badge.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop. We are going to have some fun (some of it silly) as we learn about how we should live with the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Scripture/Bible Story:
In the Bible Jesus and others used fruit to teach us about how God wants us to live. Today we are reading from a letter written by Paul that describes the fruit our lives will produce when the Holy Spirit is living in us.

Read the scripture: Galatians 5: 16-26. (Encourage the children to use their Bibles in looking up verses. Show them how to use the table of contents.)

Dig:

Application:
(Adapted from Amazing Science Devotions for Children’s Ministry)
Remember the story of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to the believers with wind and fire and the ability to speak other languages? Have any of you ever had flames on your heads? Felt a great wind indoors? No? I wonder if that means you don’t have the Holy Spirit?
Let’s do an experiment to help us understand that even though we can’t see God’s Spirit in us, He is very real.

What do you think will happen to this paper towel if I put it in this bowl of water? What if it is in this glass? [Scrunch the paper towel into the glass.] Now watch carefully. [Turn the glass upside down and push it straight down into the water. Make sure the water is deep enough so you can hold the glass all the way underwater for a few seconds so everyone can see it. Then carefully pull the glass straight up out of the water, still upside down.]

[Have a volunteer take the paper towel out of the glass.] What do you notice about the paper towel? How can it still be dry?

The glass looked empty, but it was actually full of air. When I pushed the glass into the water, an invisible wall of air pushed back against the water and the paper towel. This wall of air kept the paper towel from getting wet. We can’t see the air, can we? But it’s still there. We saw evidence of it because the paper towel stayed dry.

You can’t see the Holy Spirit, so how do you know He is in your life? [Listen to suggestions.]
Other people can see evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life in the way you treat them. Do you treat other people the way Jesus wants you to?

What helps us to know that something is there when we’re not able to see it?
By faith, we know that God’s Spirit is in us. Hebrews 11:1 tells us “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” We can’t see the Spirit, but we can be sure He’s there, in us, helping us to live like Jesus wants us to. Just as the air kept the paper towel dry, the Spirit helps us live a Fruit-filled life.

Today, we will explore what it means to live a Fruit-filled life as we play a Fruity-Fun Giant Board Game.

Play the game. Divide the class into teams of 3-4 players each. All answers given/performed should be agreed upon by the entire group. Do not allow one person to shout out an answer. Bibles are an important tool in this game. Encourage the students to use them. If a team cannot come up with an answer, others may make suggestions, but the team still has to agree on their final answer.

Have the team with the youngest or shortest player go first. (Remind the children that the meek — those who are not judged by the world’s standards to be strong and powerful — will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5)

If you are playing with a life-sized game board, all of the students on a team should move together and try to squeeze onto a space together. If another team lands on the same spot, squeeze them on as best you can.

If a roll of the die puts a team on a plain space, their turn is over and they wait there until their next turn. If they land on a space with a cross, star or dynamite (or whatever symbols your board has), they follow the directions on the card that corresponds to that space. They should work as a team to decide on an answer, and they may use their Bibles. Answers should be shared so all the teams can hear. (Some of the questions may be repeated, as the cards are placed at the bottom of the deck after being used. Teams should try to come up with different answers for the questions that require “creative” responses -- that is, the Activity and Life Application questions.)

The object of the game is not to be the first to reach the end, but for all teams to reach the end (or get as far as time permits) and to have fun doing it. If a team gets to the end of the path before the end of class time, they can begin again at the first square or they can sit to watch the others finish.

Reflection:

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):
Reflection questions were included in the game.

Review the memory verse. Several teams should have practiced the memory verse during the game. If time permits, read it or recite it out loud together. If it is near the end of the rotation, ask for volunteers to stand up and say the verse alone.

At 11:50 a.m. ask the shepherds to pass out the journal paper and pencils/markers. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a fruit sticker to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity.

Shepherd Time:
Pass out the journal sheets and read John 15: 1, 4. Show the children some vines. Ask them to sketch a vine with their face on the fruit.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journals quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Workshop Leader’s Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

At noon, ask the students to close their journals and sit quietly for prayer.

Closing prayer:
Dear God, thank you for sending your Spirit to be with each one of us always. Help us to feel your Spirit, to hear your Spirit, and to follow your Spirit as we are led to live lives that show the world that we are yours. Amen.

Tidy and Dismissal: Ask children to help tidy the room. Give any specific instructions for clearing the workshop room.
Give everyone the parent take-home flyer the first week of the rotation; give it only to children who were absent and have not yet received it the other weeks of the rotation.

Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas:

Younger Children:

• For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible using the table of contents and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.
• Leave out question cards marked with *.
• The youngest children will need an older student or adult to read them the game cards and help them find the Bible passages (or a helper can look up the Bible passages and read them to the class). Also, consider using the NIRV translation (New International Reader’s Version).

Older Children:
Make sure each team member has a chance to be the team spokesman and give the answer.

