The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

I prepared this lesson for elementary chapel at the school where I work. Anyone is welcome to use this lesson. The photos are all labeled for reuse.

Who has seen the Holy Spirit? The Word of God promises that all who believe that salvation is offered through Jesus Christ, and receive the gift through baptism, will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a spiritual reality, although we can’t see it.

Jesus taught about spiritual things that we cannot see by using things we can see. So I am going to copy Jesus and use a strawberry plant to teach about the reality of the Holy Spirit.

These are strawberry seeds. And, as the advertisement shows, we know if we plant these seeds and successfully grow a plant, it will be a strawberry plant. We would never expect an apple tree or lemons to grow from strawberry seeds. We know each seed grows its own kind of fruit.

But before a plant produces fruit, it goes through a process. First, the roots and leaves grow. Then, it produces flowers. These are strawberry flowers.

If you are looking at a plant and it has flowers on it, you know the plant has grown enough that it is ready to start making fruit. In the middle of each of these flowers, a strawberry will grow.

The Word of God tells us that even young children are known by their actions (Proverbs 20:11). Every time I notice children who are obedient, respectful to adults, honest, hard working and kind, I think of that as the flower before the fruit. Those children are showing through their attitude and behavior that God’s Spirit is at work in them, and it will become complete over time.

It also takes time for the strawberry fruits to be complete. The small fruit gets bigger, and when it’s ready, it turns red and sweet and juicy. It becomes ripe. The strawberry plant has made what it was created to make and now we can enjoy the fruit!

In the same way, the Holy Spirit grows good things in us that bless the people around us. Galatians 5:22-23 gives a description of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here is a fun song to share about the fruit of the Spirit.

But that’s not all! What is on the outside of those ripe strawberries? Seeds! Every fruit has seeds so it can grow more plants to make more fruit like itself. When a believer in Jesus is mature, he/she will show and teach other people about the gift of Jesus. In that way, more people can receive the Spirit of God. God uses the words we teach, the examples we show, the prayers we say, the money we give. He uses those things like seeds, to plant His Spirit in people.

Believers in Jesus have been teaching others about Jesus for thousands of years, and the Holy Spirit is still growing in people to make God’s fruit in them. Next time you look at a fruit plant, think about these things.