The Fruit of the Spirit

Like Fruit from a Tree

There was once a boy like no other child.

He was full of love, joy and peace.

He was patient, kind and good.

He was faithful, gentle and self-controlled.

He shared these good things with others like fruit from a tree.

He didn’t have an easy life: people whispered about who his father was, and there wasn’t much money.

But his family had a lot of love to share around, and they showed him even more love, joy and peace; patience, kindness and goodness; faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

They shared these things with him like fruit from a tree.

He learned to read, and he read in the holy books about the best life of all.

He read about love, joy and peace; about patience, kindness and goodness; about faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

They grew in him like fruit on a tree.

And like no other person before or since, he lived that best life of all because he was not only a person, he was God as well.

When he grew up, in everything he did he showed even more love, joy and peace.

He was even more patient, kind and good.

He was even more faithful, gentle and self-controlled.

His life was even more fruitful like fruit on a tree.

There came a time when he had to choose whether to live for himself or to live for other people and for God.

He chose to live for other people and for God.

And that meant that he chose to give up everything - he even gave up his own life for them.

He went to the cross and died there, like fruit falling from a tree.

But nothing can keep the Spirit of God dead for long.

He had been so full of life that he came to life again, like seeds from a fruit growing into a whole orchard full of trees.

So now his love, joy and peace; his patience, kindness and goodness; his faithfulness, gentleness and self-control aren’t just in him.

They are growing in anyone who knows him, just like fruit on the biggest tree there has ever been - a tree so big it has spread its branches round the whole wide world.

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Who could you show the fruit of the Spirit to this week?

As Jesus showed us, fruit of the Spirit is really about becoming less self-absorbed, bending towards others with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Who could you show fruit of the Spirit to this week?

Prayer

Choose nine leaders or helpers to take groups into different parts of the room, each assigned with one of the fruits of the Spirit. Ask them to encourage their group to devise an action for the fruit as soon as they’re together - for example, giving a hug for love or jumping for joy.

For our prayer today we’re going to ask God to let his Holy Spirit grow these fruits in us.

When I call out your fruit, show us your action, and on the second call, everyone repeat the action.

So I will say:

‘Father, Son and Spirit, help us to grow LOVE.’

The love group shows the action.

Then everyone repeats, ‘Yes, LOVE!’ and everyone does the action for love.

LEADER: Father, Son and Spirit, help us to grow LOVE.

ALL: Yes, LOVE!

LEADER: Father, Son and Spirit, help us to grow JOY.

ALL: Yes, JOY!

LEADER: Father, Son and Spirit, help us to grow PEACE.

ALL: Yes, PEACE!

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL