Self-Control Bible Lesson (Fruit of the

Spirit)
This is the eight Bible lesson in our series based on the Fruit of the Spirit in
Galatians 5. Each particular lesson plan explains a specific character quality
that God creates in us through his Spirit. These lessons are designed to
accompany the printable Fruit of the Spirit coloring book from our
website. Click here to see all the lessons in this series.

Self-Control Coloring Page

Suggested Age Group: 1rst-6th Grades

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 4:1-11, Proverbs 25:28

Exegetical Idea: Self-control is a Fruit of the Spirit, available to all

believers as they abide in Christ.

Pedagogical Idea: As believers, we are able to display the fruit of self-

control as we abide and trust in Christ.

Cognitive Aim: Children will know self-control is modeled perfectly in

Christ, is made possible through Him, and is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Affective Aim: Children will feel confident in Christ’s perfect, sinless life,
which made it possible for them to experience His forgiveness and
redemption.

Behavioral Aim: Children will memorize Proverbs 25:28.

Memory Verse: Proverbs 25:28, “A man without self-control is like a city

broken into and left without walls.” (ESV)

Lesson Overview
 1. Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes) Description: Discover what Fruit of the
Spirit today’s lesson is about. Supplies: Chalk/marker board with
Galatians 5:22-23 written out, jumbo marshmallows or other fun,
desirable snack (allergy alert).
2. God Revealed (15 minutes) Description: Look to God’s Word to
discover truth about self-control. Supplies: Bible
3. Personal Pursuit (10-15 minutes) Description: Learning activity, apply
the Scripture truth. Supplies: Blocks, army men (optional), self-control
coloring sheets found here: Fruit of the Spirit.
4. Daily Knowing (7-10 minutes) Description: Memorize Proverbs 25:28,
pray together. Supplies: Notecards with memory verse written out for
parents.

**For the Fruit of the Spirit lessons, you could make a tree for the wall
labeled “believer” or “Christian.” Each week you can add the particular
attribute you are teaching about. This week, you would add “self-control,”
allowing a child to place it on the branch of the tree. I would encourage you
to only use one type of fruit (if you are writing each virtue on a fruit), for
though there are several virtues produced by the Spirit, they are all one type
of fruit: the Fruit of the Spirit. There are also several object lessons and
activities on the website that would complement this lesson if you have more
time with your children. Many activities over the fruit of the Spirit would
work well as the children are arriving.

1. Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes)

 DO: Set out a try of marshmallows or another yummy snack after all
your children have arrived. When they ask about it, SAY: Each of you
can have a marshmallow right now if you want it…but…if you wait until
the end of class, you can have two marshmallows! I am going to put
the tray down over here. If you decide to eat the one marshmallow
now, please grab one soon. At the end of class, I will pass out two
marshmallows to everyone who decides to wait. (Allow them to think
for a few moments and then put the marshmallows out of reach, but
not our of sight.)
 SAY: Today we will be discovering God’s truth about the very last Fruit
of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. Can you tell me what that Fruit of the
Spirit is? (Point them to the verse on the board. Self-control!)

2. God Revealed (15 minutes)

 DO: Begin by reading together Galatians 5:22-23.

