Comments on: The Evangelical Liturgy 10: The Children’s Sermon

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:44:46 +0000

Great post IMonk. I’ve done dozens and dozens of children’s object lessons, skits and puppet skits as part of the children’s segment of congregational worship and in the context of Sunday School, VBS and children’s Bible clubs. People remember what they see better than what they only hear.
Prompted by your post and the many positive comments, I’ve decided to make much of my material available to other ministries to children. You can find it at http://speakingobjectively.blogspot.com/
I hope it will encourage others to do the same.

By: Pomo

Pomo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:02:01 +0000

Half the time the only sermon I get and retain is the children’s one…..

By: Pilar

Pilar — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:14:32 +0000

I’ve never seen it done well either. In the last church I saw it used, the pastor acted more like Art Linkletter, talking briefly to the children, then egging them on to say ‘the darnest things’ for a few laughs.
There’s a church nearby I would love to visit, but in each service there’s a children’s sermon. For that reason alone I hesitate to visit; I’m convinced that that sermon will make me cringe.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:14:06 +0000

A baptist church we sometimes attend has the “childrens’ talk” after the “worship” (songs) then the kids file out to Sunday school before the grown-up sermon takes place. The kids’ talks are given by may differnet people, and so are of varying standard, and sometimes very bland. However, I think it still functions to tell thekids that they are part of the church (instead of segregating them as a race apart), and it avoids bored kids acting up in a “boring” sermon. A reasonable compromise, I think.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:03:07 +0000

I love the interactive “all age” talks at the Anglican church I attend. On Trinity Sunday the preacher gave 3 ways of understanding the Trinity. The kids loved his practical demonstrations (including ice, water and steam produced up front), but so many adults after the service told me that they’d never really been able to grasp the concept of Trinity so well until that day. I think a good “kid’s talk” often reaches the adults better than a “grown-up sermon”

When we have “all-age services” at this church (not every week), the preacher does 3 child-friendly “slots” with lots of practical illustrations, but there is no separate “adult sermon” or “kids’ sermon”. The kids usually want to go up to the front to get in on the action, but “the action” often flows back towards the pews as well… it’s very informal (although there’s still liturgy), but the format avoids “talking down” to the kids, gives the adults plenty to chew on, and everyone is involved in the whole service. It does, however, hinge on one very talented preacher (a retired teacher).

I have heard lots of cringe-worthy kids’ talks elsewhere, but have to say I prefer even this to the option of keeping kids entirely in Sunday school. I find it very spooky visiting churches where, once my kids are “signed in” to their respective rooms, there is no evidence of children in the service, bar the occasional flashing red number meant to communicate to a parent that their kid needs them. We certainly don’t come away feeling that we have worshipped together as a family, as each of us has had an “individualised” experience.

By: Re-Examining The Basis For ‘Children’s Church’ «

Re-Examining The Basis For ‘Children’s Church’ « — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:51:47 +0000

[...] one of his post on the series entitled â€œThe Evangelical Liturgy: The Childrenâ€™s Sermonâ€, he inquired into the background, reasonings for having, as well as the value of the addition of [...]

By: Zach

Zach — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:38:57 +0000

I’ve seen the children’s liturgy, particularly at Christmas and the occassional Easter services and I can see both the merits and the inherent problems. As much as don’t like the idea of segregating children from their parents in church and sitting through a sermon is difficult for little kids (especially my little rugrats) but the format that I’ve seen still requires the children to sit through the rest of the “grown-up” sermon. As a near-vagrant child in a near-vagrant family I went to churches with and without children’s Sunday school and some that had a form of children’s liturgy. I always loved it when the pastor addressed the children in a sermon because it makes me feel like I belonged at there, like it was for everyone not just the adults. However, as a kid, I was usually better able to retain what I learned in Sunday school and the quasi-classroom setting than the self-discipline requiring sermon.

By: Scott Miller

Scott Miller — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:10:32 +0000

Although I think that it is difficult to do a children’s sermon without talking down to them or using them to preach giving to adults, I think that it is wonderful to include the kids. Too many churches today have the children attend worship then leave for children’s church. As they get older, teen church. Then they can’t reassimilate back into adult worship and leave the church when out on their own.

By: Rick Lannoye

Rick Lannoye — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:53:17 +0000

It is actually very abusive to instill in children a fear of Hell. There are, literally, millions of adults today who had this happen to them when they were young, and even though they are rationally convinced God would never torture anyone for a second, much less for an eternity, they can’t get rid of the lingering doubt that maybe Hell does exist. So, they are constantly being taken advantage of by some Christian preachers, Evangelicals/Fundamentalists mostly.

I’ve actually written an entire book on this topic–”Hell? No! Why You Can Be Certain There’s No Such Place As Hell,” (for anyone interested, you can get a free Ecopy of my book at my website: http://www.ricklannoye.com), in which I elaborate more on this topic, but I also include some help for any who are still struggling with the fear of Hell, and practical suggestions on how to be rid of it once and for all.

By: BrianW

BrianW — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:56:57 +0000

I’ve had only one pastor who did children’s sermons. More often than not he spoke over the heads of the children to the adults in a roundabout way, almost using the children as a buffer to make some dig about attendance or giving or whatnot. I’ve never seen it done well, so I cringe when I see one coming.

The one I remember best involved the visiting grandson of a prominent member who ran down the aisle late to the front. The pastor said to him “We’ve been waiting on you. Where have you been?” to which boy replied, “I had to pee!” I rather enjoyed that one.