Curriculum
Bearing Good Fruit
Memory Verse:
“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Jesus’ followers were arguing over whether some people deserved to die. Rather than arguing, Jesus called everyone to repent. And as followers of Christ, everyone is expected to bear His fruit.
Scripture Summary
Luke was Paul’s friend and traveling companion. Because of his connections, he could interview the disciples about their encounters with Jesus. Luke, a doctor by trade, included facts and details about Jesus’ life. And Luke was also a Gentile Christian—the only Gentile author in the new testament.
Jesus warned His followers about many things—hypocrisy, the foolishness of the wealthy, worry, His second coming, and future division. While following Christ, His followers aren’t promised an easy time—in fact, they should expect turmoil. Scholars believe that Pilate had some Galileans killed because he suspected rebellion and that those killed in Siloam might have been working on an aqueduct. The Pharisees thought the Galileans deserved to die because of their rebellion. And the Zealots, or terrorists against Rome, thought the aqueduct workers deserved to die because they were working for Rome.
After these warnings, Luke describes Jesus’ urgent call for people to repent and follow Him. Everyone will eventually die. Rather than arguing, Jesus calls everyone to repent.
Based on Old Testament passages such as Psalm 1:3, a tree that bears great fruit is a sign of godliness. Jesus knew His followers were familiar with such a symbol, so He used it to make His point. All followers of Christ are expected to bear fruit and let God’s goodness show throughout their lives.
Why Is This Important
Just like a gardener doesn’t want to waste time on a tree that doesn’t produce fruit, God doesn’t have use for Christians who don’t bear fruit. God is the one who cultivates great fruit in our lives.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
While in an elementary scouting program, I was working on my cooking badge. Naturally, the requirements included preparing a meal with a parent helper. My mom and I were to select a fruit that I hadn’t tried before. The grocery store in our small mountain town had a limited selection, and few fruits are in season in the winter. Our family enjoyed a wide variety of fruit anyway, so it was a difficult task to find a new fruit for us to try. Wouldn’t it be great if all fruit was available all the time?
Rather than individual fruit that’s in or out of season—or that provides a certain vitamin or mineral—the Holy Spirit produces a collective fruit in our lives. Each of the fruit is present in this collective fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control. When He’s the one producing the fruit, the fruit is complete, not lacking anything.
I used to think of the fruit of the Spirit as a super-Christian checklist of sorts. Depending on the day, I needed to work harder at being gentle— or practicing self-control. But that’s not the case. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is the One producing, the One at work. We just need to create space for His work.
Take time to thank God for His fruit—complete fruit that’s available throughout the year.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank You for Your fruit in my life. I can see some of Your fruit growing in me, and I know You’re not quite done. Help me create space for Your continued work. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Bibles, White board, Dry-erase marker, Paper, Scissors, Pen, Tape
Get Ready: Draw a tree on the white board. Cut out different fruit shapes. Write phrases from the Bible memory verse on them, and tape them to the treetop so the words are not showing. Make one set for every six kids.
“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vine- yard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertil- ize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)
Follow these steps to help the kids learn the Bible memory verse:
- Have kids open their Bibles to Luke 13:6-9.
- Read aloud the verses together.
- Explain to kids they’ll be playing a game to learn the verse. Divide kids into teams of six.
- When you say go, have one member of each team race to the whiteboard, retrieve one piece of fruit, and bring it back to the group.
- Once the first person has returned, the second person can go.
- Team members can arrange the words or phrases once two have been retrieved.
- This process continues until teams have put the entire memory verse in order.
- If someone picks up a piece of fruit with a phrase their team already has, the next player has to spend his or her turn returning it to the board so it will be there for another team.
- Once all teams have finished, repeat the verse a few times together.
ASK:
- What can you learn about yourself and Jesus from this verse?
SAY: Jesus wants us to know how important it is to Him that we grow good fruit, or good character qualities. We can do this by believing in Him, learning about Him, and doing what He says is best. When we follow Him like this, He says He’ll grow things like kindness, goodness, and peace in us.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles, “Fruit-Bearing Christian” handouts, Pencils, Fruit stickers, Crayons
Get Ready: Before class, print the handout. You’ll need one for each child.
SAY: Today we’re learning that Jesus expects us to bear good fruit. That means when we believe in Him, He expects us to learn and grow and show good character. Let’s dig into that.
