Feasting On Word Guide To Children’s Sermons

Authors: David L. Bartlett,  Carol Bartlett

We believe that children should hear the stories within the context of worship.  First, the stories of faith, although written with adults in mind, belong to all of God’s children, young and old.  second, hearing the stories within the context of worship tells children that they are welcome, that they are part of the “church family”, and that these stories are their stories.  Last but not least, children need to hear the good news that they are loved, helped, and cared for and that they can love, help, and care for others.

This is not a book of children’s stories that you can go to on Saturday night to find a story to tell to the children at Sunday morning worship.  We recognize that these types of book can be a good resources, and in chapter 5 we provide some sample stories.  However, we want to encourage those of you responsible for telling the stories to write your own.  We urge you to use the same kind of process that you use when writing a sermon for adults.  start with the questions you would ask when preparing your sermon: What does the lectionary text say?  What is happening in the lives of the congregation?  What are the needs of the congregation?   What is the good news they need to hear?

Our deep hope is that this book will encourage and inform congregations and pastors that include children’s stories as part of weekly worship.  Our further hope is that other congregations and pastors  may be challenged to try this way of bringing the gospel to the children among us.