Welcome to my children’s sermon page!

I’m glad you’re here.

This is where I share some of the children’s sermons I’ve given. I hope you find it helpful. Feel free to use the search bar above to find children’s sermons by topic, scripture, or lectionary date.

Blessings to you in your work!

Becky

My goal for a children’s sermon is to help children connect more deeply to God during the worship service, either by focusing on the scripture, the sermon theme, or other acts of worship (baptism, communion, hymns, responsive readings or prayers). My favorite children’s sermons include storytelling. Sometimes this means that I share the scripture of the day in language that children can understand. Other times it means that I share a book or spoken story with a similar theme. My hope is that the children’s sermon flows with the rest of the service and speaks to the heart of children and to the child within us all.

I am not a fan of object lessons or magic tricks or other gimmicks because I find that while the gimmick or trick or object might be memorable and entertaining, children often don’t remember the spiritual truth behind it.

You may want to know some practical things. At my church, the children’s sermon happens near the end of the first half of the service, before the choir anthem and the sermon. I try very hard to stay within a 3-6 minutes time period. This is difficult, especially when I want to ask the children questions. I like to ask questions when possible because the children’s answers are often so profound and meaningful.

I try to steer away from questions which might elicit “cute” answers. Our kids have so much more to offer the congregation than their cuteness!

One of my responsibilities that I take seriously is to teach adults to examine what the children say and search it for wisdom.

When I brainstorm on a children’s sermon there are three places I go.

1. The first is to the office of whomever is preaching that worship service. If I know the general theme of the sermon, I can illustrate (and hopefully strengthen) that same theme in child friendly terms. I can also give the children hints at what to listen for during the sermon and the rest of the service.
2. The second place I often go is to Carolyn Brown’s blog, Worshiping with Children. It’s a great site with all sorts of ideas for involving kids in worship.
3. I also visit Storypath. Storypath, Connecting Children’s Literature with Our Faith Story, is a website offered by Union Presbyterian Seminary. It’s a terrific resource if you’re looking for a children’s book that might be just right to get kids thinking about a certain theme in scripture. You can search for books by theme, scripture, or by lectionary date.