* RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL*

*LESSON FOURTEEN*

*SUNDAY, 3RD DECEMBER 2017*

*TOPIC: THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: LOVE AS A COMPONENT*

*SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN*
​​Verse 1​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
O how I love Thee well,
I am happy, it makes me glad
To rejoice at Thy birth.

Verse 2​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
Thy friendship suits me well;
Both young and old will sing Thy song
We long for Sunday School.

Verse 3​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
Christ was Thy first teacher,
The Holy Spirit, Great Teacher
Does manifest in thee.

Verse 4​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
This testimony’s sure,
That God, the Father Almighty,
Poured His blessing on thee.

Verse 5​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
Though the sun be so bright
Or if the clouds be black with rain,
I’ll be in Sunday School.

Verse 6​
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
I rejoice to see thee;
Will Thou pass over me today
Without my being blest?

*MEMORY VERSE:* ‘’If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25

*BIBLE PASSAGE:* Galatians 5:22-23
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23. gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

*INTRODUCTION:*
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit's presence and operation in the life of a Christian.
"Fruit" is the natural result of growth. And "of the Spirit" explains exactly Who causes that growth - it is not our striving or straining, but the power of the Holy Spirit. No amount of human toil or gritty determination can produce spiritual fruit, but the Spirit's influence in a yielded heart can work miracles.
The Bible makes it clear that everyone receives the Holy Spirit the moment he or she believes in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; 1Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14).
One of the primary purposes of the Holy Spirit coming into a Christian's life is to change that life. It is the Holy Spirit's job to conform us to the image of Christ, making us more like Him. Our sinful flesh produces certain types of fruit that reflect our nature (Galatians 5:19-21), aand the Holy Spirit produces types of fruit that reflect His nature.

*LESSON OUTLINES*
1. Components of the fruit of the Spirit

*2. LOVE: COMPONENTS OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT*
The fruit of the Spirit is one with many characteristics.
Galatians 5:22-23...
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:...".
Ephesians 5:9...
"for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth".
James 3:17-18...
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."
The Christian life is a battle of the sinful flesh against the new nature given by Christ (2Corinthians 5:7). As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit producing His fruit in us and we have the Holy Spirit's power available to conquer the acts of the sinful nature (Philippians 4:13).

*LOVE*
Love is the first of the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The English word love has very broad meaning, but the Greek language is very precise. There are three fundamental categories of love: Eros, Phileo and Agape. The love which the Holy Spirit manifests in believers in agape.
This love is not a feeling, but a choice. It is the choice to be kind, to sacrifice and to consider other's needs greater than one's own (Philippians 2:3). Agape has a sense of hardness and difficulty in its expression (John 15:13; 1John 3:16; Luke 6:35).
It is because of this kind of love that God carried out His plan to save the world (John 3:16). God desire to show His perfect, selfless love to the world that is routinely confused about what true love is (Romans 5:. God's children are the conduits of His love, as they are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The love Christians are expected to demonstrate as a fruit of the Spirit is based on the two great commandments: love God and love your neighbour (Matthew 22:35-40).
Therefore, love can be defined as outgoing concern demonstrated by following the commendments God has written in the Bible.
1Corinthians 13:4:8a...
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."

*CONCLUSION:*
The fruit of the Spirit is what God desires our lives to exhibit and, with the Holy Spirit's help, it is possible!

*QUESTIONS*
1. What are the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit?
2. Describe love as a characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit.
*HAPPY SUNDAY*