“God Wants Us to be Kind”

​YEAH! Church - Sunday, January 24, 2021

"Fruit of the Spirit" - Did you know that this past week we celebrated National Hug Day (January 21 - Canada)? But sometimes giving a hug isn’t possible. Hugs help others feel better, much the same way that showing kindness does. There are many ways to show kindness and we should not limit ourselves to one day a year. ~ Pastor Jane

Today’s Lesson - “God Wants Us to be Kind”
The Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FTiWQ9Ihnw (Douglas Talks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osfQg4yKtq8 (Saddleback Kids)

Lesson Overview:
Being kind is all about treating others the way we want to be treated. God wants us to be kind to everyone, not just our friends. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) to help us better understand just how important kindness is to God.

In the story, a Jewish man was taking a business trip when he was attacked by robbers. They took everything they had and beat up so badly, they thought he was dead. A Pharisee (a religious teacher) saw the man, but passed on the other side to avoid him. A Levite (a man who worked in God’s Temple) came over to check out the man, but he too didn’t even try to help.

A Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews, saw the man and took pity. He bandaged him up and then took him to a safe place to stay. He even left money so that the man could be taken care of; if more money was needed, he promised to pay it. Jesus made the ‘enemy’ the hero of the story because of his kindness.

Engage:
God wants us to be kind, even to people who aren’t kind to us. This would be really hard to do, except that God’s Holy Spirit helps us to show kindness even to people who don’t deserve it, just like He does.
• The Jewish man obviously needed help. Why do you think the Pharisee and Levite, important religious people, wouldn’t help?
• The Samaritans were enemies of the Jewish people, yet in Jesus’ story it’s the Samaritan who helps the man. Why do you think Jesus made the Samaritan the hero of the story?
• It can be hard to be nice to people who aren’t nice to us. How can you show kindness to someone who is not a friend?

Theme verses:
Galatians 5:22-23- “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
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Prayer - Thank you, God, that we have your Holy Spirit to help us be kind, even to people who are not nice to us. Help us to remember that you want us to treat others the way we want to be treated. Help us to be like you, God...you loved us and were kind to us, before we even knew you!