This might surprise you, but children's sermon's are controversial. One of our preaching professors advised us to avoid doing them, because they tend to use metaphors ("God is like...") and children under seven have not reached the stage of brain development that enables them to understand a metaphor.
This is a real issue. My husband says that he was actually frightened when he was told as a child that Jesus was inside him, because he pictured a little tiny Jesus in his stomach!
Churches don't care about what scholars think: they just want children's sermons. So, I resolved to make the best of it. I tried to make my children's sermons fun. Often I tried to give out little trinkets for the kids to take home, or even for the whole congregation to take home.
Afterwards people often came up to me and confided that the children's sermon was their favorite part of the service. At first this made me kind of sad. Why was I spending all this time and money getting a fancy Masters degree if all people wanted was something a child could understand?
Pretty soon, though, I decided that being sad about this was a poor attitude for me to take. People were actually telling me what they needed in order to be inspired in church, and I needed to listen!
"A Time for All" is inspired by all the people who say that "A Time for Children" is their favorite part of worship.
It reflects my philosophy about providing an experience of Christianity that people want and need.
A message that gets to the point and does not waste people's time.
A message that has a broad appeal and is easy to grasp.
A message that is speaks to people where they are but encourages them to continue to grow.
A message that appeals to our natural human delight in simple pleasures and beauty.
A message that encourages us to see things in new ways and to change.
A message that promotes ongoing and lifelong learning.
A message that tells the stories of the Bible and helps us relate it to our own daily lives.
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