From the Family Devotionals Series.

A Family Worship Resource: Devotionals for parents and youth, plus stories for children.

Family worship is a time for parents and children to gather for singing, Bible reading, and spiritual instruction. Many parents see the importance of family worship, but struggle to find material suitable for their whole family.

Fruitful Families addresses that need. The book's overall theme of growing spiritual fruit is broken into thirteen sections. The first nine deal with the fruit of the Spirit and the others are lessons from gardening, dealing with weeds, sowing and reaping, and the wonders of plants. Each section has readings for seven days, making ninety-one lessons—enough for approximately a quarter of a year.

Each day's lesson consists of two parts. The first part is especially for Dad and Mom and older children. It includes a suggested Scripture reading, a theme verse, and a devotional meditation on the topic introduced by the Scripture reading.

The second part consists of a reading from a continued children's story related to that week's theme. Each story is followed by questions for review and discussion, which provide opportunities for applying the theme to life.

May God bless your family worship time, that you and your family may "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18) and be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:11).

Table of Contents

• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• How Parents Can Use This Book

Love

• The Importance of Love
• Love God
• Love Your Neighbor
• Love Your Enemies
• Love the Stranger
• Love Your Spouse
• Love Your Children
• Winter Storm Love

Joy

• Jesus and the Great Joy
• Attempts to Find Joy
• Steps to Salvation's Joy
• The Joy of the Prodigal's Return
• Be of Good Cheer
• Joy Amidst Trials
• The Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength
• Joyful George

Peace

• Jesus, Prince of Peace
• Peace From the Prince of Peace
• Peace in Spite of Grief
• Peace at Home
• Restoring Peace
• Making Peace, Not Pieces
• Through Trials Should Come
• Zeke's Revenge

Longsuffering

• I Want It Now
• Patience of God
• Learn Patience from James and Job
• Causes of Impatience
• Developing Patience
• Sweet Fruit of Patience
• Patience in Daily Life
• Patience Is a Virtue

Gentleness

• God's Kindness
• Kindness of Christ
• Kindness at Home
• Kindness to Siblings
• Kindness to the Handicapped
• Kindness in the Community
• Kindness at Church
• Gentleness Comes Back

Goodness

• Barnabas: A Good Man
• Brave Esther
• Helpful Aaron
• Lydia: A Good Businesswoman
• Jethro: A Wise Advisor
• President of the Dorcas Society
• Jonathan: A True Friend
• Envious Ben

Faith

• Jesus Is Faithful
• Faith in Abraham's Shield
• Holy and Wholly Committed
• A Dying Leader's Challege: Be Faithful
• Diligent Deborah
• Let Your Heart Be Steadfast
• Faithful Unto Death
• A Dog's Last Name

Meekness

• Meekness of Jesus
• The Need for Meekness
• Meekness in Relation to God
• The Value of Meekness
• Meekness Demonstrated
• Meekness in Action
• Meekness in Building Relationships
• Picnic Day

Temperance

• Be Temperate
• Developing Self-Control
• How to Grow the Fruit of Temperance
• What Esau Saw
• Importance of Self-Control
• The Slavery of Indulgence
• Temperance at Home
• Everyone Needs Temperance

Gardening Lessons

• Gardening: Past and Present
• Lessons From Gardening
• What to Plant
• Fruit-Bearing
• Parable of the Laborers
• Parable of Two Sons
• Parable of the Wicked Farm Manager
• The Miracle Garden

Wonders of Plants

• The Biggest Trees
• The Fiercest Plants
• The Most Useful Plant
• The Largest Seed
• A Very Fragrant Plant
• The Tallest Grass
• The Thickest Plant
• The Greatest Plants

Weeds

• Weeding Your Garden
• Weeds Grow Fast
• Weeds Choke
• Identifying Weeds
• Keep Weeding
• Weeding Is Work
• Weeding Is Worth It
• The Ugly Weed

Sowing and Reaping

The Results of Sowing

Getting What You Don't Want

The Weight of the Crop

Helping Yourself by Helping Others

Grim Education

Not a Defective Detective

Reaping a Good Crop

Sowing and Reaping—You Get What You Plant

• Themes, Titles, Verses, and Readings