Bearing Good Fruit Group
Group Activities


Interactive Group Activities
by Carol Williams & Charles Kirkpatrick

Sermon Title: "Bearing Good Fruit"

Scripture Reading:  Luke 13:1-9

BIBLE VERSE RELAY: In a basket, place strips of paper with words from Luke 13:6. Divide the children into two teams. Team members will take turns running to the basket and taking one strip of words from the basket and return to the team. This will continue until the team has all of the strips of words for the Bible verse. The team will then gather in a circle and put the Bible verse together on the floor. The first team to get the Bible verse in the correct order will win the game and will READ THE VERSE aloud.

FRUIT TREE RELAY: The teacher will draw a large picture of a tree on a sheet of poster board. The teacher will then draw and cut out various kinds of fruit from construction paper. Each piece of fruit should have a word written on it representing a fruit that God wants to see in our life. (love, joy, peace, kindness, etc.) Before class the teacher will hide the fruit around the room. Divide class into teams. There should be one fruit of each kind for each team. When the teacher says, "FIND a BANANA," the entire team will hunt for one banana. When they have found it, the teams will tape their fruit to a the tree on the poster board. Continue finding fruits such as FIND THE APPLE, FIND THE ORANGE, FIND THE MANGO, FIND THE GRAPES, etc. The children will enjoy watching their FRUIT TREE grow more and more fruit.

PLANT A TREE: If it is possible, buy a very small tree or several and let children dig the hole, water, fertilize and plant at least one tree together. Let children put their name on a plastic stake in the ground by the tree/s.

FRUIT PUZZLES: Let children draw a large piece of fruit on a piece of construction paper. Cut around the outside tracing of the fruit. Write fruits that God wants to see in our life on their fruit (such as love, joy, peace, etc). Then children will cut their piece of fruit into a puzzle of 5-10 pieces (depending on age of children) and pass their puzzle pieces to the next child so that child can put the puzzle together. Children will enjoy watching another child put their puzzle together. If time allows, let children put their own puzzle together once again and glue it onto a piece of construction paper.

BIBLE VERSE FRUIT CAKE: Give each child a piece of brown construction paper and make cut of 2 inches at an angle on each corner. Fold up and tape to form a box. Let children write parts of Galatians 5:22-23 on pieces of cut out and colored fruit pictures and place in the fruit "cake box". Children can carry this home and try to put Bible verse together or have a family member try to put the verse together from the FRUIT CAKE.

HIDDEN FRUITY PUZZLE: Write today's Bible verse on a piece of poster board. Cover the words with pictures of fruit from a magazine or fruit that the teacher has drawn and cut out. Let children call out a fruit to be taken off the board and try to say the Bible verse. If unable to recite the verse, then another child can ask for a fruit to be removed from the board... and continue until the children can read all of the verse.

FRUIT BEARING CHRISTIANS: Divide the children into pairs. Give each child a piece of paper that they can try to draw a person (looking at their partner for ideas of hair, face, clothes, etc) and cut the outline of the "person". Have the children write on their drawing, "A FRUIT BEARING CHRISTIAN" and write words that represent bearing good fruit such as WORSHIP REGULARLY, READ GOD'S WORD, PRAY, SHARE JESUS WITH OTHERS, etc. Tape the drawn "people" to the classroom wall.

KID FRUITY TREES: (Teacher -- have a CAMERA ready!!!). Let each child draw a fruit and write a FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT on their fruit. Cut the fruit out and hang by a string or yarn. Then have all the children in groups of 4 or 5, stand behind each other and stretch out their arms and hang their FRUIT on an arm -- take a picture of each group as FRUITY KID TREES!! (of course the pictures will need to be place on a classroom wall or a church bulletin board for all to enjoy!)

SING A SONG: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT; TO BE LIKE JESUS

SHARE A FRUITY SNACK: Have samples of fresh fruit for children to enjoy, or dried fruit or fruity candy snacks. Have children take turns naming the fruit of the Spirit, or go around in a circle, saying the fruits of the Spirit as quickly as they can and go faster and faster!!!

Song:  "The Fruit of the Spirit" by Charles Kirkpatrick

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)

Song:  "To Be Like Jesus" by Charles Kirkpatrick

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track (right click to save to your computer)

These songs are in the public domain and may be freely downloaded and reproduced for religious or educational use by churches, schools, home schoolers, and other non-profit organizations.

About Carol Williams
Carol and her husband have served churches in Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Michigan, and Indiana.  Carol loves to work with children so you will find her teaching in Junior Church and children's Sunday School.  She also has clowning ministry in which she is known as Bubbles tc (the clown).
 
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