Kindness is the quality of compassion and care shown in the words and deeds of Jesus Christ and characteristic of God’s dealings towards the weak and poor. Those who follow Jesus are called to express kindness to one another. As the Spirit softens our hearts, we are able to be kind to one another!

“But the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy.”

(Titus 3:4,5a)

“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! Over the summer 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 4 weeks we spoke about love, joy, peace, patience and today we’re going to speak about kindness! We’re going to use blueberries to represent kindness because I like that, even though a blueberry bush isn’t very big it’s a very kind little bush and shares lots and lots of berries!

What is Kindness?

So, if we think about the blueberry bush, we can see that sharing with others is one way that we can be kind. What does it mean to be kind? [Let the children offer suggestions]. Why do you think that kindness is a fruit of the Spirit? [Again, let the children respond]. Well, God is kind and when his Spirit lives in us he teaches us to be kind to others!

David and Mephibosheth

We’re going to share a story today from the second book of Samuel about a king who showed great kindness.

Tell the kids about the story from 2 Sam 9.1-13

You could act it out and maybe even have blueberries at the king’s table to stick with the theme! Making a big deal out of Mephibosheth’s name is highly recommended. The kids will get a big kick just out of learning his name!

God’s Great Kindness

This is such an amazing story, but did you know that all of us are a little like Mephibosheth? We are all in need of help. We might not be physically handicapped, but all of us are sometimes mean to others and that’s a different kind of brokenness, but it’s still brokenness. Did you know that God has invited us, even though we’re all sometimes mean, to come and live in his palace and eat at his table just like David did for Mephibosheth? God has shown us great kindness through his son Jesus! Titus 3:4&5 says: “But the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy.” If you were Mephibosheth would you have gone to live at the palace? It would be crazy for us not to accept Jesus’ invitation to be saved by him.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your great kindness toward us in saving us and inviting us into your family! As we grow to be more like you, would you help us to show kindness to others just as you’ve shown kindness to us.

Review Questions:

  • Who was Mephibosheth?
  • Why did king David want to show him kindness?
  • What did king David do for him?
  • What was Mephibosheth’s reaction?
  • What would you were invited by a king to come live at his palace?
  • How can you make other people feel special?