Showing posts with label sermon 4 kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sermon 4 kids. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sermons for Youth: The Olympic Torch Relay

olympic-torch.jpg
The Olympic Games was a significant competitive sporting event in the life and times of Jesus, carrying right on through the life of the early church and the ministry of the apostles. It's no surprise then that the writers in the New Testamant make so many athletic references to "running races", "training", "prizes", "crowns", all of which were part of the tradition of the Games.

In a few months time, we'll be celebrating the 2012 Olympics in London. Although the location, scale, format, participating countries, events, and well, practically everything has changed over the years, one tradition has persisted through the ages -- the Olympic Torch Relay.

The traditional Lighting Ceremony recently took place on 10 May 2012 at the Temple of Hera, 
Olympia, home of the Ancient Olympic Games. The torch will travel around Greece, and will arrive in Athens in 2 days time and then arrive in the United Kingdom the next day.

The relay will last 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations, six Island Visits with about 8,000 people carrying the torch a total distance of about 8,000 miles (12,800 km), starting from Land's End in Cornwall.

This year, the Olympic Torch is perforated by 8,000 circles representing the inspirational stories of the 8,000 Torchbearers who will carry the Olympic Flame.

Our Christian journey of faith reminds me a lot of this relay. It's not the torch that bore the mark of their testimony, but the Bible. The writer of Hebrews in Chapter 11 talks about the many "inspirational heroes" of faith that came before us. Each of them with their own story about how God delivered them and how His promises were fulfilled in their lives through their faith in Him.

After they carried the "torch", pressing on in spite of their struggles to take hold of what God had in store for them, they passed their legacy on to the next generation of "torchbearers" who would stand as a lighthouse and witness to the world around them. Their names are familiar to us. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and the prophets. The writer doesn't always tell each of their stories but the very mention of their names makes us recall their great exploits, their journeys, their stories, and sometimes, cautionary tales.

They weren't perfect people and the Bible did nothing to sugarcoat or hide their flaws. They were murderers, thieves, adulterers, and prostitutes. They were proud, greedy, lustful, and selfish. Yet there they are -- the ones we look up to. They were human in their failings but the one common thread running through their lives was that they looked to God in faith. And that's what set them apart from the rest. They weren't focused on their insignificant lives, they were focused on an all-powerful God.

They finished their part of the relay and God saw that their faith in Him was well placed. And now they pass their torch to us. The writer of Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Heb 12:1)

They haven't disappeared, they're there in the stands cheering us on. Saying as it were, "This faith journey of yours is not going to be easy, it sure wasn't for me either. But I made it. So, don't let your sin hinder you. Keep on going. Don't give up. You can do it."

There's always going to be times when we want to just give up. To say it's too hard and drop the torch. But we're reminded that we're not alone in this journey of faith. All those who came before us, even God Himself is cheering us on. Our place in this journey of ours is just to keep running. To be faithful to what God has called us to do and be an example, not even a perfect one, but a very real and human hero to the next generation of believers and faithful followers of Christ!

Take It to the Next Level
What do you feel God has called you to do? It could be something that requires a lot of faith, something that you have to persevere through, it could be a struggle you have to overcome. Whatever it is, he intends to make your hopes, dreams and experiences help others find meaning through their own lives. Your big dream can ignite that same passion in others, your persistence can encourage others to find strength, and your experiences can inspire the world. God can make your story like he used the stories of the faith giants in the Bible - the good, the bad, and the ugly - to be a testimony of His grace working through our faith.

For More Sermon for Kids, Visit us on Children's Sermons

Get "Go for the Gold" Youth Bible Study SeriesGo for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?
What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about "Go for the Gold"
Get "Destined to Win" Youth Bible Study SeriesDestined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on "Running the Christian Race"?
The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about "Destined to Win"

Sermon 4 Kids: Best Prayer

Rev. Warren J. Keating, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Yuma, Arizona, USA, says that the best prayer he ever heard was: "Lord, please make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am."