Follow these steps for this activity:
- Give each child a Bible, a handout, a pencil, and several stickers. Set out crayons to share.
- Tell kids that they’re going to create a picture of a tree to symbolize a growing Christian.
- Explain that before someone can bear fruit, they must be a believer.
- Read aloud Luke 13:1-5.
ASK:
- What do you think Jesus is saying in this passage?
- What are some kinds of fruit, or good character qualities, Jesus might be talking about?
- Explain that Jesus says we must first repent, or turn away from our wrong choices, before we can bear fruit.
- Have kids write “Repent” underneath their tree trunks.
- Read aloud Luke 13:6-9.
ASK:
- What fruit do you think comes from following Jesus? (Invite kids to draw branches and add fruit stickers to the ends of the branches as ideas are shared.)
- What are ways you can follow Jesus’ instructions and start bearing good fruit? (Invite kids to draw a branch for each thing shared and write a word or phrase to describe the action.)
SAY: Jesus says when we’re true believers we’ll bear fruit, or grow and change in really good ways. Let’s do what we can to be close to Jesus so He’ll grow good fruit in us.
Snack
A Fruit Snack
You’ll Need: Bible, Gummy fruit snacks
Follow these steps:
- Have kids clean their hands, and give each child a pack of gummy fruit snacks.
- Remind kids that Jesus says when they’re His friends, they’ll grow good “fruit,” or grow and change in ways that shine His light to others.
- As kids enjoy their snacks, read aloud Galatians 5:22-23, and explain that those are some good “fruit” Jesus can grow in them.
- Invite kids to share ways they think God’s grown them since they’ve believed in Jesus.
SAY: Jesus grows us into loving, caring, joyful kids when we believe in Him and we show that we trust Him by following Him.
Game
Fruit Basket Upset
You’ll Need: Paper, Pens, Chairs
Follow these steps to play the game:
- Have kids sit on chairs in a circle.
- Have everyone write their two favorite fruits on the piece of paper.
- Choose one child to be the first caller, and remove that child’s chair from the circle.
- Explain that he or she will call a fruit, and if a child wrote down that fruit, he or she must get up and move to a different seat. When this happens, the caller will try to get a seat. The person left without a seat is the next caller.
- The caller can name one fruit, a combination of multiple fruits, or if he or she says “fruit basket upset,” then everyone must move to a different chair.
- Play about five rounds, and then pass around a new piece of paper and have kids write a fruit of the Spirit that they would like Jesus to grow in them.
- Play several rounds using the fruits of the Spirit.
SAY: Great job! Jesus grows fruit in us when we take time to get to know Him and learn to follow Him!
Craft
Fruity Buttons
You’ll Need: Paper, Colored pencils, Scissors, Laminating sheets, Safety pins
To make the craft, have kids follow these steps:
- Remind kids that Jesus wants them to grow fruit like a fruit tree grows fruit.
- Give each child a piece of paper and set out colored pencils and scissors to share.
- Invite kids to draw a piece of fruit, color it, and cut it out.
- Have them write a one-sentence prayer on the back of the fruit for how they’d like Jesus to grow them. Explain that since the safety pin will be glued near the top, they should write on the middle and bottom.
- When several kids have finished, use the laminating paper to laminate their fruit, and let them cut out their pieces.
- Help kids make their fruit into buttons by hot gluing the closed side of a safety pin to the back of the fruit.
- Allow the glue to cool, and then help kids put on their buttons if they want to wear them.
SAY: Wear your button as a reminder that Jesus wants you to grow and change in ways that shine His light.
Prayer
Fruit-Bearing Prayers
You’ll Need: Completed “Fruit- Bearing Christian” handouts
SAY: Today we learned that Jesus wants to grow fruit in us like fruit grows on a tree. Let’s talk to Jesus right now about that.
Do the following for the prayer:
- Ensure kids are holding their handouts.
- Allow time for them to look over the fruits on their trees.
- Encourage them to say a prayer, asking God to show them what fruit He would like to grow in them.
- Invite kids to share anything they felt they heard. Let them know it’s okay if they didn’t get an answer right in this moment.
PRAY: Dear God, thank You for giving us Jesus. We know Jesus wants to grow good fruit in us. We pray that You would help us have eyes to see and ears to hear how You want us to grow right now. In Jesus’ name, amen.