Resources:

• Game board idea inspired by Jaymie Derden, State St. UMC: link.
• Halasz, Sheila and Lori Niles, editors. Amazing Science Devotions for Children’s Ministry. Loveland, Colorado: Group, 1999.
• http://childrensministry.com/- available free online, but you need to register as a user.
• Catherine. Posting at rotation.org: “Getting to Know You.” https://www.rotation.org/topic/295011598215960508
• Jan at FPC Napa. Posting at rotation.org under , “Fruit of the Spirit - Intergenerational”: https://www.rotation.org/topic...from-first-pres-napa
• Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Question Cards for the Fruit of the Spirit Game:

Fact questions (landing on spots marked with a cross; encourage the teams to use their Bibles to answer these; they may move only if they answer the question correctly):

• Where in the Bible can you find the Fruit of the Spirit? Move ahead 2 spaces.
• What are the names of the four Gospels? Move ahead 1 space.
• The letters of Paul are in the (NEW, OLD) Testament. Move ahead 1 space.
• Paul wrote that we are to live by the (LAW, SPIRIT). Move ahead 2 spaces. (See Galatians 5:18 if you need help.)
• Paul wrote that we are saved by (the LAW, FAITH). Move ahead 2 spaces. (See Galatians 3:10-11 if you need help.)
• Who wrote the letter to the Galatians? Move ahead 2 spaces.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is love. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is joy. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is peace. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is kindness. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is anger. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is meanness. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is selfishness. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is honesty. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is cuteness. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is self-esteem. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: one fruit of the Spirit is harmony. Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (See Galatians 5:25 for help.) Move ahead 1 space.
• True or False: A person who has patience goes around telling everyone, “Get out of my way!” Move ahead one space.

Activity questions (landing on spots marked with a star):
All the team members say the memory verse together. Move ahead four spaces.

• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “love.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “joy.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• * Create a quick mini-drama that shows “peace.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “patience.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “kindness.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “goodness.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• * Create a quick mini-drama that shows “faithfulness.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “gentleness.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Create a quick mini-drama that shows “self-control.” All team members must have a part. Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Sing one verse of “I’ve Got Peace Like a River” – make up river motions to go with it. Move ahead 2 spaces. (If you don’t know the tune, make one up.) (“I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.")
• A song includes the words, “I’ve got joy like a fountain.” Work as a team and use your bodies to make a ‘working fountain.’ Move ahead 3 spaces.
• Pretend to eat a banana. Move ahead 1 space.
• Pretend to cut and eat a watermelon. Move ahead 1 space.
• Pretend to climb a tree, pick a fruit, and eat it. Move ahead 2 spaces.
• Read John 15:4. Move ahead 1 space.
• * Read Matthew 7:17-20. Move ahead 1 space.
• Work as a team to draw a fruit tree on the whiteboard. Move ahead 2 spaces.
• Paul wrote a letter to the people of Galatia (present-day Turkey). Find Turkey on the world map. Move ahead 2 spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of love, read Matthew 19:13-15. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of joy, read Luke 2:8-14. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of peace, read what Jesus says in John 14:27. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of patience, read what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: 15:5-6. Move ahead two spaces.
• * For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of kindness, read about Ruth and Boaz in Ruth 2:10-12. Move ahead two spaces.
• * For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of goodness, read about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of faithfulness, read Galatians 3:8-9. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of gentleness, read Proverb 15:1. Move ahead two spaces.
• For a Bible reading which will help you understand the fruit of self-control, read Proverb 25:28. Move ahead two spaces.

Life application questions (landing on spots marked with dynamite; while there are no right or wrong answers, require thoughtful, serious answers from the team):

• To whom can you show love today? Move ahead one space.
• To whom can you show patience today? Move ahead one space.
• To whom can you show kindness today? Move ahead one space.
• To whom can you show faithfulness today? Move ahead one space.
• To whom can you show gentleness today? Move ahead one space.
• How can you show love today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show joy today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show peace today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show patience today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show kindness today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show goodness today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show faithfulness today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show gentleness today? Move ahead two spaces.
• How can you show self-control today? Move ahead two spaces.
• You were following the desires of your sinful nature and you quarreled with your team members about whose turn it was to roll the die. Move back one space.
• You were following the desires of your sinful nature and were jealous of your friend’s new shoes. Move back one space.
• You were following the desires of your sinful nature and you yelled at your mother when she told you to put away your clean laundry before you go outside to play. Move back one space.
• You were following the desires of your sinful nature and were gossiping about one of your classmates and how he always strikes out in baseball. Move back one space.
• Someone you don’t know well at school comes up to you and says that they see there is something special about the way you live and treat others. You tell them about Jesus. Move ahead 2 spaces.
• Someone you don’t know well at school comes up to you and says that they see there is something special about the way you live and treat others. You mumble “Thanks” and walk away. Move back 2 spaces.
• Mandy has always teased her little sister. But now that she is a Christian, her pastor says she should live her life in a new way. Mandy doesn’t know how to begin. What should she do? Move 2 spaces.
• Your friends are all talking about how Chris was homesick and cried at the Scout campout last weekend. You know that because you are living a new life with Jesus in your heart, you should not gossip. What do you say? Move ahead 2 spaces.
• You are at the Scout campout. You see that Chris is really homesick and is crying non-stop. You sort of know her from church. What should you do and say? Move ahead 2 spaces.

This lesson was written by Amy Crane for River Community Church in Prairieville, Louisiana.
Copyright 2003 Amy Crane. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

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