All pastors have their favorite stories just for kids.
Here are a few of mine.
Subject: The Lord's Supper
Object: Fast Food Restaurant "Happy Meal"
When our children were small, we would periodically take them by the local fast food restaurant for a burger or chicken fingers. With their "Happy Meal", they would receive a drink, a burger (or chicken), fries, and a toy of some sort. This latter was the "prize" that came along with the meal. When we receive the Lord's Supper, it too becomes a "Happy Meal", in that we receive a spiritual prize along with the bread and the cup. That prize is the gift of eternal life made possible through the sacrifice of God's Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins. What a wonderful prize. What a "Happy Meal" to celebrate together.
As you can see from the example above, for me, the purpose of the children’s message, especially when done in the context of worship, is to communicate the essence of the message that will be delivered later on in the service.
“Children’s Chat”, as we have termed it in our church, is designed to be a succinct communication of the theme of worship for the day. Thus, I consider that I will have been successful if I can communicate in one brief idea the overall theme for the day. That is to say, I try to restate my sermon in one idea, perhaps even one sentence, and to do it in such a way that even a child can understand it.
To be perfectly honest, I have received far more feedback on my children’s messages down through the years than I have on my sermons. I consider this a wonderful affirmation.
We also utilize a format for the “Children’s Chat” that we call “The Mystery Box”. It is a large and colorful wooden box on wheels that we keep in the corner of the worship center. In it is placed some object that will be used that day for the lesson for the children. The example above included a “Happy Meal” from the local McDonald’s restaurant.
I took the idea of “the Mystery Box” from R. Douglas Reinard’s two books, Sermons from the Mystery Box and More Sermons from the Mystery Box (Abingdon Press, 1991 and 1992 respectively). They can each be acquired through www.Amazon.com.
For the most part, I try to let the idea for the children’s message be the last thing I do. I treat it like icing on the cake. Once the worship service has been themed, and the sermon has been written, I like to reflect on how I can then, lastly, reduce it all down to one simple illustration. Over the years, the process has become easier.
However, there are times when the proverbial well is dry. Fortunately, when this happens, there are lots of resources to which one can turn for assistance. If you get stumped, here are several resources that I have found helpful. Most all of these are a bit older, but can readily be acquired through www.amazon.com. Do not be put off by the age of some of these materials, as the ideas within can easily be applied today. For instance, a land line telephone of that day can readily be adapted to a smart phone today. The central idea is the key thing.
Among the better are the ones by Standard Publishing. They have produced several excellent resources. Probably the best is:
Runk, Wesley T. The Giant Book of Children’s Sermons (Ohio: CSS Publishing, 2003).
Among the others by Standard Publishing are:
Blair, Brett, and Tim Carpenter. Children’s Sermons A to Z (Ohio: CSS Publishing, 2000).
Bruno, Bonnie. Sensational Object Talks (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1997).
Crosser, Sandra. Object Talks for Preschoolers (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1996).
Hapeman, Zach. Object Talks that Teach the Gospels (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1999).
Head, Jr. Heno. Simple Science Object Talks and More Simple Science Object Talks (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1997).
Kohr, Louise. In the Bag Stories (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1990).
Korkmeyer, Verna L. Object Talks for Any Day (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995).
Korkmeyer, Verna L Object Talks for Special Occasions (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1995).
Lingo, Susan L. Edible Object Lessons (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 2000).
Van Seeters, Virginia Ann. Easy Object Talks for Teaching Children (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 1992).
Baker Book House is another excellent source for Children’s Sermon resources. Much of their material is older, but is still applicable and readily available. These include:
Bess, C. W. Christ Centered Object Lessons (Grand Rapids: Baker books, 1978).
Bess, C. W., and Roy E. DeBrand. Bible Centered Object Sermons for Children (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985).
Bruinsma, Sheryl. New Object Lessons for Children of All Ages (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1980).
Bruinsma, Sheryl. Object Lessons for Every Occasion (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991).
Bruinsma, Sheryl. Object Lessons for Special Days (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1986).
Bruinsma, Sheryl. Object Lessons for Very Young Children (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1988).
Claasen, David J. Object Lessons for a Year (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1986).
Coombs, Robert S. Concise Object Sermons for Children (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1989).
Cooper, Charlotte. 50 Object Stories for Children (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1987).
Cross, Luther S. Easy Object Stories (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1984).
Cross, Luther S. Story Sermons for Children (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991).
DeJonge, Joanne E. Object Lessons from Nature (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1989).
DeJonge, Joanne E. More Object Lessons from Nature (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991).
DeJonge, Joanne E. Object Lessons from Pebbles and Paper Clips (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995).
Edstrom, Lois. Contemporary Object Lessons for Children’s Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985).
Godsey, Kyle. Object Lessons about God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991).
Hendricks, William C., and Merle Den Bleyker. Object Lessons from Sports and Games (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1975).
Loeks, Mary Foxwell. Object Lessons for Children’s Worship (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991). (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1985).
Runk, Wesley T. Lively Object Lessons (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1974).
Sargent, John H. Delightful Three Minute Object Talks (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1952).
Sargent, John H. Dynamic Object Talks (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1955).
Schofield, Jr., Joseph A. Instructive Object Talks (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1942).
Sullivan, Jessie P. Object Lessons and Stories for Children’s Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1973).
Sullivan, Jessie P. Object Lessons with Easy to find Objects (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1991).
Years ago, Broadman Publishing produced several good resources as well. These include:
Bess, C. W. Children’s Sermons for Special Times (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1988).
Castle, Leon. A Year of Children’s Sermons (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976).
Coleman, Jr., Joseph H. Hearing the Same Message (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1990).
DeBrand, Roy E. Children’s Sermons for Special Occasions (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1983).
DeBrand, Roy E. Children’s Sermons for Church Celebrations (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1990).
Linam, Gail. The Bible Speaks to Children (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1989).
Linam, Gail. God’s People: A Book of Children’s Sermons (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1986).
McChesney, Stewart R. Let the Children Come (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982).
Wright, Una. For Children Only (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1989).
Other resources to consider include:
Hinchey, Donald. 5-Minute Messages for Children (Loveland, Colorado: Group books, 1992).
Weisheit, Eldon. 61 Gospel Talks for Children (St. Louis: Concordia, 1969).