For More Sermons for Youth, Visit us on Sermon for Kids

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Children's Sermons: Jesus is Greater than Religion



Love this look at the difference between being religious and being a Christian.
Here's the words for those interested...
What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?
What if I told you voting Republican really wasn’t his mission?
What if I told you Republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,
and just because you call some people blind doesn’t automatically give you vision.
I mean if religion is so great, why is it starting so many wars?
Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?
Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’d ever had a divorce,
but in the Old Testament, God actually calls religious people whores.
Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice,
tend to ridicule God’s people, they did it to John the Baptist.
They can’t fix their problems and so they just mask it,
not realizing religion is like spraying perfume on a casket.
See the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core.
It’s just behavior modification like a long list of chores.
Like let’s dress up the outside make it look nice and neat,
but it’s funny – that’s what they used to do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath
Now I ain’t judging, I’m just saying quit putting on a fake look,
because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by your Facebook
I mean in every other aspect of your life you know that logics not worthy.
It’s like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a jersey.
See this was me too, but no one seemed to be on to me.
Acting like a church kid while addicted to pornography.
You see on Sunday I’d go to church but Saturday getting faded,
acting if I was simply created to just have sex and get wasted.
See I’ve spent my whole life building this façade of neatness
But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.
Because if grace is water, then the church should be an ocean.
It’s not a museum for good people; it’s a hospital for the broken.
Which means I don’t have to hide my failure, I don’t have to hide my sin.
Because it doesn’t depend on me, it depends on Him.
See because when I was God’s enemy, and certainly not a fan,
He looked down and said I want that man.
Which was why Jesus hated religion, and for it he called them fools.
Don’t you see so much better than just following some rules?
Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and yes I believe in sin.
But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let Him in?
See remember He was called a glutton and a drunkard by religious men,
but the Son of God never supports self-righteousness, not now, not then.
Now back to the point, one thing is vital to mention,
how Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums.
See one’s the work of God, but one’s a man made invention,
see one is the cure, but the other’s the infection.
See because, religion says do, Jesus says done,
religion says slave, Jesus says son.
Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you free.
Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see.
And that’s why religion and Jesus are two different claims.
Religion is man searching for God.
Christianity is God searching for man,
which is why salvation is freely mine,
and forgiveness is my own,
not based on my merits, but Jesus’s obedience alone.
Because He took the crown of thorns and the blood dripped down His face,
He took what we all deserved, I guess that’s why you call it grace.
And while being murdered, He yelled “Father forgive them. They know not what they do.”
Because while He was dangling on that cross, He was thinking of you.
And He absorbed all your sin and He buried it in the tomb.
Which is why I’m kneeling at the cross saying “C’mon, there’s room.”
So for religion, no I hate it, in fact I literally resent it,
because when Jesus said, “It is finished,” I believe He meant it.


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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Sermon 4 Kids: Circle of Love


Materials
* Tennis ball (small ball)
* newsprint and a marker.
* A Bible.

Activity
1. Form kids into circles of 10-20 people.
2. Ask each group to sit in a circle.
3. Explain that you're going to toss the ball to someone across the circle.
4. The receiver is to pick out another person across the circle that has not received the ball yet and toss the ball to him or her.
5. Continue tossing until everyone in the circle has had a chance to catch and toss the ball.
6. Repeat the pattern, catching and tossing to the same people as before. But this time, ask kids to each say one thing they really "love" (basketball, skateboarding, trench fries, movies, and so on) before they toss the ball to someone else.
7. On the third round, repeat the catch-and-toss pattern, this time asking kids to each say one thing they really love about the person they're tossing the ball to (this will probably be much harder than the previous round).

Debrief
* How did you feel when someone told you something he or she loved about you?
* Why is it easier to talk about things we love than about what we love in others?
* What's one thing we can do in our group to show we love each other?
* Write the answers to the last question on newsprint. Then vote on the best idea and do it at each class.



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Monday, March 5, 2012

Sermon for Kids: Bubblemania

Materials
Soap bubbles and various types of wands to use to blow bubbles. You may wish to have a bowl that all the kids can use instead of individual bottles of bubbles. Some thin wire can be used to make bubble wands. You can also use many things found around the house such as egg beaters, strainers, cheese graters, etc. You could provide wire and wire cutters and allow older kids to design their own bubble wands.

