Use this Children’s Sermon message and Sunday School lesson to teach kids how “peace” is a Fruit of the Spirit. We have just shared some new Bible crafts on Patience to accompany this lesson pan. You may also enjoy our comprehensive 9-Week Curriculum on the Fruit of the Spirit for Kids.
Be Patient! The Fruit of the Spirit Part 4: Patience Children’s Sermon Lesson
Main Objective: Patience does not come easy to any of us, especially young children. Yet it’s an important quality to coach and instill. Although we wish for instant gratification and don’t like being told to wait, it’s a part of life, and part of the fruit of the spirit! God calls us to be patient with one another and to wait on Him. This message defines and describes patience, why it’s important, and how we can have it. The Biblical example of Abraham and Sarah reminds us that we sometimes have to wait on God’s promises, but they never fail!
Law/Gospel Theme: The greatest example of Biblical patience we see is from God Himself. We sin and make mistakes over and over again, but He is faithful and looks beyond our faults. Throughout Scripture, we see the people of God reject and abandon Him, but He never gives up on them. Because of His constant patience and love, we should extend that loving patience to people around us.
Note: This is the fourth in a series of lessons on the fruit of the spirit. The focus this week is on patience, with an emphasis on the Psalms and the story of Abraham and Sarah.
Optional Materials: An item that needs to be cooked to enjoy (brownie mix, cookie dough, frozen pizza, etc.)
Bible Passage: Psalm 40:1, Psalm 103:8, Genesis 18:9-15
True freedom in Christ (John 8:36) — a complete Bible lesson with printable activities, free from the Sunday School Store.
Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.
Greet children, and talk about an item that requires patience to prepare. The example specified here is a can of biscuits, but there are many possibilities. Just make sure it’s something that takes a little bit of time and attention.
Hello, children of God!
Do you ever get hungry for a particular thing, and just really want to have it? Sometimes that happens to me. In fact, today I was thinking about how nice it would be to have some delicious biscuits, all hot and fluffy, with some butter and jam maybe. Interesting, though…I got this can of biscuits (hold up biscuits), and it turns out you can’t just pop this open and have instant biscuits. In fact, there is a whole list of instructions I have to follow before I can actually eat them! Let’s see, first I have to preheat the oven, which I know will take a couple of minutes. Then I have to get this can open, and that alone can be kind of terrifying, if you ask me. Then I put the biscuits on a pan, and I have to wait– hang on, it says here they take 11-13 minutes! But I know that even then I can’t just eat them, because they’ll be too hot. I also know I can’t eat them raw, because that would probably not taste good or be good for me. Hmm, it doesn’t look like there’s a microwave version of these directions. I guess I’ll just have to be patient. That is not always easy!
Jesus teaches about prayer (Matthew 6:5–9) — a complete, ready-to-teach lesson with printable activities, free from the Sunday School Store.
Have you ever had to have patience? Maybe you wanted to know when dinner would be ready, or when it would be your turn for something, or when Christmas would get here, and your parents told you that you had to be patient. It can be tough! Just what does patience mean, though? One way to think of it is waiting with contentment. There are a lot of things in life that we might look forward to or want to happen, and it isn’t too fun to wait. We might get grumpy or angry about it, but if we’re patient, we can wait with calm and peace, trusting that the things we want will happen, even if it takes longer than we’d prefer.
Why is it important to be patient? Well, partly because we find ourselves waiting in a lot of situations. Even though these days when we can have many things right away, there’s still a lot that takes time, including tasks and events that are worthwhile. Good things take effort and patience. When we’re patient, it also shows others that we care about them and value their time. Sometimes we have to be patient with other people. There are even times when we might have to be patient with God. We know that He has good things in store for us, but His timing is not always the same as ours, and it can be challenging to wait on Him.
