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 ...