Activity
Tell the youth / children you will give prizes for the most interesting looking bubble, the most bubbles, the largest bubble, the longest lasting bubble, biggest group of bubbles, etc.

Application
Explain that each bubble is filled with air. While you cannot see the air you know its there because it gives the bubble its shape. Jesus sent his comforter, his Spirit to be with us (John 14:16) While we cannot see him, we know he is here because he affects us and the things around us. We can see him by what he does.


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Sermons for Youth: Battle

Materials
Index Cards

Setup
Known as "battle" or "slap." Write key words, phrases and other facts that match up on a set of index cards. Place the names listed below as well as descriptions on separate note cards. Include as many copies of the names as there are descriptions.

Activity
Divide the cards into two stacks, one for each team. Players turn over cards simultaneously. If two cards match the first player to slap the discard pile gets all the cards in it. The object is to collect all the cards. After a couple minutes change players on each team.

Example of cards: The Rebuilding of the temple
Babylonians - Destroyed Jerusalem
Darius - King of Persia
Cyrus - King of Persia
Cyrus - allowed Jews to return
Cyrus - granted money for rebuilding the temple
Cyrus - ordered temple vessels returned
Zechariah - Prophet
Haggai - Prophet
Haggai - said "Jews too busy with own houses and God's house is in ruins."
Daniel - exile
Temple - Place of sacrifice
Temple - dedication
Temple - rebuilt
Exile - noble family
Exile - wealthy, educated, or skilled
Exile - The "children of the captivity"
Tatnai - Persian Governor over Judah
Shadrach - exile
Meshach - exile
Abednego - exile
Belshazzar - Babylonian King
Nebuchadnezzer - Babylonian King
Nebuchadnezzer - statue of self
Zerubbabel - Governor of Judean community
Worship - Temple
Ezra - Post-exilic book
Nehemiah - Post-exilic book
Malachi - Post-exilic book

Application
1. This can be used for any lessons that have facts for review that can be matched.
2. Rebuilding the temple: 2Chronicles 36:23; Ezra 1-6; Isaiah 44-45



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Children's Sermons: Adventure Prayer

Materials
None

Activity
Have the group form a circle holding hands. Say, I am going to name some situations. I want you to pray silently for the persons on your left and right as if the situation were true. What/ how would you pray?

Situations
NOTE: Create your own and use discretion as not all options may be appropriate for all groups of youth.
1. Imagine you are holding the hand of someone who is sick.
2. Imagine you are praying with someone who is homeless.
3. Imagine you are praying with the President / Prime Minister.
4. Imagine that you are holding the hand of someone who is dying.
5. Imagine that you are holding the hand of a female friend who has gotten pregnant or of a guy who has just gotten a girl pregnant.
6. Imagine you are holding the hand of a convicted murderer.
7. Imagine you are holding the hand of a person with AIDS.
8. Imagine you are holding the hand of Jesus.

Debrief
Debrief this prayer time by asking:
1. What did you learn about yourself during our adventure prayer?
2. What made you uncomfortable?
3. What did you learn about prayer?
4. How can you use these ideas to make you personal prayer time more meaningful?



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Youth Sermons: Where is God?

In a certain suburban neighborhood, there were two brothers, 8 and 10 years old, who were exceedingly mischievous. Whenever something went wrong in the neighborhood, it turned out they had a hand in it.

Their parents were at their wits' end trying to control them. Hearing about a minister nearby who worked with delinquent boys, the mother suggested to the father that they ask the minister to talk with the boys. The father agreed.

The mother went to the minister and made her request. He agreed, but said he wanted to see the younger boy first and alone. So the mother sent him to the minister. The minister sat the boy down on the other side of his huge, impressive desk. For about five minutes they just sat and stared at each other. To impress upon them that God was everywhere and saw everything they were doing, the minister pointed his forefinger at the boy and asked, "Where is God?" The boy looked under the desk, in the corners of the room, all around, but said nothing.

