“Growing Jesus-Fruit”

​B I B L E  B I T S  &  B I T E S
Devotional Activities for Families – Week of April 18-24, 2022

2022 Theme: “Doing Life with Jesus”
Week 16: “Growing Jesus-Fruit”
Weekly Bible Bite: John 15:1-17

Video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDlS4otedvY (Vine and Branches – LifeKids)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKl6zmr7qzE (The Bible Applied – I AM the True Vine Bible Talk)

Jesus told his disciples that they needed to stay connected with him and produce good fruit…but what on earth was he talking about? Jesus is in heaven—how can we stay connected to him? And fruit? Apples can’t sprout from my finger tips!

He used a word picture to explain that he was like a vine and we were to be branches that grew from the vine. Staying connected to Jesus means relying on him rather than on money or stuff, spending time with him by talking to him and learning about him in the Bible, and following his example by helping others.

The ‘fruit’ we will produce is actually Jesus-fruit and are the qualities that Jesus wants to show up in our lives…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. As these qualities grow in our lives, they show that we are actually staying connected to Jesus. It’s not good enough to know Jesus; we must also follow him by obeying him.

Family goal:
How well do you know Jesus? What can you do to stay connected to him?
[Be sure to pick a measurable goal involving a task so that children will know when they have completed it.]

Weekly verses:
Galatians 5:22-23, NLT – “But 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!”

Family activities:
• Colour the Jesus-fruit tree
• Make a puzzle of the Jesus-fruit tree
• Make a Jesus-fruit

Prayer:
Thank you, God that we don’t have to go through life alone. You want us to spend time with you…so much time in fact, that we become like you. Help me to think, talk and behave in ways that show others that I am connected to Jesus.