This reminds me of some people in the Bible named Abraham and Sarah. They were old, and although they wanted children, they had never been able to have them. Well, God promised Abraham that He would have a son, and in fact have more descendants than He could count! That sounded like a wonderful thing…but it didn’t happen right away. It didn’t happen in the next couple of years. In fact, from the time of God’s promise until it came true, it took twenty-five years! Imagine that. I have a hard time waiting 25 minutes on a frozen pizza…Abraham and Sarah probably felt impatient. Actually, they did try to take matters into their own hands, and it did not work out well for them. But finally, after all of that waiting, their son was born, Isaac (which means “laughter,” because Sarah laughed at hearing that she would be a mother). Isaac’s grandsons were the tribes of Israel, and from that line eventually came Jesus, the Messiah. So God kept His promise to Abraham in amazing and powerful ways, although it might have seemed to take a long time. We know that we can trust in God and count on His promises.
But how do we have patience, especially when things seem to take forever? We rely on God’s word and faithfulness, knowing that He is near us and with us. His presence can bring us calm and patience, even during challenging waits. We can ask Him for help to be patient. Now, some people say that’s a dangerous prayer, because God will test our patience. But He will also be with us and help us to endure those tests. And it’s also important to remember that God Himself is patient. He is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,” as the Psalms say. He has patience with us when we make mistakes again and again. With that in mind, we ought to pass that patience, love, and care onto those around us. It’s not always easy, but it’s an important and powerful way to show others the fruit of the Spirit and how much God loves us!
Why don’t we say a prayer now, and ask God to help us have patience in all situations?
Prayer:
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for being patient with us.
Please help us to be patient with one another
And to wait patiently on your timing in our lives.
Thank you for being with us.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference:
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. -Psalm 40:1
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
-Psalm 103:8
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” -Genesis 18:9-15
The Fruit of the Spirit is Patience!
Sunday School Lesson on Waiting Patiently
Lesson focus: This lesson focuses on patience. What does it mean to be patient? How can we be patient, and why is it important? Kids are often admonished to be patient, but might not always fully understand why or how they should do that. The ideas here dive deeper into the “calm waiting” that patience involves.
This lesson is the fourth in a nine-week series on the Fruit of the Spirit. Several Bible stories and figures are listed as potential examples of patience, so choose whatever works best with your audience to focus on.
True freedom in Christ (John 8:36) — a complete Bible lesson with printable activities, free from the Sunday School Store.
Passage: Psalm 86:15, Psalm 40:1, 2 Peter 3:9, James 5:7, Romans 12:12 (others too, depending on what story you choose to focus on).
Target Audience: Kindergarten-6th grade
Optional Materials Needed: Cooking mix or uncooked item, marshmallows, snacks, jigsaw puzzles.
Lesson Opening: This lesson focuses on patience, and how we can cultivate that as a spiritual fruit. There are a lot of great activities that encourage patience in children, and this is a fun opportunity to try some of them out! Here are some activities to get kids thinking (select the best ones for your audience and age group):
- Patience relay: have students form two lines and take turns walking across the room to deposit marshmallows into a bowl. The marshmallow (large or small) must be carried on a popsicle stick with one hand. If it falls off, the student must go back to the starting line. It takes time and patience to get the marshmallow successfully across!
- Wait patiently: have a small snack for students, such as an apple or cheese and crackers. Prepare it in front of the kids, but do so as slowly as possible. See how long it takes for children to become impatient and wonder what’s taking so long!
- How long? Test patience by asking students to guess how long it takes for a minute to pass by. Make sure there are no visible clocks, and time 60 seconds while students wait. Have them raise their hands when they think it has been a minute (some might count in their heads, which is fine). Sometimes time takes longer than we think!
- Provide a coloring page or art activity that takes a long time to complete (glue mosaic pieces onto paper, or color something with a lot of tiny spaces). Discuss the importance of waiting for good things to come together, and sticking with a task until it’s completed.
- Show students an item that requires cooking or putting together. Discuss how it takes patience to wait for the thing to be finished and ready to eat, but it’s necessary to wait in order to have something good.
