Deeply Rooted Ephesians 3:17; Jeremiah 17:7-8; Matthew 12:33, 35

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1 Spring 2017 ~ Primary Lesson #3 Learning Objectives Deeply Rooted Ephesians 3:17; Jeremiah 17:7-8; Matthew 12:33, The children will review the fruit of the spirit and what they mean. 2. The children will recognize that when we have a deeply rooted love for God, our actions and our words demonstrate the fruit of the spirit, and we are able to draw others closer to Jesus. Memory Verse: I pray that your love will have deep roots. --Ephesians 3:17 (NIRV) Getting Started Deep Roots See: Object Talks Deep Roots You will need dandelion flowers (or pictures of them) for this activity. You will explain how dandelions are able to resist drought and other adverse conditions by growing long roots, and we can do the same by being deeply rooted in the word of God. Then you will compare how the dandelion spreads its seeds to how we should spread the Good News about Jesus to others. Please see the above website for detailed instructions. Be sure to use the discussion questions as well. Then continue with the lesson. Seed Identification Game Bring in many different kinds of seeds. You can use seeds that you find around the house or outside. You may use any kind you like, including corn, sunflower seeds, dried peas, dried beans, acorns, seeds from fruits you have eaten, like apples, oranges, pears, etc. Put each type of seed in a different container and number each container. As the children arrive tell them to number their papers, and write down on their papers what they think each of the seeds are. When everyone has arrived and identified all the seeds, see who has identified the most correctly. Tell the children that the seeds we plant in our hearts are the ones that will form roots and grow there. Remind them of the fruit of the Spirit and how these are the seeds we want to take root and grow in our hearts. Continue with the lesson. Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Message: Let your love for God grow deep in your heart. Ephesians 3:17 Then Christ will live in your hearts because you believe in him. And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. Jeremiah 17:7-8 7 "But I will bless any man who trusts in me. I will show my favor to the one who depends on me. 8 He will be like a tree that is planted near water. It sends out its roots beside a stream. It is not afraid when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It does not worry when there is no rain. It always bears fruit."

2 Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Continued Matthew 12:33, "If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good. If you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad. You can tell a tree by its fruit. 35 A good man says good things. These come from the good that is put away inside him. An evil man says evil things. These come from the evil that is put away inside him. Teacher Notes: Review the Fruit of the Spirit and Discuss Roots First, review the Fruit of the Spirit, and how these are the qualities that we want to have in our hearts. Then tell the children that we don t just want those seeds to be scattered in our hearts, we want them to be deeply rooted there. The roots are the part of the plant or tree that give it a foundation. Then, look at pictures of trees with big roots, or bring in some sample of flowers (etc) with their roots still attached to share. (See attached.) Discussion Questions: 1. What does a root do? (It provides nourishment, keeps it in the ground so it won t be moved by wind or water, keeps it upright, gives it a base.) 2. When we are rooted in God s word, what does that do for us? (We stand firm in our beliefs, we stand up for Jesus, we have a solid base, we show others by our actions how God lives in us!) Demonstration: Demonstrate this concept of roots using two pieces of brown construction paper. One paper should be small (so you can stand on it just with one foot, but you have to balance) and one paper that should be large (large enough so you can firmly plant your feet and have great balance). Tell the children the small paper is like having small, shallow roots. You sometimes demonstrate these attitudes (or fruit of the spirit), but not always. So they aren t deeply rooted in your heart. Stand on that small paper and fit both feet on. Have a student try to push you off. He will be able to, because you don t have much balance. Then stand on the large paper. Tell the children this is just like having big roots that go way down deep in the ground. You want to demonstrate these attitudes (or the fruit of the spirit) each day, and stand up for what s right. Then they will be deeply rooted in your heart. Now have a student try to push you off again. He won t be able to as easily, because you have more balance. Allow the children to try this experiment as well. Read Jeremiah 17:7-8 These verses are comparing people to a tree, but not just any old tree. It says that if we trust in the Lord we are like trees that have deep roots. If your "roots" are anchored in God's words and his love, you will be like a tree with roots that go deep into the soil. You won't get knocked over or lose your faith when a storm comes up, or something bad happens in your life. If your roots are deep and holding onto God, you will keep on trusting God no matter what happens in your life. The more you learn about God and study His word, the deeper your roots become. You can tell what kind of tree is growing because of the fruit it produces. If a tree doesn't have a good root system it won't get the water and nutrients it needs to produce good fruit. When we have a good root system, and we produce that good fruit, we are able to demonstrate the fruit of the spirit in our lives. It shows through our words and our actions.