Again, louder, the minister pointed at the boy and asked, "Where is God?" Again the boy looked all around but said nothing. A third time, in a louder, firmer voice, the minister leaned far across the desk and put his forefinger almost to the boy's nose, and asked "Where is God?" The boy panicked and ran all the way home.

Finding his older brother, he dragged him upstairs to their room and into the closet, where they usually plotted their mischief. He finally said, "We are in B-I-I-I-I-G trouble now!" The older boy asked, "What do you mean, B-I-I-I-I-G trouble?" His brother replied, "God is missing and they think we did it."



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Sermon 4 Kids: Wacky Warning Labels - Toys and Kids

Rubber Ball
Choking hazard: This toy is a small ball.

Baby Stroller
Warning: Remove child before folding baby stroller.

A popular scooter for children
This product moves when used.

A pair of shin guards manufactured for bicyclists
Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover.

A packet of juggling balls
This product contains small granules under 3 millimeters. Not suitable for children under the age of 14 years in Europe or 8 years in the USA.

Bat Man The Animated Series Armor Set
PARENT: Please exercise caution—mask and chest plate are not protective; cape does not enable wearer to fly.

Halloween Superman Costume
This cape does not give the wearer the ability to fly.

Frisbee
Warning: May contain small parts.

Silly Putty
WARNING: Not for use as earplugs.


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Sermon for Kids: Wacky Warning Labels - Cleaning Supplies

Toilet Bowl Cleaning Brush
Do not use orally.

A can of air freshener
Keep out of reach of children and teenagers.

bottle of drain cleaner
If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.



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Sermons for Youth: Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz

How much do you know about the history of Thanksgiving, the pilgrims, The foods we eat at Thanksgiving Dinner, and other things related to the Thanksgiving Holiday Celebration?

There are 66 Questions... can you get them all correct?
Click here to take the quiz



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Children's Sermons: Ways to keep your next YOUTH meeting ENERGIZED!

1. Add Social Time
Start your meetings ten minutes earlier than usual with a fun icebreaker*!

2. Keep It Moving
Change gears every twenty minutes - Every 20 minutes change something! Activity, presentation style, take a break, change the sitting arrangement, change partners or groups, have a team presentations, exercise, game, quiz, etc. You can even throw a related icebreaker* in the middle of the meeting as an attention getter! Just make sure everything ties together!

3. Creative Reflections
After your lesson, break the youth into groups of 5 to 8 people and challenge each small group to perform a creative expression of the lesson as a skit, a song, a rap, a dance, etc. recap part of the "learnings" from the session. You can also use a related icebreaker* to close a session if it reinforces the theme.

4. Change Places
Place the names of the youth and teachers attending the meeting in a bowl. Then, everyone draws a name other than their own. When responding to ideas, youth anonymously assume the persona of the person on their card and respond from their (assumed) point of view. Later they can try to guess who was playing who!

5. Give Them A Chance!
Have soft kids' toys in the room (foam balls, squish toys, etc.) Any time someone crushes another person's idea (e.g., "that won't work...we tried that before...it'll cost too much..." etc.), or says something negative or discouraging, group members are invited to pick up the nearest soft toy and bombard the offender, shouting "Give Them A Chance!"

6. Countdown
Got some people who dominate the discussion? Get a three minute egg timer (miniature hourglass) or electronic alarm clock and use it to time discussions. When the agreed-upon time is up, the timekeeper shouts out "Time!" which is the signal to move on.

7. Call an expert!
During a break, group members call someone (another youth not present in the meeting, a parent, a teacher, a youth worker, etc and get another perspective or insight on a key question! Everyone then reports back to the group!

8. Balloon Toss
Youth must write ideas to a given challenge on a small piece of paper (one per sheet), fold the paper up and put it inside a balloon. The must then blow up balloons, and tie them. Everyone tosses the balloons around for 15-30 seconds (high energy break), and then captures a balloon. Each person takes the new idea or answer they have received, and builds on it and report to the group.

