Lesson Continued...

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

• SAY: The Bible tells us in this passage that self-control is a Fruit of the Spirit. If we are saved, the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, and we can be people who are self-controlled in every area of life! This does not mean that we will have self-control all the time. But as we come to know God more and more, we change! Through Jesus and Him alone, we have the power to be self-controlled!

• SAY: Before we get too far into our lesson though we need to talk about what self-control is exactly. Can anyone tell me what self-control is? (Allow time for response.) Self-control is being in charge of your feelings, actions, and thoughts. So, basically, having self-control is making yourself do something that is not easy or doing something you really do not want to do. It is showing kindness to someone who has just hurt your feelings. It is obeying your mom right away when she asks you to clean your room instead of arguing. It is waiting for something patiently even when you want it really bad because you know something greater will happen (here tie in with the marshmallows). Some of you decided to eat a marshmallow right away. The temptation of a yummy marshmallows was too great to wait until the end of the class! We have to realize that self-control is almost always very hard!

• ASK: Who do you think would be our perfect example of self-control? (God, Jesus!) As a person who never sinned, Jesus practiced self-control perfectly! Just like with every other Fruit of the Spirit, He is our model. A lot of times self-control goes beyond just making ourselves do what is right and good. It also involves fighting against a desire or temptation to sin. We can find an example of this in the Bible, our source of truth! Let’s read together Matthew 4:1-11.

• SAY: In this passage, Satan himself comes to Jesus and tempts Him three different times. Each time, Jesus practices self-control and does not sin.

• ASK: What is Jesus tempted with in verse 2? (Food) Matthew tells us that Jesus had been fasting (not eating) for 40 days and 40 nights and was hungry.  Can you imagine how hungry Jesus would be after not eating for 40 days and nights?! I get hungry if I just skip breakfast! Satan knew this and so He tempts Jesus to use His power as God to make some food. However, even though Jesus must have been extremely hungry, through Scripture He used self-control to resist the temptation to do what was right.

• SAY: With the third temptation, Satan tells Jesus, “All you have to do is worship me and all the kingdoms of the world will be yours.” Well, Jesus is the king of all the kingdoms of the world, and one day all kingdoms will worship Him. But as a human, he was not recognized as King. He came to earth to die for our sins and gain victory over Satan once and for all. So Satan was offering Him a short cut if Jesus would only worship him. But this would be extreme disobedience to our God! ASK: What did Jesus do? (Jesus was obedient and had self-control rather than disobeying God the Father.) Jesus never sinned, and not only during this time, but during His entire life. He is our perfect example! Because He lived a perfect life, we do not have to. Through His sacrifice, His death on the cross, we are forgiven and set free from our sin. As we come to know Him more and more, we can begin to be like Him! We can begin to show self-control through His power!

• SAY: I want us to memorize together Proverbs 25:28, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Use hand motions to help them memorize or write it on the board, erasing one word at a time until everyone is able to say it together without seeing it.)

• Spend time in prayer together. Remember the specific situations your children are going through. Invite them to share their needs and praises. Praise God for the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, the self-control we are able to have because He lives within us. It is only through Christ, who lived a perfect life, that we are able to have self-control and the other Fruit of the Spirit. He has redeemed us, and though we will never be perfect, we can become more and more like Him as we follow Him during our lives on earth.

• Encourage the parents to work on this verse with their children. Send a notecard home with each parent with the verse written on it. Encourage them to daily remind their children about the Fruit of the Spirit and to demonstrate the Fruit in their own daily lives.

Directions:

1. Give every child a piece of string to make a necklace, fruit loops, and a piece of constructionpaper to make the centerpiece on their necklace.

2. They should draw a circle (as big as they want their centerpiece to be) and put the word "Self-Control" on it.

3. Let them string their fruit loops and centerpiece onto the string to make their necklace. 

**This would be a great time to review all of the fruits of the spirits"

Directions

This is the part where they have to be extra careful!! If they truly don't want to use their "egg buddy" then they can substitute it out with a plastic egg. 

-Set up an obstacle course around the room.

-Let the kids take a turn (1 or 2 at a time) balancing their egg buddy on the spoon and walking around the obstacle course while being gentle. It is not a race! You "win" if you don't drop your egg buddy and are gentle with it!