Many children struggle with thoughts of worry and anxiety. When we are reconciled to God through his son Jesus, the Holy Spirit testifies to the peace we have with God and stirs us to be at peace with others!

“ 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

(Phil. 4:6–7)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
(Gal. 5:22–23)

LESSON

Fruit Intro

Hi Kids! We’re learning about the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. What are the Fruit of the Spirit!? When we put our faith in Jesus, we receive an amazing gift from Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit leads us, we grow and start to bear fruit! It’s a way of saying that we become more like Jesus. Galatians 5:22-23 says: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” The last 2 weeks we spoke about love and joy, and today we’re going to speak about the peace of God! We’re going to use a bunch of grapes to represent peace because they grow in a bunch. They’re at peace with each other!

Peace is a Fruit

Being at peace means that we don’t have to worry, or be anxious, or be afraid. That isn’t always easy but when Jesus promised us his Holy Spirit he said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27). Peace is a fruit of the Spirit, which means that when we have the Holy Spirit in us he helps us not to worry or be afraid.

Elisha and God’s Army of Angels

The Bible tells us about a time when there was a bad King that came against one of God’s prophets named Elisha. Elisha wasn’t afraid! He had peace in his heart. Let’s look at the story and see why:

Tell the story from 2 Kings 6:15–23

When you have snack later use it as an opportunity to remind the kids of the way that Elisha fed his enemies. Consider having grapes with your snack and explain to the kids that God’s love enables us to be at peace with the people around them, even those who might be mean to them.

Praying for Peace

When we are afraid or worried about something, it’s good to remember that God loves us and that he’s bigger than whatever we’re afraid of. In the book of Philippians in the Bible it says: “ 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Any time that you feel afraid, or worried, you can talk to God and ask him to help you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you give us peace that transcends all understanding! Help us to remember that you are in control of everything. Please help us to be agents of your peace to those around us who might be feeling anxious and worried.

Review Questions

  • What did Elisha’s servant see when he woke up in the morning?
  • Why was the bad king’s army surrounding the city?
  • Was Elisha afraid?
  • Why did he have peace?
  • What does it mean to have peace?
  • How can we have peace in our lives?

Image Credit: Gerardus van Spaendonck (1746 – 1822)