This particular sermon is written with two particular bits of cultural context in the background. It is for Easter, so you might think a children’s sermon on Matthew 28:1-10 would be easy picking. However… 1. Our culture, both the Protestant and Catholic sides of Western Christianity, doesn’t really have a good grasp on the importance […]
A Children’s Sermon on John 11:1-45 — The Raising of Lazarus
Here’s a children’s sermon on John 11:1-45. This is the fourth lectionary Gospel in a row that is a very long encounter with Christ from John. However writing a children’s sermon on John 11:1-45 the Raising of Lazarus is much easier than it was on Nicodemus, the woman at the well, or the healing of […]
A Children’s Sermon on John 9:1-41 — Jesus Heals a Man Blind from Birth
The story of the healing of the man born blind is another very long one. That adds to the challenge of basing a children’s sermon on John 9:1-41. It isn’t that the content is complex or obscure. It s just that the one story has about six different scenes. With a Gospel text, I often […]
A Children’s Sermon on John 4:5-42, The Woman at the Well
There are a couple major challenges to writing a children’s sermon on John 4:5-42, the story of “the woman at the well.” First, the conversation is long and convoluted. It is not confusing, but it keeps taking twists and turns as Jesus tries to redirect her to what matters most for her salvation. It is […]
Letters to a Young Pastor: The Children’s Sermon — Is it True?
Dear ______: I do think you’ll be well on your way to a solid children’s sermon if you take up my challenge to make it one salient point from the text you are preaching to the grown-ups. But that isn’t the whole journey. You still need to work hard at finding kid-friendly ways to get […]