Fruits of the Spirit: LESSON 2 PART 1 – Joy (1 Corinthians 13:6)
LESSON: JOY
Memory Verse:
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” – 1 Corinthians 13:6
Lesson Presentation:
- When we say “rejoice,” what other words come into mind? Some might give any one of these:
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- Laughter
- Tickling
- Something funny
- Jokes
- Parties
- Having fun
- Celebration
- happy
2. In this verse which talks mainly about LOVE, it is said that we are to “rejoice with the truth.” As a fruit of the spirit, JOY is directly connected to the main fruit which is GOD’S LOVE. This means loving the truth and standing up for the truth gives us reason to rejoice. True joy is not merely about laughing and having fun – it is about having God’s love inside you to guide you to believe and stand up for the truth from God’s Word. HONESTY and INTEGRITY are important traits of a believer of Christ.
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Do not delight in evil |
We should REJOICE with the truth: |
| We should not find any reason to be joyful when something bad happens to anyone, even when it happens to bad people. (ex. Somebody trips over a rock or toy) | When somebody gets hurt, our response would be to offer help, if possible. This is the truth that we should rejoice in: Jesus showed us how to love and not to cause hurt (Luke 6:31). When we show a loving response, we rejoice in this truth. |
| Jokes that make fun of others and hurt their feelings is not something we should be happy about. (ex. Jokes about fat people or about disabilities) | The truth is that God made everyone special and unique; each person is “wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). When we respect and care for each other’s feelings, we are rejoicing in this truth. |
| Somebody else gets the blame for something bad that you did you’re your brother gets blamed for breaking a vase which you broke) | Even if nobody finds out we made a mistake, when we don’t admit it and ask for forgiveness, we are in fact lying, and we know that the Bible tells us that to lie is a sin. We should rejoice in the truth that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) |
| You found a P1000 bill on the floor and since nobody else was around, you put it in your pocket. You now have money to buy a new toy. | When we find something valuable, we should make every effort to find the owner and return it. “Finders keepers; losers weepers” was never God’s way. We should rejoice in the truth that when we respect and care about other people’s things, we are honoring God. |
