Children and the Sunday Sermon

by Dan Eckley

I remember sitting in church with my wife and four children ages five, seven, ten and twelve while Ed Petersen or Brad Manley preached for forty minutes. This was before we had children’s church. Life is full of challenges!

It is obvious that young children will get less out of a message than their parents, but you might be surprised at how much they do comprehend if you engage them on it. I would submit that they both understand and retain more than you think they do.

This article is written for parents to give you some help with how you can aid your children in processing the Sunday sermon rather than just coloring, drawing, squirming, and complaining.

Here are some suggestions:

• Use the outline. Kids who can write are able to fill in the blanks with a little help from Dad or Mom. Those who cannot yet write can be shown and told what the fill-ins are. Later, on the drive home or at home during lunch or in the evening, the outline can be discussed together and questions answered and enlightenment given.
  
  
• Try to discover together the main point. Form your thoughts on what it was, but ask the kids to see if they can come up with one. Encourage them as much as possible in their efforts.
  
  
• Try to discover together how God or Jesus is the hero or the center of the message. What did we learn about God the Father, the Son, and/or the Holy Spirit from the message?
  
  
• Try to come up with some open-ended questions about the message. Here are some examples: “How did Brad’s illustration about the tree fit into what the passage taught?” “What would you do if Jesus calmed a hurricane in front of you?” Be imaginative!
  
  
• Make sure the gospel is clear. How did the message support the good news that Jesus died for sinners?
  
  
• Lead them in application. If actions were encouraged to be taken, if prayers need to be offered, if confession is in order, then demonstrate to your kids how to do those things and challenge them in the same!
  
  
• Go with their rabbit trails. You will learn more about how they think and can help them learn to think biblically, which will happen more and more as they get older.
  
  
• Remember the general rule that kids will comprehend and retain more than you think. Delight in helping them process what they did understand!

A key to parenting well is being intentional. Have keen intention toward helping your children not only survive the worship service but thrive in it even at young ages!