Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Memory Verse: James 1:2-3
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Bible Lesson:
Fruit of Patience - Pear

What does it mean?
Long suffering; the ability to endure injuries caused by others and willingness to accept painful or irritating situations. Slow to anger. Able to endure hard situations.

To show endurance even when it gets hard, I had two kids come up and push their hands against each other. Each one pushed as hard as they could for as long as they could. It gets hard pushing against someone; it takes endurance.

How does Jesus show us an example?
Isaiah 53:7, "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

Jesus was laughed at, mocked, beaten, almost stoned and rejected and yet He did not strike back at those who tormented him. He endured with patience those hard situations.

Noah waited patiently while building the ark, enduring those who laughed and mocked him. He had to wait for the rain to finally fall. Zacharias had to wait to speak until his son, John the Baptist, was born.

How can we show patience?
What are some ways you can show patience this week? Waiting for a special event? What about enduring a really hard subject in school without complaining? Not getting angry with younger brothers and sisters who try your patience or do things to irritate you?

I had each of the kids write down one thing they could do this week to show patience on two dye cut pears. Then they hung them one up in the tree on my sketch pad and the other one they took home to remind them to do it. Next week we will pick the pears from the tree and see if they produced the fruit of patience the previous week. (see first photo for pear tree)