Children's Sermon - Books are the Best!

I really enjoy children's sermons.  I should probably be more specific.  I really enjoy children's sermons when they are NOT simply a way to show off how cute the kids are and when they are NOT simply a watered down version of the sermon.

I always try to connect my time with the kids to one of the lessons, preferably one of the ones I'm not preaching directly on.  My favorite way to share a message with the children is through children's literature.  There is a wealth of amazing books out there - and I'm not talking just "Christian" books.  Here are some of my favorites:



Tuesday by David Wiesner
...is a picture book that tells the story of frogs spending their Tuesday evenings flying around the city on their lily pads.  I like to use this story during the Easter season.  Main point = This is an AMAZING story - if you told it to your friends, they probably wouldn't think it was true.  The story of Jesus raised from the dead is also an AMAZING story.  The first people who told this story probably had a hard time convincing people - but they did, with God's help!  And so we still hear this story today, and we can also tell it - even to people who have heard it before.

No, David by David Shannon
...tells the story of a little boy who is always getting in trouble with his mother (and rightly so).  This is a pretty popular book, a lot of the kids recognize it and read along, which is great.  The end of the book (after pages and pages of "NO") is mom telling David, "Yes Davey, I love you."  I like to use this book when lessons come up that are filled with rules or when God is unhappy with the people.  We can talk about how love  and YES are the last words, but rules and boundaries are still important so we can learn to be better children (here on earth and children of God).

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
...tells the story of a hungry caterpillar who turns into a lovely butterfly.  I like to use this story during the season of Advent, especially when there is a lesson that is specifically about waiting.  I talk to the kids about what would happen if the caterpillar came out of the cocoon early, and remind them that while we are waiting, we are also growing and getting ready for something coming next.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Phfister (smaller, cardboard version)
...the story of a fish with beautiful scales, who learns why sharing our treasure is important.  I used this book with Luke 12.34 (For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.).  We talked about the Rainbow Fish having lots of treasure, but his heart/focus was on himself.  He was sad and had no friends.  When  he gave his treasure away, he was happy and had friends.  His heart/focus was on others.  So too, we share our treasure because God wants us to, and because it creates more happiness in the world.