MAXIMIZING THE CHILDREN’S SERMON
What do you do with little tykes once they're assembled at the front of the church?
Richard J. Coleman
January 1, 1986
There once was a time when I prepared the children's sermon in the wee hours of Saturday night. But no longer. The more I analyzed it, the more I realized how terribly difficult it is to proclaim the gospel to children.
My own turning point was the moment I began to examine what I was doing and how I was doing it. I stopped taking for granted what I read in books of children's sermons and said to myself, There must be more to this than meets the eye. The author may have given me fifty-two sermons and a few good ideas, but nowhere did the author set forth criteria for why these were good children's sermons.
Before preaching to children, I decided to ask myself, What appropriate message and form should I use this time?
Gospel Telling and Worship
Two misconceptions cloud our thinking about children's sermons. The low view considers them a liturgical albatross. Many fine preachers have had the experience, I suspect, of seeing too much show and not much substance. They fully realize the many limitations imposed by time and setting.
The high view presumes children's sermons can do it all, reasoning something like this: As long as children are hearing some kind of proclamation in worship, they are being properly fed. If it is possible, this view takes the children's sermon too seriously.
If we buy into the low view, we would do away with the children's sermon altogether: Let them worship in children's church. Period. If we follow the high view, there would be a children's sermon every Sunday, which would constitute the only input geared for them. What we are often missing is a sensible balance-a little fun with the highest standards.
I advocate a middle view. The sermon never constitutes the whole worship experience for any age. Children ...
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