The Fruit of the Spirit

About the Lesson:

This object lesson which I first saw from Bro. Ken Baglin (thank you Bro. Baglin for your years of work and inspiration) requires nothing more than items you can obtain at your local grocery store and some rehearsal. It is a great way to teach audiences of any age about the fruit of the spirit in a fun and very memorable way.

What you need:

• Grapes (very few, small bunch will do nicely)
• Strawberries (or blackberries, blueberries, raspberries (4 or 5))
• Plum, apple or peach
• Banana
• Orange
• Mango (or something out of the ordinary that children might not be familiar with)
• Grapefruit
• Pineapple
• Coconut
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Ice pick

Lesson:

Each of the fruit listed above represents a different fruit of the spirit in the order that Galatians chapter 5 lists them.

Ask everyone that brought their bible to turn to Galatians chapter 5 and have some start reading at verse 22.

Explain that the fruit of the spirit are additional bonuses or benefits that you receive when you receive the Holy Ghost. As if having the creator of the entire universe coming and living inside of you wasn’t enough, NOW you also get some wonderful other unexpected surprises!

Talk to the class like you are telling a story.

“Before God filled me with the Holy Ghost, I wasn’t a very good person at all. I was mean, had a bad attitude, did all kinds of things I knew I shouldn’t do and kicked puppies. I had a stinky breath, frowned a lot and liked to eat rotten tomatoes… I was REALLY not a very nice guy.

BUT THEN… one day God found me. ME! I wasn’t anything special. At least I didn’t think so and neither seemingly did anyone else but GOD apparently thought I WAS! Isn’t that incredible? He saw something in me that no one else, even me, saw!

Well, one day I was wallowing around in the mud eating bugs and someone came and told me about a God that loved me and a church that would help me so I came and SURE ENOUGH, that night, I repented of all my sins by telling God I was sorry for all the bad things I had done, I was baptized in JESUS NAME and all of my sins were washed away and THEN… THEN GOD FILLED ME WITH THE HOLY GHOST!

The God that made the universe and everything in it came and lived inside of me… and I have never been the same again. I don’t eat bugs, don’t wallow in the mud very often, I have a smile, I brush my teeth in the morning, I hug puppies, have a good attitude and NOW I AM ON MY WAY TO HEAVEN!!!!

I received the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive. I have Jesus living inside of me and He helps me each day to live for Him and do what is right. HOW COULD THINGS GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT?!

But guess what, they CAN! REALLY… what I didn’t realize at first was that when you get the Holy Ghost you ALSO get a whole lot of other really neat things bundled for FREE with it! They are called the Fruit of the Spirit!

PICK UP THE GRAPES

Like this one… Love. Did you know that I was so full of junk that I really didn’t love anyone, even myself? BUT when I got the Holy Ghost, I wanted to hug everyone in the room! I was so full of love that I couldn’t think of someone I didn’t like. I LOVED THE WHOLE WORLD! My worst enemy was suddenly my best friend.

POP THE GRAPES IN YOUR MOUTH

And it was fantastic! That fruit of the spirit was WONDERFUL! When I got the Holy Ghost I got love.

Before I got the Holy Ghost I was also not a very happy person. But when I spoke in tongues for that first time I was suddenly the happiest person alive… the 2nd fruit of the Spirit if JOY and that is even BETTER than happiness because, with it, you can be happy even when things around you are going wrong.

When I got the Holy Ghost I got some serious Joy.

PICK UP AND EAT STRAWBERRIES

Oh but things just got better from there. I had love and joy but Jesus also had something else for me… PEACE! My life had been so full of turmoil and fussing and fighting with everyone around me but that night, when I got the Holy Ghost, PEACE entered my life and for the first time in a long time, I could lay in my bed at night and sleep like a baby because all the confusion was gone. God had given me PEACE.

