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Sowing Seeds of Success

This week's destination: PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

GOD OF A SECOND CHANCE
This week so we are going to lean the Parable of the Fig tree.
We will learn about God's forgiveness.

MATERIAL:
Photocopy the Bible Verse Card, colouring page, crayons. Fig frans if in season, the fruit teaching material. A bowl of fruit in season eg Gwayav, Bannann, Kowosòl. A light bulb. Two pots filled with soil and branches stuck in the pots.

AS KIDS ARRIVE PRIOR TO THE LESSON
Get the children to colour the Bible Verse Cards prior to the lesson.

1. GAMES: (10 minutes)
Second chance game
Have the children toss a seed or coin into a cup of water with a second chance if they miss.

Or have other children toss a ring and try to circle a bottle. Give them a second chance if they miss.

2. TEAM GAMES: (10 minutes)
Place the two pots filled with soil and branches stuck in the pots at the end of the room, or outside at the end of the play field.

Separate the team into two groups, each child has to run up to the pot, run around it and return and touch the second Continue the game until each child has run twice, the first team to finish is the winner.

Allow their team mates to encourage them on with shouts of joy and laughter.
(Get permission from the person in charge to allow the children to scream and clap loudly during games)

3. ACTIVE PRAISE CHORUS (10 minutes)
Clap, clap, clap your hands
(Sung to the tune of Row row row the boat)

Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands for Figs

We will teach you about figs
You can even give them to pigs

Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands for Figs

Figs are the very best
They beat all the rest

Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands for Figs

4. WORSHIP (5 minutes)

5. TEACHING
a. Review (5 minutes)

Optional: Sing 'Well the Fruit of the Spirit's not a coconut'
(Use Music video and lyrics from Visual Aid Manual)

Optional: View Fruit of the Spirit Review Teaching Video
(Use the Fruit of the Spirit review cards.)

(If you taught the entire Fruit of the Spirit and Super Fruit series then you would have taught about the lion last week )

. Who does the Bible say is like a lion? (The devil)
. Could you win in a fight against a real lion? (No)
. Who could help you fight a lion and how? (The Holy Spirit gives us self control)
. Why do you need to be alert? (Because the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour.)

b. Learn a Bible Verse (5minutes)
"'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it (the fig tree) alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" Luke 13:8-9 (Use the three Bible Verse cards)

c. Teach the Lesson (15 minutes)
Look what I have... Gwayav, Bannann, Kowosòl, Fig frans. Yum! Yum! (Take a bite out of one of the fruit) "I think I'll have a delicious snack right now!" The Bible tells us "They ate to the full and were well-nourished" Nehemiah 9:25

Do you know what I think would be great? I think it would be great to have a lot a fruit trees in your yard so that any time you wanted a snack, you could just go out and pick a piece of fruit off of the tree. But what if you had a fruit tree in your yard that never had any fruit on it? It wouldn't be good for anything except shade, would it?

In our Bible lesson today, Jesus told a story about a man who planted a fig tree in his garden. After some time had passed, he went to look for some fruit on the tree, but there was none. Year after year he watched the tree, but the tree never produced any fruit. Finally, the man went to the gardener who took care of the tree and said to him, "For three years I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! It is just taking up space in the garden."

The gardener answered, "Please, sir, give it one more chance. Leave it for another year. I will give it special attention. I will dig around the tree and give it plenty of fertilizer. If the tree produces fruit next year, great, if not, then you can cut it down."

Our God is a God of the second chance.
All of you have seen one of these - (hold up an electric light bulb) The light bulb was created by a man called Thomas Edison he was struggling to perfect the light bulb, it took his team of workers twenty-four hours to put together just one light bulb. When the team was finished with one light bulb, Edison gave it to a young boy to carry upstairs. Step by step the boy carefully climbed the stairs, afraid that he might drop this priceless piece of work. You can probably guess what happened; the poor boy dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the team twenty-four hours to produce another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have the bulb carried upstairs. He gave it to the same young boy who had dropped the first one. Mr. Edison gave the boy a second chance! That's true forgiveness, isn't it?

In this story, Jesus was really talking about us and about God. The owner of the vineyard is God, the keeper of the vineyard is Jesus, and the tree represents God's children. God has every reason to expect his children to produce good fruit. God has "planted" us here on this earth and He expects us to produce good fruit in our life. What kind of fruit does he expect? When He looks at the way we live our life, he wants to see things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness.

The vineyard owner gave the fig tree a second chance, God gives us a second chance too and it is important for us to know that we don't have to do it alone. The keeper of the vineyard helped the tree by working the soil and adding fertilizer. Spiritually we must read the Word, pray, go to church, fellowship and witness to fertilize ourselves Spiritually. When we allow Jesus to work in our lives, he will help us to produce the kind of fruit that God expects. Luke 6:44 tells us each tree is recognized by its own fruit. (Visual aid) Jesus wants to care for us and help us to be the kind of fruit-bearing children that God wants us to be. If we will trust in him, read his Word, and pray -- he will help us to produce good fruit. Let's pray right now and ask God to help us you can come up to the front if you feel like you want to pray.

6. APPLICATION / ENCOUNTERING GOD
Let the children come and thank God for giving them a second chance. Get them to confess to God all the wrong things they have done and need to be given a second chance.

CLOSING PRAYER: Dear Jesus, we are thankful that even though we don't always produce the kind of fruit that you desire, you give us a second chance, help us to have the kind of fruit in our lives that would be pleasing to you. Amen

FIG FRANS (FIG)TEACHING
Photocopy the 'Fig Frans Handout' one for each family. Teaching about the nutritional and medicinal qualities of the fruit. A sapling, God willing will be supplied to each school, orphanage or church.

CLICK to view Session #48.