Lesson 1

Lesson 5

Interstate 4 One Another

“Growing Together”

The Point of the Lesson:

Each child will see the importance of growing in the Lord with others who are committed to the Lord’s teachings. Having friends with good character will help us grow. If we follow God’s Word, we will have goodness in our hearts and a desire to grow spiritually.

The Power of God’s Word:

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

The Prayer of Each Child:

Lord, I pray that You will keep me strong in Your Word so I will continue to grow in You. Help me to keep good company. I know that I will grow deeper in my faith if I surround myself with friends that have good character. This week, I will read the Bible memory verse to a friend and say one thing to encourage him or her to grow deeper spiritually.

Prepare: (Before service)

Ripe banana

Over-ripe banana (brown)

Preview: (5 minutes)

Welcome from MC:

I love bananas! They are so healthy! (Hold up the bad banana) I wouldn’t want to eat this banana though. This didn’t come from a good tree. I only like fruit that grows on good trees.

Object Lesson:

Good fruit comes from trees that have the right amount of sun, water, and fertilizer. If a tree doesn’t have enough of any of these things, the fruit doesn’t grow properly. The same is true for us – we need healthy things so we can grow properly, too!

Kid Connect Question:

Would you rather go through the drive-thru or eat inside at a fast food restaurant?

Play: (5 minutes)

Scramble!

Each team will have 30 seconds to unscramble the words that appear on the screen. The team that can unscramble their words the fastest will win.

rgow grow

ador road

virde drive

cturk truck

acr car

hewel wheel

erit tire

ags gas

Transition for MC:

It is hard to figure out what these words really spell. If we look long enough, we see the true meaning of the words. The same is true in our lives. Sometimes life is a little scrambled. But, if we look at God’s Word, we will soon see everything clearly. That’s what we are talking about today – seeing everything clearly by “Growing Together” spiritually.

Praise: (15 minutes)

This is a time of corporate worship through singing and music. Plug in your own worship session here.

Process: (15 minutes)

This process includes the ten minute teaching video, practice point, and memory verse.

Teaching Video:

Turn on DVD and play the teaching video here.

Lesson in a Word: Grow

What Should I See?

A good tree can’t grow bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t grow good fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it grows. For instance, figs and grapes don’t grow on thorn bushes. Similarly, a good person does good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person does evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say and do. (Source: Luke 6:43-45)

Memory Verse:

Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

What’s The Key?

What is in our heart determines what we say and, eventually, who we are. If we have Jesus in our hearts, choose the right friends, and read God’s Word daily, we will continue to grow spiritually. We will grow “good fruit”. We will make right choices that honor God and help others.

What’s That To Me?

We shouldn’t make wrong choices or say bad things if we have pure hearts. If we have Jesus in our hearts and we are growing spiritually, we won’t want to be mean to others or disobey our parents. As we keep growing spiritually, we will want to do what is right. By putting the right things in our hearts, the right things will come out of our hearts.

How Should I Be?

We need to go to church, read the Bible, pray, and hang out with good friends. Each of these things will keep us connected to God. Then we will grow deeper spiritually and produce “good fruit” – just like it said in today’s story. These activities will keep us on the right path. By growing deeper, we will have the truth in our hearts. And from our hearts we will do and say the right things.

Practice Point:

If I have Jesus in my heart,

He and I will never part.

TEAM TIMEOUT

This time is spent together in small groups using the student handouts.

Things To Do Here:

Question 1: What kinds of things can you do to grow deeper spiritually?

Question 2: Why is it important to surround yourself with good friends?

Question 3: How can you encourage a friend to keep growing in Jesus?

Things To Do At Home:

Question 1: Eat a piece of good fruit and think about the story you heard at church. What kind of fruit did you eat?

Question 2: Read the memory verse to a friend and say something to encourage him/her. To whom did you read it?

Question 3: Draw a picture of a heart and write a word inside of it (like pray, read, love, or church). This will help you to remember to grow spiritually this week.

Memory Madness

Each team participates in their group trying to recite the week’s verse with the hand motions. Encourage one another and build each other up.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

(Kids regroup in main worship area)

Total Recall (Power Point Game)

Question 1: Where can we find this week’s verse? (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Question 2: What kind of food does this week’s Bible story talk about? (Fruits)

Question 3: True or False: A good tree can grow bad fruit. (False)

Question 4: Whatever is in your ___________ determines what you say. (Heart)

Question 5: What is the practice point? (If I have Jesus in my heart, He and I will never part)

Question 6: What is one way you can grow spiritually? (Read the Bible, pray, go to church)

Question 7: What is the lesson in a word? (Grow)

Question 8: Where did the fruit that was shown at the beginning of the lesson come from? (A banana tree)

Live It Testimony

Turn on DVD and play the Live It here. This is an interview done on location with one child.

Turn on DVD and play the G3 here. G3 stands for Get it-Got it-Good. This segment is based on asking three questions to a participant on camera. The kids are asked to vote on whether or not the person on camera will get the questions right.

Question 1: What kind of fruit comes from a good tree? (Good fruit)

Question 2: What kind of fruit comes from a bad tree? (Bad fruit)

Question 3: Complete this biblical phrase, “Whatever is in your heart...” (Determines what you say)