Lesson Continued...

• DO: Begin by reading together Galatians 5:22-23.

• SAY: The Bible tells us in this passage that faithfulness is a Fruit of the Spirit. If we are saved, the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, and we can be people who overflow with faithfulness! This does not mean that we will be faithful all the time. But as we come to know God more and more, we change! Faithfulness becomes part of who we are. With the Spirit living inside of us, He gives us the power to be faithful!

• Read Psalm 86:15, “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (ESV)

• SAY: This verse is said over and over again in the Bible! What does it tell us about God? (He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness.) God abounds with faithfulness! This means it overflows from Him. (Possible demonstration here of pouring water into a glass and allowing it to overflow.) This is who our God is and why this verse is repeated so many times in the Bible. God is showing us how important it is that we believe in who He is. Our God is a faithful God! It is only from Him that we learn how to be faithful people.

• Read Psalm 100:5, “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (ESV) 

• SAY: God’s faithfulness endures to all generations. This means it is not just for grandparents or your parents. God was faithful to your great, great grandparents, your great grandparents, and is faithful to you, your children, your grandchildren, your great, great grandchildren, and even your great, great, great, great, great grandchildren! God’s faithfulness is for all generations, past, present, and future! 

• Read Psalm 89:1, “I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” (ESV)

• SAY: We know that God’s faithfulness is to all generations, but what does this verse tell us to do? (Tell all generations about His faithfulness!) As God’s people, we should be using our mouths to tell everyone about who God is, about His faithfulness!

• Read 1 Samuel 12:24, “Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” (ESV)

• SAY: The Bible tells us in many, many verses to be faithful to our God. One of the main ways the Fruit of faithfulness is displayed in our lives as believers is by our faithfulness to Him. So how do we show faithfulness to God? (Worshipping Him, obeying His Word, knowing His Word, praying to Him, etc.)

• Read Psalm 37:3, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” (ESV)

• SAY: So the Bible tells us that faithfulness is part of who we are as we abide in Christ. What does this verse tell us about faithfulness? What do you think it means to “befriend” faithfulness? (Allow time for their thoughts.) When you make a new friend, you have to spend time and energy making the friendship grow. You have to cultivate a friendship, like you would grow a plant. We are to cultivate faithfulness within ourselves. This means intentionally being faithful to your family, your friends, and to our God. This also means praying for faithfulness to overflow in your heart, studying faithfulness in Scripture, and getting to know our faithful God who is our only perfect example of faithfulness!

Directions:

1. Give every 2 or 3 kids a plate of paint to share (with a squirt of each color of the rainbow on it).

2. Give every kid a couple Q-tips and some paper

3. Have them create a rainbow with some cotton balls on each bottom of the rainbow. 

4. Have them write "God always keeps His promises"

Directions

• Cut strips of papers so that each kid can have one strip of each color.

• Let them glue each strip down and glue cotton balls to form a cloud.

• On each of the strips, write a word of "Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Faithfulness"

Directions

Divide players into two equal teams*.

Assign numbers to the players of each team. For example, if each team has 5 players, they should be numbered 1 to 5.
The players must remember their assigned number.

Each team stands in a straight line at opposing ends of the playing area.
This is each team’s “dog house”.
The players should be facing each other in 2 parallel lines.
Place the “bone” in the middle of the playing area.
The teams should be the same distance away from the “bone”.

The game master starts the game by calling one number.

The players with that assigned number (one from each team) must quickly run to try to grab the bone and run back to their “dog house” without getting tagged by the opponent. Only players holding the “bone” can be tagged.

If both players are not confident of making it back without getting tagged, they can stay in the middle of the field to guard the “bone” from their opponent.

The game master then calls another number, so two additional players can run forward to join in the attempt.

If no player is making any moves on the “bone”, the game master can call more numbers.
The game master can also call back some players if the playing area gets too crowded.

The team that successfully brings the “bone” back to the “dog house” without getting tagged scores one point. If a player gets tagged in an attempt, the opponent scores a point.

The “bone” is then returned to the middle of the playing area for the next round.

* Ideally, each team has about 4 to 10 people. If you have more than 20 players, you may divide into more teams, but only two teams will play against each other at any one time. If you have 3 teams, play Team 1 vs Team 2, Team 2 vs Team 3, and Team 3 vs Team 1. Total up the scores to see which team wins. If you have 4 or more teams, you can follow the same system or use any tournament formats that you like.