Fruit of the spirit!

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 11 January 2014. Have a look and try a few!

Lolly stick wall hanging

Take 9 lolly sticks and write one of the fruit of the Spirit on each one (there is a list on the table).  Decorate it as well.  Then stick them carefully to the tape

These fruit of the Spirit are nine good qualities that grow in us when God lives in us

Do you know what these words mean?  Look at the sheet on the table to help you work it out.

Stress apples

Take a red or green balloon and fill it with flour.  Then tie the end firmly.

When we are stressed or angry we may not be very kind to other people.  God doesn't want us to be like this.

When you are feeling angry or stressed you can squeeze the stress apple to help you relax.  Pray to God to help you.

Smartie jars

Decorate the jar and put one of each colour smartie in it.  Take a sheet that tells you what each colour stands for.

Nine different qualities are listed as fruit of the Spirit

When you eat a smartie ask God to help you with the behaviour that it represents

Fruit Basket

Fold the paper to make a basket.  Then choose some of the fruit pieces.  Write on them the name of a fruit of the Spirit and decorate them

These fruit of the Spirit are nine good qualities that grow in us when God lives in us

What is your favourite fruit to eat?

What fruit of the Spirit would you most like more of?

Feely Bags

Put your hand in each bag and see if you can guess what kind of fruit is in it.  The helper will tell you if you have got it right.

There are lots of kinds of fruit.  We like some but not others.

God living in us always produces good things.

How could you tell which fruit was which?

Paint a tree

Paint the trunk of the tree brown and add some leaves.  Add all kinds of fruit to the picture.

Fruit grow on trees.  They show us what kind of fruit  the tree is.

If we let God work in us people will see it from the way we are

What kind of person do you think God helps us to be?

Peace Dove

Fold the paper to make a dove and add a ribbon to hang it up

 Doves represent peace.  God loves to give us peace

Can you think of a time when you felt peaceful?  What was it like?

Move the marbles

How long does it take you to move the marbles from one dish to the other, only using the tweezers (NO HANDS!)

Patience is needed when things take a long time

How patient are you?  What are you like if you have to wait in a queue, or go on a long journey?

Buzzer

Can you get the rod around the wire without touching it?

Patience means that you keep calm when you have to wait for something

Can you think of a time when you have been patient?

Heart collage

Take a heart or cut out one for your self.  You could write your name on it or decorate it.  Stick it on to the sheet with the other hearts.

God loves us very much.  He wants us to love him with all that we are.  He wants us to love the people we meet too.

Think about some people that you love and some people who love you

Heart decoration

Take 2 strips of each length of card and a piece of ribbon.  Thread a bead on the folded ribbon and tape it to a long piece of card.  Put the pieces of card in order short, medium, long, ribbon, long, medium, short and staple them together.  Then bend them over to meet on the other side and staple them again.

God loves us very much.  He wants us to love him with all that we are.  He wants us to love the people we meet too.

You could give your heart to someone and tell them that you love them

The Biggest Smile

Measure your smile and write how long it is on the sheet.  We can see who has the biggest smile at the end of the afternoon

Joy is more than being happy.  We can be joyful even when things are difficult.

Does that sound strange?  How do you think that can happen?

Tasty fruit

Taste a piece of each of the fruit.  Write something on the sheet by it to describe its taste.

Fruit has goodness in it.  You may enjoy its taste and if you eat it, it helps your body to be healthy.

If we have goodness in us people will see it when they meet us and will be better for it.

House of Cards

Can you build a house of cards?

You have to be very careful and gentle with the cards so that they don’t fall over.  

God helps us to be gentle with each other.  One way is to listen to other people and not want our own way all the time.

How can you be gentle with people?

Glue

Make some glue from flour and water.  Add some colouring.  Then put it into a plastic bag.  Cut off a very small piece from corner and squeeze the glue out to make a picture of a person on some paper.

God is faithful to us.  He sticks with us whatever happens.

He helps us to be faithful to him and to other people.

What is the most sticky thing you can think of?

Bubble Bath

Use a straw to blow bubbles in the mixture

When air gets into the mixture it makes bubbles which look completely different.  This is a bit like the way the Holy Spirit gets inside us and changes us

What do you like most about the bubbles?

Pick up sticks and jenga

Find people to play with and see who wins.

To win at these games you need to be controlled.

God wants us to control ourselves in the way we live, so that we choose to be the best we can be for him

Do you find it easy to be self controlled or difficult?