FRUIT SALAD
10 mins
Ask: if you had to turn into a fruit for a day, which fruit would you choose and why? Then if you have space, play a game of fruit salad. Make a circle of chairs with one chair fewer than the number of players. Nominate a player to be ‘in’ and that player stands in the centre of the circle while everyone else sits down. Divide the players into at least three groups of fruit by going around the circle and naming them apple, orange, pear or any others you like. The player who is ‘in’ calls the name of a fruit, and everyone who is that fruit must get up quickly and change places. The person who is ‘in’ must try to sit in an empty spot whenever players swap positions. If they manage to sit in a chair, the player not sitting in a chair is then ‘in’. The person in the middle can also call ‘fruit salad’ and everyone who is seated has to change spots. Carry on for as long as time and enthusiasm allows.
VIDEO
5 mins
Show the Dex Alexander ‘New Creation’ clip from the links section of the Premier Youthwork website.
READ AND DISCUSS
10 mins
Read Galatians 5:16-23 and then discuss these questions:
• What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?
• Why do you think that those who walk in their old sinful state will not inherit the kingdom of God?
• How do you find walking in step with the Spirit?
• How might you do this more consistently?
• How can we start living as new creations?
BECOMING FRUITY
15 mins
Give everyone a piece of fruit and a marker pen and ask them to write down all nine attributes that make up the fruit of the Spirit on their chosen piece of fruit. Then ask them to discuss these questions:
• What do you think is meant by the term ‘fruit’ of the Spirit?
• Do you think all Christians should display all of the fruit? Are any optional?
• Do you struggle with any of the attributes that make up the fruit? (Get them to circle on their piece of fruit any attributes that they struggle with.)
• How might you grow more fully in the fruit of the Spirit? Do you need to try harder to grow in these things? Or are they a by-product of a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
Say: some people think that the fruits are in three clusters. The first cluster - love, joy and peace - help our relationship with God, the second - patience, kindness and goodness - are for our relationships with others, and the third cluster - faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - is about our relationship with ourselves. What do you think of this idea? Does it make sense? Do these things mark the different relationships that you have?
Give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to write their name on it. Then pass those pieces of paper around the circle and ask people to write down one of the fruits that they see in the life of the person whose name is at the top of the list.
PRAY
10 mins
Remind your young people about the three relationships that the fruit of the Spirit helps us with (God, others, themselves). Then invite those who would like more of the Spirit for their relationship with God to stand and encourage the rest of your group to pray for them. Encourage the group to pray love, joy and peace over these people. Then invite those who would like more of the Spirit for their relationship with others to stand and encourage the rest of the group to pray patience, kindness and goodness over them. Then invite those who would like more of the Spirit for their internal relationship with themselves to stand and encourage the rest of the group to pray faithfulness, gentleness and self-control over them. When everyone has been prayed for, finish by thanking God for what he has been doing and pray that they can continue to live in step with the Spirit in the week ahead.
KEY POINT 1
When we seek to live by walking with the Spirit we are seeking to daily clothe ourselves in his presence. This presence transforms the way we interact with the world. Rather than being motivated by selfish desires, when we live by the Spirit we are transformed and become new creations whose lives look completely different. Colossians 3:9-10 talks about taking off your old self and practices and putting on the new self, which is being renewed in the image of its creator. All of this is important because it is about the Spirit helping us to become who we really are. We are becoming these new creations. Paul is reminding the Galatian church that the Spirit isn’t given for the sake of an exciting experience; rather he is given to help us in our everyday life.
KEY POINT 2
As we look to walk daily in step with the Spirit, these attributes become present in our lives. It is not about working hard to become more loving, or more patient, but what happens when we spend time seeking to journey every day with the Spirit of God. It’s like the character of God rubs off on us. As we spend time with our loving God we become more loving, as we experience God’s kindness we too become kinder, as we spend time with a faithful God, we start to be more faithful.