PICK UP AND TAKE A BIG BITE OF THE PLUM

And it was WONDERFUL! In fact, it was so wonderful that I just couldn’t wait to try the next fruit of the spirit. The Bible said I would then have LONGSUFFERING! I didn’t know what that was but I couldn’t WAIT to try it!

GRAB THE BANANA AND TAKE A BITE OF IT, SKIN AND ALL WITHOUT PEELING IT FIRST

“AND THAT WAS REALLY BAD! You see, some fruit takes longer to enjoy than others. Longsuffering means suffering long… or putting up with things you don’t enjoy. YIKES! I found out that this particular fruit takes more time than the first couple. Love, joy and peace came to me immediately and I got to savor them right away but Longsuffering took me a while. I found out that I had to work it but once I did… once I got it figured out

PEEL THE REST OF THE BANANA AND THEN TAKE A BITE

It was worth the effort! Longsuffering was very good, just not as easy to eat as the others.

TAKE THE ORANGE

Then there was gentleness. When I came to God I wasn’t very gentle. I was kind of mean so it wasn’t so easy to start treating people the way God wanted me to.

PRETEND TO TAKE A BIG BITE OF THE ORANGE, PEEL AND ALL

I wanted it really badly but oh no, I had learned from my mistake on longsuffering… I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. I took my time with it. I prayed and asked God for help… I even had to FAST! But with God’s help I was able to open up this new fruit of the spirit and when I did I found out that it was worth every minute!

PEEL THE ORANGE AND TAKE A BITE

It was so GOOD! Juicy and tangy and delicious! It didn’t come quick or without having to work for it but gentleness was great!

GRAB THE MANGO

Then there was Goodness. I didn’t even really know what Goodness was before I got the Holy Ghost but wanted to find out. I wanted to act like Jesus, talk like Jesus and be like Him in everything I did but it just didn’t happen overnight. I wanted to be perfect! But no, it doesn’t usually happen that way.

I looked at this fruit and I honestly didn’t even know what it was or how to eat it. I knew it was something God wanted me to have though so I kept at it. Poking it, prodding it, trying to get it open until one day,

OPEN IT JUST A LITTLE BIT TO TASTE IT

God helped me and I got a little taste of Goodness. And what do you know?! Goodness was… well… GOOD! That inspired me and made me want more and more. So throughout my days I would work on it little by little until soon I had it!

Then there was FAITH.

Grab the GRAPEFRUIT. This one was pretty big but I trusted God. I knew that if He wanted me to have it, then He would help me enjoy it. I worked day by day and then He allowed me to enjoy it.

PEEL AND TASTE FAITH

And faith made SUCH a difference in my life! I had believed that God was real, that there was real heaven, that the rapture was coming and that Jesus loved me but nothing had prepared me for this! FAITH brought all of this to a new level! Now I didn’t just believe it was true… I KNEW IT from the bottom of my heart. In fact, I knew it so well that I want to let others know about it! I now knew that God was a healer! I knew that God was a delivered! I knew that God could put families back together, that He could do ANYTHING!

And God can STILL do that today for everyone here! My God is the same Yesterday, Today and FOREVER!

But there was still another fruit of the spirit left. I was very excited about the prospect, but I must admit that I was a little bit cautious after my other experiences. And then I found out what it was!

BRING OUT THE PINEAPPLE

Oh no! MEEKNESS! What is this?

KNOCK ON THE SIDE OF IT

How do I open it? It kind of looks scary doesn’t it? All sharp and pointy. Yikes!

TRY TO OPEN IT WITH YOUR HANDS

I know I can’t just bite into it, that would really hurt me but I can’t figure out how to get around this tough looking exterior. It’s just too hard.

You see, Meekness ISN’T easy to incorporate into your life. As humans, the last thing we usually want to do is to let our pride go. A lot of people think that meekness is actually weakness and that just is NOT the case! We don’t want to look like a sissy. Every one of us, whether or not we want to admit it or not thinks ourselves are pretty cool. Pride is a terrible thing and it can get us into a lot of trouble. In fact, the only way to REALLY become great is to put God completely and totally in control of our lives. When we follow God’s lead, that’s when we can really shine and become WAY more than we could on our own.

