Monday, September 14, 2009

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

Here's the next installment in the Fruit of the Spirit study. We've really been enjoying this and have had fun learning new verses and songs! How about you?


Week Five: Joy

Day One:
* Pray
* Review Galatians 5:22-23; What is the second fruit mentioned? (Joy!)
* Make a frown face and a happy face: which one shows joy?
* Read Philippians 4:4
* What is joy? Joy is like being happy with a happiness that comes from God! It doesn't matter if something good or bad happens - we can still rejoice in the Lord!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:4
* When should I have joy? (always)
* So, when I fall down and get hurt can I have joy in the Lord?
* When Mama gives me a special treat can I have joy in the Lord?
* When someone won't share can I have joy in the Lord?
* What does always mean?
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:4
* Two times it says to rejoice! When Mama tells you something important, sometimes she says it two times! So, God must think it is important to tell us two times!
* Learn sign for joy.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:4
* How can we rejoice in the Lord?
* Sing praise to Him.
* Our attitude toward others.
* Pray: tell God our praise!
* Trust Him.
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:4
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Six

Day One:
* Pray
* Read Nehemiah 8:10c
* Do not grieve means don't be sad.
* This verse tells us that when we have the joy of the Lord - it gives us strength to do right things and to obey God.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Nehemiah 8:10c
* What was the first Fruit we talked about? (love)
* When we have God's special love in our hearts, it gives us joy too!
* You could pretend that it was like planting seeds of love and having joy grow up from those seeds.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Nehemiah 8:10c
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Nehemiah 8:10c
* Just like God's love gives us joy, when we show love to others, it can bring joy to them!
* Talk about examples.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Nehemiah 8:10c
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Seven

Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Read Luke 2:8-15
* The angel said they brought good news of great joy. What was the good news? (Jesus' birth!)
* Why did that bring joy? (Because He would grow up and die for our sins so we could live with Him forever in Heaven!)
* Act out story if you want to.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Zephaniah 3:17
* What brings joy to God? (One of His children who loves Him and obeys Him)
* God loves you very much and you make Him happy!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read story of Esther
* Joy in God taking care of His people.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Paraphrase story of Esther
* Act out story
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Eight

Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Read John 15:11-12
* Joy is a choice
* Do you like red or green? Ok, great you just made a choice!
* Do you want to have sadness or joy? Joy? Great, you can have joy by having God's love in your heart and sharing it with others.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read John 15:11-12
* What is a commandment?
* What is God's commandment in this verse?
* What happens when we obey this commandment?
* Let's thank God for His Word!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read John 15:11-12
* What does it mean that your joy may be full?
* Show two glasses of water: one with a very small amount - one with a lot.
* Which one is full?
* If you feel like the empty one - you can ask God to fill you up with joy! (show this by filling glass!)
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read John 15:11-12
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

14 comments:

Stacey said...

Yay! Thank you! We have been awaiting the 2nd installment and we will *joyfully* get started this week!!!

Wendi said...

I love that you are sharing this. I haven't started it with Megan, but will in the future. Thanks!

Paige said...

Monica,

My kids and I are having a great time with this study! They have learned each verse and are participating more than I have ever seen. Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

Monica;
I once heard a saying that has meant a lot to me thru the years.
It is: "Happiness depends on happenings; Joy depends on Jesus"
Just thought I would pass it on to you for whatever it is worth.
I think it's great that you are teaching your little ones this so early in life.

Love you, Grandma

Sarah said...

Thank you for all of your inspiring work! I have a 18 month old and look forward to starting this with her as soon as she is old enough. Please keep letting us know how this is going for your family.

Anonymous said...

Monica, Just want to say thank you for all the work you put into making these posts....I know it is a lot of work and though I don't comment often, I read almost daily. You have kept up this little treasure of a blog for years now and it is appreciated!

Linda said...

I am new to your blog and have been enjoying visiting.
Isn't it funny how when you have something drawn to your attention by the Lord suddenly you see it everywhere? I've been writing on joy for the past few weeks. I'm interested to see your study.

kwishum said...

Thanks for the excellent suggestions for opening ourselves to the joy God want's to grow in our lives. My humble attempt to help with that is a simple book called Journey to Joy (http://amzn.com/144218776X) Perhaps you are your readers might find it helpful.

Jessica said...

Thanks so much for working on this and for sharing it with all of us!

Anonymous said...

I love that there are so many lessons about Joy! I will use them! Thank you so much for sharing.

joy said...

I love that there are so many lessons about Joy! I will use them. Thank you so much for sharing!

Robin said...

Thanks for doing this. This looks like a great study.

JavaMama said...

Wow, I love this! Thank you for sharing :0).

Michelle said...

This is so lovely! We are doing the fruits of the spirit this week at VBS. You have some great ideas/ways for me to teach "joy" tomorrow! (I am not a procrastinator...) :)