3 Bible Lesson with Discussion Questions Continued Read Matthew 12:33 & 35. If we are well rooted in God's love we will produce good fruit. Just like a tree, people who have their roots in God produce good fruit. The Bible tells us what some of those fruits are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we produce these fruit we are able to help others, and we also can help to draw others to Jesus. Discussion Questions: 1. What are the nine fruit of the spirit? (Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.) 2. Which fruit of the spirit do you think is the most important one? Why? (Discuss together. There is no right or wrong answer; however the children should be able to defend their choice.) 3. Why is it important to allow our love for God to grow deep roots in our hearts? (Discuss together.) 4. Is it possible to produce good fruit (and demonstrate the fruit of the spirit in our lives) if we do not allow God s love to grow deep in our hearts? Why or Why not? (Discuss together.) Application to Real Life Show the children a package of seeds. Start the object lesson by asking the kids what would happen if you planted your seeds in good soil, watered the seeds and made sure that they got just enough sunlight each day. Allow several of the children to share their answers with the class. Then say, "Many of you were correct if you said that the seed would grow. Now for the second question, what do you think would grow from this package of seeds?" Allow for answers. Once again, you would be correct if you answered (Enter what would grow from the type of seed you brought to class here). Wouldn't it be foolish to think that if I planted a watermelon seed that a pineapple would grow? What we sow or plant is what we will reap or harvest. If a farmer plants corn seed he expects to harvest corn. Talk with the children. What type of seeds are you planting? What do you spend time doing every day? Do you spend time watching TV, playing video games or on the computer? Do you think about God and spend some time each day reading the Bible and talking to Him? What kind of friends do you have? Are they the kind of friends that treat others fairly and with kindness? Or are they the kind of friends that make bad choices and do not treat others in a nice way? Remind the children that the seeds that we plant in our hearts are the ones that will grow there. If we plant the fruit of the spirit in our hearts, they will take root and grow there, and our love for God will grow deeper and deeper roots. Let your love for God grow deep in your heart. (Review the message statement and memory verse.) Memory Work Fun 5 minutes 1. Recite the memory verse. 2. Practice finding the memory verse and/or Bible text in their Bible! 3. Play a game to review a Commandment (toss the bean bag/stuffed animal, the person who catches it says the next word try to go faster and faster). 4. Is praise a Fruit of the Spirit? See if your class can name all nine. (See Galatians 5:22-23)

4 Activity Ideas Deeply Rooted Painting Project You will need brown water-based paint, water, paint brushes, green paint, markers, heavy card stock and coffee stirrers for this activity. Before class, write the memory verse on the card stock, or have it printed on a piece of paper all ready to glue to the finished product. You will need to do a sample before class so the children can also see what the finished product should look like. Be sure to protect the children s clothing with art smocks or large shirts to cover them. Demonstrate how to paint a tree trunk in the middle of their card stock paper. Then place a blob of watered down brown paint at one end of the tree trunk. (The paint must be watery so that it will run easily.) Gently blow on the blob of paint, directing the airflow with the coffee stirrer in the direction you want the roots to go. Place the end of the coffee stirrer very close to the blob of paint (almost touching it while you blow). You may also turn the paper around and do the same thing for the tree limbs, or just have them paint the top of the tree green. You may also want to have the children draw the top of the tree with markers, or sponges or even paint dotters. Allow the children to add it fruit (you may wish to provide stickers for this) or anything else they would like to add. Glue the memory verse to the final project. Be sure to keep the conversation going. Modify the activity as needed, but be sure to end up with a tree with roots. If I Were A Tree Activity Ask the children: "If you had to be a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Where would you live?" Allow them time to answer and share. Tell them to share what kind of tree they would be. (For example, you could say, "If I were a tree, I would be a huge apple tree with lots of leaves and strong branches. In the spring the birds would make their nests and hatch their young on my branches. My leaves and branches would shelter them during the storms. I would have beautiful white flowers all over my branches. In the summer children would climb up my branches and swing to the ground. And they would lie on blankets and I would shade them from the hot sun. And in the fall the animals and people would come to enjoy the delicious fruit I produced. When everyone has shared their ideas, talk about how we need to be a lot like the trees that were described. People should trust us enough to come to us for comfort. We should produce good fruit and help others to grow in their faith by sharing ours with them and the good things that God has done in our lives. People should enjoy being around us and look up to us. We want the people in our lives, our friends and family, to see Jesus in us. (Review the message statement.) Journal Reflection Questions - What are you doing to help your love for God grow deeper roots in your heart? Be specific. Write about it. - Why do you think it is important to have a love for God that is deeply rooted your heart? Write about it.

5 Homework Ideas - Read at home with a grown up the story about Ascension Day (Luke 24:44-53; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:9-11). - Learn the memory verse: I will come back. And I will take you to be with me. --John 14:3 (NIRV) - Work on memorizing commandment #. - (Optional for 6-8 year olds) Color the Ascension Day coloring sheet as your parents read you the Sunday School Lesson. Return your coloring page for a sticker. - Spend some time outside this week looking at the sky and clouds. Try to imagine what that must have been like to witness Jesus ascending into Heaven. Other Resources Search Seeds Old Testament Lesson 180 support curriculum