The best definition I have ever heard of meekness is strength under control. You aren’t a sissy when you are weak, you just put your faith and trust in God completely and let Him have His perfect way.

Some fruit, like this one, cannot be opened without God’s help. But God never leaves us hanging. He supplies all of our needs according to His riches and glory. When we start to pray and read our Bibles, we will find all the answers to the problems we face. Does anyone know what Hebrews 4:12 says? It says the Word of God is QUICK and powerful and sharper than any 2-edged sword! A SWORD! That’s exactly what we need! To get inside meekness and to allow us to really understand it and enjoy it for what it is, we need to READ THE WORD OF GOD! PULL OUT YOUR SWORD!

USE THE KNIFE TO CUT OPEN THE PINEAPPLE – AFTER YOU CUT IT OPEN, CUT OUT LITTLE CHUNKS AND EAT IT, MAKING IT LOOK LIKE THE BEST THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD (IT SHOULD BE EASY BECAUSE FRESH PINEAPPLE IS AMAZING)

I found out that meekness isn’t so bad after all and it was worth the time and effort it took to get it open.

And there was still one last one… yes, one more. And if I thought meekness was hard to open, I had NO IDEA what was still in store for me. This last one was the hardest one yet. TEMPERANCE!

PULL OUT THE COCONUT

A FURRY CANNONBALL! What am I going to do with that?! How do you eat a bowling ball? And what even IS temperance?

Well, I now trusted God completely. He had given me the ability to enjoy every other fruit of the spirit so why would He let me down now? I knew He would help me because He had every single time so far. I knew He would give me the ability and the tools to make it happen.

Temperance is really moderation or self-restraint, staying in control and never going overboard with ANYTHING! This means eating, playing video games, or ANYTHING ELSE that takes control of you and puts that thing so prominently that God is 2nd place. SELF-CONTROL is very important in living for God.

The Bible talks over and over about idolatry. Does anyone know what idolatry is? YES! It is putting ANYTHING between you and God… ANYTHING that is more important to you than God is, CAN BE AN IDOL! IT CAN BE YOUR NEW LITTLE SAD, PLASTIC GOD!

But temperance will help us with all of that! I still don’t know how to open it, but I am going to pray, fast and read my bible until God helps me out.

PULL OUT THE ICE PICK

God will give you wisdom on how to deal with things. Again, the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword.

PUSH THE ICE PICK INTO THE “EYES” OF THE COCONUT UNTIL IT GOES THROUGH INTO THE COCONUT. REAM OUT THE HOLE UNTIL IT IS BIG ENOUGH TO POUR OUT THE MILK.

Check that out! I am making progress! I am still not perfect with temperance by any means but I am getting somewhere. Now I am doing better and not staying up until 4 AM playing my Xbox One.

But I still need to get this open. Hmmm…

PULL OUT THE HAMMER

Sometimes when we are really having a hard time with something God will step in and say, “Step back, just let me take over here”.

PRACTICE THIS AT HOME, BUT TAP THE HAMMER IN A ROUGH CIRCLE AROUND THE TOP OF THE COCONUT. YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO HIT IT VERY HARD BUT BY TAPPING AROUND THE COCONUT, THE TOP SHOULD BEGIN TO CRACK OFF.

And look at that, I can now enjoy the “fruit” of my labor. With God’s help, I can enjoy all of the fruit of the spirit. IN FACT, I have SO much FRUIT here that I can’t eat it all myself! I want to share it with others!

HAND SOME OF THE FRUIT OUT TO THE PEOPLE IN CLASS

That’s the way the kingdom works, God will bless you like He said in the book of Malachi “…prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

God wants us to be blessed but He also wants us to share the blessing with others. The Kingdom of God is so awesome…. BE A WITNESS!