- Jigsaw puzzles, one at a time: Have students work together to complete a puzzle, taking turns putting pieces into place. Puzzles and taking turns are great patience-encouragers!
Talk about what patience is. There are a lot of things in life that we have to wait for, but being patient means that we wait with a sense of calm and contentment. We can be patient when we know God is faithful and is with us.
Bible Lesson: Begin the lesson with some general verses and discussion on patience and how it is one part of the Holy Spirit fruit you have been learning about. Then, if time allows, look at an account from the Bible that highlights someone who demonstrated patience.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. -Psalm 86:15
The greatest example of patience we have is God Himself! He is patient with us. We make a lot of mistakes, and sometimes even turn our backs on the Lord. But He is abounding in love and faithfulness. He will not abandon or forsake us, but is patient with us.
Ask: When are some times that you need to be patient? Why is it hard?
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. -Psalm 40:1
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. -2 Peter 3:9
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. -James 5:7
Sometimes we need to be patient with other people, or with ourselves even. Sometimes we need to have patience with God, though. We know that He hears our prayers and answers them, but those answers are not always in the way or the timing that we would like. We have to rest in Him and trust His work.
This refers to the return of Jesus, too! When Christ first came to Earth, prophets had spoken of His coming for hundreds of years. It must have seemed like an endless wait for the Messiah. Now, we await His coming again. It feels like it’s taking forever, but God knows what He’s doing. He is patient because He wants more people to come to know Him.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. -Romans 12:12
This verse tells us a little about how we can be patient. We continue to hope in the Lord and know that He is with us. Even in hard times, we can be patient when we know God is working for our good. And we can be constant in prayer! We can bring all things to God, knowing that He cares for us.
Ask: How can you have more patience when something is difficult or frustrating?
If time allows, look at a Biblical figure or account that illustrates patience. There are several great examples to consider. A few options are listed here. You may choose to take a whirlwind tour, or hone in on one story in particular. Go into as much detail as you want, based on audience and time.
–Abraham and Sarah: The old couple had waited many years for a son. God finally promised one, but it took a quarter of a century for that to be fulfilled! They weren’t always patient, and id didn’t go too well when they tried taking matters into their own hands.
–Jacob: Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, but it took a total of 14 years of work before he was able to! He loved her enough to wait and work for her. Jacob also waited many years before reconciling with his brother, Esau.
–Joseph: Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and he endured years of life away from his family. He was wrongfully accused and spent time in prison, but through it all, God used the situation and brought about the saving of lives.
–Moses: Moses was called to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. But Pharaoh refused to let them go until a series of plagues rocked the Egyptians. When they did finally get out, they wound up spending forty years in the wilderness before they finally entered the promised land. Moses had to have patience with Pharaoh, the people, and God (and he didn’t always do any of that perfectly!).
–Job: Job was tested by Satan and encountered a series of horrible losses in his life. Although he wondered at times what was happening, he never renounced his faith or gave up on God.
–Hannah: Hannah patiently waited years to have a child. At last, God granted her prayer, and she gave her son to the temple to be used by God.
–Mary: Mary trusted God and allowed Him to use her as His instrument to carry the Messiah. She gave birth to Jesus and watched Him grow, die, and return to life, knowing that God planned every part of it.
Those are just a few of many Biblical examples of patience. It’s wonderful to help students see that God uses all sorts of people and situations, but that we can rest in knowing He is in control!
Abraham and Sarah, Jacob with Rachel, Job, Joseph, Moses, Hannah
Review questions about the lesson:
- When is it hard to be patient?
- How can we show patience when we wait for things? Or when others are bugging us? Or when life is just hard?
- Can you think of a time when someone else has shown patience to you? How does it feel? How can you pass that on to someone else?
Close with prayer, thanking God for having patience with us and asking Him to help us have patience with others and trust in Him.
The lesson on Patience is mixed with the previous lesson on Peace. Is there any chance you can correct this or send me the correct version for the Patience lesson?
Thank you for your free resources.
Thanks for letting us know – updated now with the correct Patience Sunday School Lesson