Unforgettable Children’s Church Sermons

by Pastor Clarke Clemens
Children’s Pastor, RLC Grandville

People often feel that when teaching kids, creativity and content can’t coexist.  Either you have to go all-out in being fun, energetic and creative, at the expense of really teaching good content, or you have to hammer home Biblical points in a way that sacrifices creativity and inevitably leads to a room full of bored kids.

In RezKidz, we feel that you need to do both.  We encourage our children’s church volunteers to teach solid, Biblical lessons, and to do so in as creative a manner as possible.  In fact, we often state that it is the sin of children’s ministry to not use props, stories or other means by which to make the Biblical truths you’re teaching unforgettable.

Below are some ideas that can help your lessons come alive:

1. Props – Most of the props you can use are free!  Bring items from home to illustrate points – from the garage, your basement, kitchen, whatever – kids love to see you holding stuff while teaching.  It focuses their attention on an important point you want to make, plus it gives you something tangible to hold as you teach and seek to make a point memorable.
2. Family Photos – Bring photos of yourself – especially when you were a kid – your family, pets, vacations, etc.  These are especially useful when telling a story about yourself that you’re applying to a Biblical truth.
3. Google Images – Whether you have an overhead projector or a more expensive mounted projector – use free photos from Google Images to illustrate your points.  You can download photos of Biblical sites or simple items like animals, vehicles or people.  Whatever topic you’re teaching on – simply type that in the Google Images search window and see what turns up.  As you teach, put those photos up on the screen behind you.  (Whenever I’ve taught in rooms without a projector, I’ve simply printed the photos and held them up in my hands for the kids to see.)
4. Google Earth – Check-out this resource and load it on your laptop to allow kids to see that cities, rivers, oceans and nations in the Bible are actual, real-life places.  Kids and adults who haven’t seen this before will be amazed to see a ‘map’ come alive in front of their eyes.  And it’s free!
5. Stories – Kids love stories, especially about yourself when you were their age.  Even if you don’t consider yourself a storyteller, jump in and try out something and see how effective it can be.  When telling a story, try to mix the different points of the story with your teaching points.  End a ‘phase’ of your story right at a moment of suspense – then talk about a lesson point you want the kids to learn.  Then, when you feel they are getting restless, go back to your story and you will have the kids attention immediately!  Continue stopping at moments where the kids really want to know what’s going to happen – talk about another point from the teaching – then jump back to where you left off.  You will be amazed at how well you’ll be able to hold the kids attention – even those not known for listening quietly.
6. Video Clips – One of the best things I taught myself to do a couple years ago was to learn the Windows Movie Maker software that comes pre-loaded with most PCs.  All you need is a basic camcorder from home and your PC to make basic – yet creatively powerful – videos of your own!  Windows Movie Maker is about as basic as you can get with editing software – though some patience will be needed as you learn how to use this.  But the rewards will be great and you’ll soon find yourself eagerly desiring to make more videos.  Typically, I’ll make a 3 – 5 minute video to illustrate a point – sometimes by making it at home, outside, around church, in your car, wherever – just get creative. Kids will stay engaged and it gives you a few minutes in your teaching to get a breather, look at your notes, then jump back in.  You’ll get hooked on this teaching resource in no time!

These are just a few examples we’ve used to good effect over the years.  We’ve discovered that by making a children’s church lesson that is both chock full of good content, and creative and exciting, you will get and keep the kids attention, while helping them grow closer to Christ.  You will also expand the vision of your volunteer team of what they can do to bring the message the Lord has given them to new heights of effectiveness and fun!

For many more ideas, plus alot of other information about children’s ministry, I highly recommend the book The Fabulous Reinvention of Sunday School by Aaron Reynolds.

Dare to be Different

by Pastor David Ferranti
Senior Pastor, Bay Valley Christian Church

In the world we live today, the standards that Christians have set in place for their lives are becoming bleaker and bleaker. Slowly, the difference between believer and unbeliever is becoming unnoticeable.

Take a look at a few of these observations:

What Is the Difference . . .

• Between the atheist who would not dream of financially supporting the church and the Christian who will not financially support the Lord’s church?

• Between the skeptic who does not believe the Bible and the negligent Christian who never reads it?

• Between those who do not believe in Bible classes and those who choose never to attend a class?

• Between the atheist who does nothing to build up the Lord’s church and the Christian who finds fault with others but does nothing himself?

• Between a man of the world and a person in the church who lives like a man of the world?

These are tough questions for Christians who live in a tough world.  The fact is that Christians make no difference until they are different.

The word “Christian” actually means “little Christ or Christ-like.” So if we are calling ourselves followers of Christ, shouldn’t we model our lives after His and not after the world? If we’ve truly surrendered our life to Him, then there should be evidence of that through the change in us. Christians are meant to be different. Our character, our actions, our words, and our attitudes should be different.

Ephesians 5:8-9 says, “For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”

In addition, the Lord tells us that even though we are in the world, we are not to be of the world. John 15:18-19 reads, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

I want to encourage you to live your life after the One who truly stood out from the rest. Jesus dared to be different. I encourage you today to follow His example.