 SAY: The Bible tells us in this passage that self-control is a Fruit of the
Spirit. If we are saved, the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, and we can
be people who are self-controlled in every area of life! This does not
mean that we will have self-control all the time. But as we come to
know God more and more, we change! Through Jesus and Him alone,
we have the power to be self-controlled!
 SAY: Before we get too far into our lesson though we need to talk
about what self-control is exactly. Can anyone tell me what self-control
is? (Allow time for response.) Self-control is being in charge of your
feelings, actions, and thoughts. So, basically, having self-control is
making yourself do something that is not easy or doing something you
really do not want to do. It is showing kindness to someone who has
just hurt your feelings. It is obeying your mom right away when she
asks you to clean your room instead of arguing. It is waiting for
something patiently even when you want it really bad because you
know something greater will happen (here tie in with the
marshmallows). Some of you decided to eat a marshmallow right away.
The temptation of a yummy marshmallows was too great to wait until
the end of the class! We have to realize that self-control is almost
always very hard!
 ASK: Who do you think would be our perfect example of self-control?
(God, Jesus!) As a person who never sinned, Jesus practiced self-
control perfectly! Just like with every other Fruit of the Spirit, He is our
model. A lot of times self-control goes beyond just making ourselves do
what is right and good. It also involves fighting against a desire or
temptation to sin. We can find an example of this in the Bible, our
source of truth! Let’s read together Matthew 4:1-11.
 SAY: In this passage, Satan himself comes to Jesus and tempts Him
three different times. Each time, Jesus practices self-control and does
not sin.
 ASK: What is Jesus tempted with in verse 2? (Food) Matthew tells us
that Jesus had been fasting (not eating) for 40 days and 40 nights and
was hungry. Can you imagine how hungry Jesus would be after not
eating for 40 days and nights?! I get hungry if I just skip breakfast!
Satan knew this and so He tempts Jesus to use His power as God to
make some food. However, even though Jesus must have been
extremely hungry, through Scripture He used self-control to resist the
temptation to do what was easy.
 SAY: With the third temptation, Satan tells Jesus, “All you have to do is
worship me and all the kingdoms of the world will be yours.” Well,
Jesus is the king of all the kingdoms of the world, and one day all
kingdoms will worship Him. But as a human, he was not recognized as
King. He came to earth to die for our sins and gain victory over Satan
once and for all. So Satan was offering Him a short cut if Jesus would
 only worship him. But this would be extreme disobedience to our
God! ASK: What did Jesus do? (Jesus was obedient and had self-control
rather than disobeying God the Father.) Jesus never sinned, and not
only during this time, but during His entire life. He is our perfect
example! Because He lived a perfect life, we do not have to. Through
His sacrifice, His death on the cross, we are forgiven and set free from
our sin. As we come to know Him more and more, we can begin to be
like Him! We can begin to show self-control through His power!

3. Personal Pursuit (15-20 minutes)

 DO: Instruct your children to build two small cities out of blocks. Each
city needs a wall around it to protect them from enemies. As they start,
read Proverbs 25:28, “A man without self-control is like a city broken
into and left without walls.”
 ASK: What would happen if enemies came to this city and knocked the
walls down? (They could get in-the people would be unprotected from
another attack.)
 SAY: Let’s pretend an army came and attacked this city. (Have them
knock down all the walls using the army men.) They defeated them and
left. Now the city has no walls. What will happen to them if they never
rebuild their walls? (Their enemies can always get in. They will
constantly be attacked. They will always be unprotected.) What about
this other city, whose walls are still standing? (They are protected.
Their enemies cannot come in.) If enemies continue to come in and out
of this city whenever they want, what will it eventually look like? Can
you show me using the army men? (Have them take the army men into
the city and destroy all of it.) The city will never know peace and will be
destroyed completely!
 SAY: The verse I read to you says that when we have no self-control,
we are like this city with no walls. This means we have no protection
against temptation. When it comes to us, like an enemy, it overpowers
us, and we give in to all types of sin, like anger, disobedience,
meanness, selfishness, unkindness, and many, many more! We are not
able to say “No!” to temptation like Jesus, but always say “Yes.” Our
lives become a mess of sin and chaos. We have no peace, just like this
city that is a pile of rubble after enemies have constantly invaded and
destroyed it.
 DO: Pass out the coloring sheets. As they are coloring, SAY: What we
see in this picture has probably happened to you at least one time. We
have all given into our feelings and sinned in situations when we really,
really want something we are told we cannot have. Self-control is a
Fruit of the Spirit. Remember-this means it does not come to us right
when we begin to follow after God. We will lose the battle many times!
 But as we come to know God more and more, as we abide in Him, the
Fruit of the Spirit begins to grow in our hearts.
 ASK: How can we come to know God more and more so that the fruit
of self-control is produced in our hearts? (Through reading His Word,
worshipping Him, talking to our moms and dads, going to church,
praying to Him).

4. Daily Knowing (7-10 minutes)

 SAY: I want us to memorize together Proverbs 25:28, “A man without

self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Use hand
motions to help them memorize or write it on the board, erasing one
word at a time until everyone is able to say it together without seeing
it.)
 Spend time in prayer together. Remember the specific situations your
children are going through. Invite them to share their needs and
praises. Praise God for the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, the self-control we
are able to have because He lives within us. It is only through Christ,
who lived a perfect life, that we are able to have self-control and the
other Fruit of the Spirit. He has redeemed us, and though we will never
be perfect, we can become more and more like Him as we follow Him
during our lives on earth.
 Encourage the parents to work on this verse with their children. Send a
notecard home with each parent with the verse written on it. Encourage
them to daily remind their children about the Fruit of the Spirit and to
demonstrate the Fruit in their own daily lives.