Learning and Changing
Our personal qualities are important
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the importance of personal qualities, which are called fruits of the Spirit in the Bible.
Preparation and materials
- You will need five readers for the ‘Assembly’, Steps 2 and 3. They may need time to rehearse prior to the assembly.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘The fruit of the Spirit’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 2.47 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/gA-TMUDQ7us
Assembly
- I wonder whether you have ever been around parents or other adults when they are meeting new people. This might be at a party, a school event or a parents’ evening.
What do you think some initial conversation starters might be? - Explain that you are are going to show the children an example of two adults meeting each other for the first time. You are going to listen to their conversation.
Invite the first two readers to the front.
Reader 1: Hi, I’m Stuart.
Reader 2: Pleased to meet you, I’m Ben.
Reader 1: Do you live in the area?
Reader 2: Yes, we’re at Number 19. What about you?
Reader 1: We’re just round the corner in Bloomfield Road.
Reader 2: What do you do for a living?
Reader 1: (The teacher should choose a job familiar to the children and the area.) And what about you?
Reader 2: (As before, the teacher should choose a job familiar to the children and the area.) - Identify that the conversation will probably go on to explore what each adult does for a job.
It’s often similar when adults talk about their children.
Explain that you are are going to show the children an example of three adults speaking about their children. You are going to listen to their conversation.
Invite Readers 3-5 to the front.
Reader 3: How’s he doing at Maths?
Reader 4: What reading level is she at?
Reader 5: Has she got her bronze award yet in swimming? - Explain that it is good to see progress in all the areas that the adults are discussing, and we should be proud of our achievements.
However, there are other areas that are important to grow in too. We don’t often hear someone asking, ‘How are her personal qualities developing? What’s his heart like?’
And it’s highly unlikely that we would ever hear an adult asking these kinds of questions of another adult! - The Bible tells us that, when Jesus called the disciples to follow him, he wasn’t very interested in the jobs that they had. In fact, the early disciples had various jobs: some were fishermen, one was in finance, one was a doctor and one was a religious leader.
Jesus asked each of them to give up their jobs to follow him. He wanted to show them a different way to live, a way that would please his Father. This different way of life was the way of love, of giving and caring for others.
By following Jesus’ way, the disciples’ hearts would change. Their lives would begin to show what the Bible calls the ‘fruit of the Spirit’. When they returned to their jobs, it would be with changed hearts.
Time for reflection
Now let’s listen to a song called ‘The fruit of the Spirit’.
As the children listen, ask them to spot all nine fruits of the Spirit that Jesus intended his followers to have.
Show the YouTube video ‘The fruit of the Spirit’ (2.47 minutes long).
Ask the children which fruits of the Spirit they can remember.
The nine fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Ask the children if any particular fruit stood out to them. Maybe they thought about kindness, self-control or patience.
Encourage the children to spend a few minutes thinking about one fruit of the Spirit and about situations where they could become more fruitful.
How would it look to use this fruit more in our homes or at school or with our friends?
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you love us just as we are, but that you also want to help us become more like you.
We ask you for your help that we may become more fruitful.
Please help us to show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in our lives.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The fruit of the Spirit’, available at: https://youtu.be/gA-TMUDQ7us (2.47 minutes long)
