Imagine walking through an orchard. You see apple trees, orange trees, and pear trees. You know exactly what kind of tree it is by looking at the fruit hanging from the branches.
In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul tells us that followers of Jesus are like those trees. When the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, He begins to grow something beautiful called the Fruit of the Spirit. Notice that the Bible says “Fruit” (singular), not “Fruits” (plural). It’s like a single orange with many slices!
The very first slice—the one that holds all the others together—is Love. Without love, we cannot truly have joy, peace, or patience. Love is the “root” of all the other fruit. Today, we are going to explore what makes this kind of love different from the love we have for pizza or video games. This is Agape love—the kind of love that comes directly from God.
We have just shared some new Bible crafts on Love to accompany this lesson pan. You may also enjoy our comprehensive 9-Week Curriculum on the Fruit of the Spirit for Kids.
Children’s Sermon – The Fruit of the Spirit is Love
What is God-Kind of Love?
In our world, we use the word “love” for everything. “I love my mom,” “I love this song,” or “I love ice cream.” But the Bible describes love as an action, not just a feeling.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, we see a “checklist” of what Love looks like in real life:
- Love is Patient: It waits without complaining.
- Love is Kind: It looks for ways to help.
- Love is Not Jealous: It is happy for others when they win.
- Love Never Gives Up: It stays faithful even when things are hard.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This kind of love is unconditional. That means it doesn’t change based on how the other person acts. If someone is mean to you, “world-love” says to be mean back. But “Spirit-love” says to pray for them and show them kindness.
We can’t do this on our own! If you try to be this loving by yourself, you will get tired. But just like a branch doesn’t “struggle” to grow an apple—it just stays connected to the tree—we grow love by staying connected to Jesus.
We Love Because He Loved
How do we get this fruit to grow? We have to look at the Source. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.”Think of God’s love like a massive waterfall. It pours down on us every single day. When we realize how much God loves us—that He created us, knows our names, and even sent His Son, Jesus, to save us—our “cups” begin to overflow.
You cannot give away something you don’t have. If you want to be more loving to your siblings or your friends at school, you first have to sit under the waterfall of God’s love. Spend time in prayer, read His promises, and remember that you are His beloved child. When you feel “filled up” by God, showing love to a difficult person becomes much easier because you are sharing His love, not just yours.
Craft Ideas: The Fruit of the Spirit is Love (Galatians 5:13-25)
The Flashlight
(Teacher Note: Bring a flashlight and a mirror for this part.)
The Setup: Turn on a flashlight and point it at a mirror in a darkened room. The Point: The mirror doesn’t have its own light. If you turn off the flashlight, the mirror is just a dark piece of glass. But when the light hits the mirror, it reflects that light all over the room.
We are like that mirror. Jesus is the Light. His love shines on us, and our job is to “reflect” that love to our parents, our teachers, and even people we don’t like very much. When people see us being kind or patient, they aren’t just seeing our good personality—they are seeing the reflection of Jesus!
Love in Action
The Fruit of the Spirit isn’t meant to just sit on a shelf; it’s meant to be shared! Here are three ways you can show the Fruit of Love this week:
- The “Hidden” Love: Do a chore at home without being asked and without telling anyone you did it. This shows love that doesn’t look for a reward.
- The “Encouraging” Love: Find someone at school who looks lonely or sad. Say something kind to them or invite them to play. This reflects God’s heart for the lonely.
- The “Forgiving” Love: If someone says something mean to you, instead of saying something mean back, choose to forgive them quickly. This is the hardest kind of love, but it is the one that looks most like Jesus on the Cross.
Fruit of the Spirit Coloring Pages for Kids
Memory Verse Challenge: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22–23
Closing Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the incredible gift of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for loving us first and for showing us what true love looks like through Your Son, Jesus. We ask that You would help the fruit of Love grow in our hearts this week. Help us to be mirrors that reflect Your light to everyone we meet. When we find it hard to be kind or patient, remind us of how much You love us. We want the world to know we belong to You by the way we love one another. In Jesus’ name, Amen.