Today in preschool we got a little messy with our craft (fruit stamping) and silly with our new song and game. Some lessons just lend themselves to be extra fun! And it works, there was definitely more “chatter” at pick up than usual.
Sometimes to understand things easier it’s really good to use our imagination or stories, and that’s not the case just for little kids. Jesus does that a lot in the Bible with his parables. So today we imagined a tree. Jesus is the trunk and we are the branches. And God, who is the gardener, wants us to produce fruit. A tree can only grow fruit if the branches stay attached to the trunk. In order to stay attached to Jesus, we must read our Bibles, pray, learn, worship, etc. If we do all that we will become more like Jesus everyday.
We learnt more about the fruits that God wants us to produce. And no, strawberry and watermelon are not a fruit of the spirit, but they help us remember that love and joy are.
Love – Strawberry
Apple is kind of shaped like a heart. Love is the key to all the other fruits. Love means to put other people’s feelings before your own. To care about people more than you care about yourself, even people who aren’t loving. John 13:34 – “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Joy – Watermelon
When you look at a slice of a watermelon it looks like a smile, doesn’t it? God wants us to be happy in all situations because “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28. Even when things don’t go our way, we should be happy. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Peace – Pear
Okay this one is a bit of a stretch, but they both start with the letter P. John 14:27, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything . . . If you do this you will experience God’s peace…” Peace means that we put our trust in God. That we don’t worry about anything because we know that God has everything in his hands.
Patience – Tomato
You need a lot of patience to wait for a tomato to ripen. It’s green for a long time on the vine and you need to wait for it to turn red and sweet. Ephesians 4:2, “Be patient, bearing one another in love.” Patient means waiting on something or someone without getting angry or upset.
Kindness – Cherries
Cherries grow in pairs and they work together. It’s important to be kind to others. Ephesians: 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” When you are kind, you treat everyone nicely. You treat others the way you would like to be treated. We learnt about the Golden Rule last week.
Goodness – Apple
We should always concentrate on things that are right and lovely and stay away from things that keep us from being good. Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”
Faithfulness – Pineapple
Let’s use a pineapple to represent faithfulness, because why not? Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” When you are faithful people can depend on you. You don’t break your promises. You keep your word.
Gentleness – Peach
You have to be very gentle with peaches because they have very thin skins and can be bruised or squashed easily. Philippians 4:5 “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” You are gentle when you are caring and sensitive to other’s feelings.
Self-Control – Lemon
Lemons are super sour, and you have to use a lot of self control not to make funny faces when you eat a lemon. 1 Peter 1:13, “Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” You should be in control of your body, your thoughts, and mouth at all times. Sometimes we feel like doing things that we know we’re not supposed to. If we exercise self-control, we don’t do it.
Munger Kids 