9. Games
Add a game to the lesson or include a game in the middle that teaches an important truth or application related to the lesson... Make your point then continue with the lesson! During breaks, stage games or competitions that challenge people mentally or physically. If energy is lagging, use games that involve some physical activity.

10. Celebrate Success
Award Blue Ribbons, sweets or other treat for good answers, for contributing to discussions, and for being actively involved and participating!

11. Lighten Up!
Ask the youth to identify the most common types of disruptive behaviors in meetings (interrupters, boors, manipulators, side conversations, nay-sayers, etc.) Anytime someone reflects one of these behaviors, any member (or the whole group) can shout out "I Don't Think So!" to lightly remind the "offender."

12. Exercise Break
Rotate responsibility for group members to lead the group in some kind of physical exercise to start the meeting or use during breaks. If desired, award prizes for the best exercises of the week/month. Bring a boom box with upbeat music to accompany.

13. Think Outside the Box
Wear something unusual! Change the meeting location, decor, seating arrangement, dress code, lesson style, or another common feature to something unusual.

14. Thinking Caps
Create hats for different roles in the group... from time to time change hats... Doubter, debater, champion, questioner, Mr Practicality, what if?, Just the facts, gut reaction, What I feel, Optimist, pessimist, creativity, off the wall, Pastor's perspective, Parent's perspective, etc. Members must respond from the perspective of the person represented by the hat. You can even use Biblical characters! Save the hats for future meetings, but don't use them every week! Make them wild, fun and silly.

*Need help for creative icebreakers to add excitement plus a message to your meetings?
Check out "Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the Next Level!" by Ken Sapp
Visit www.creativeicebreakers.com



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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Youth Sermons: Steps to Storytelling

Try this three step approach to improving your storytelling:

  1. Read and learn about storytelling. (see below)
  2. Listen to others who are good storytellers.
  3. Learn good stories and tell them to others.

Preparing the Story

  1. Read the main story out loud. If it is a Bible story, read it in several Bible translations and also read the passages before and after the story for context. Look up an unfamiliar words, places, or people. A good background for the story will make it easier to tell and remember.
  2. Visualize the story. Rather than memorize, visualize. The better you are able to picture the story in your mind, the better you can relate that picture to the others. Create story boards in your mind of the sequence of the events. Divide the stories into episodes and learn them episode by episode. Episodes change when the action, scene or speaker changes. Use key, repeated words as your guide in "re-experiencing" the story. If you have to look back at the printed copy, you have not spent enough time preparing to tell the story. The story must become your story. Keep it vivid. Use words that paint mental pictures.
  3. Adapt the story. The story length should be about one minute for every year of a child's age. This holds true for youth, but you can stretch it a little more with an interesting story. For adults, the art of story telling applies to your illustrations and testimonies of real life applications. Also consider the background, vocabulary level, and characteristics and interests of your intended listener.
  4. Practice. Practice stories in the dead spaces of time--while trying to fall asleep, driving the car, waiting for an appointment, taking a bath or shower. Practice telling the story in front of a mirror. Record the story so you can listen to it. By listening, you are able to learn and refine the story, making it your own. The more you practice, the easier the story will flow.

Telling the Story

  1. Use a natural and relaxed manner and an expressive tone of voice. Hold the attention of the listeners with your voice. Speed up, slow down. Lower your voice or raise it. Express delight and surprise. Create suspense.
  2. Make eye contact with each person or scan the audience. With children, remember to sit on their level.
  3. Open the Bible to the correct reference and hold the Bible in your lap.
  4. Grab the listener's attention with the first sentence. Get the action going.
  5. Alter the timing or pace of the story. Think about how boring music or life would be if everything existed at the same speed.
  6. Portray characters and events with your voice and your gestures, keeping in mind that gestures should be genuine, but not exaggerated.
  7. Beware of tangents. tangents tend to confuse. Avoid too many details. Excessive detail also tends to confuse.
  8. Don't forget to link the story to your lesson. In a simple sentence or two, tell them why you are going to tell them this story or why you told them the story. Keep it brief. Let the story simmer in your listeners’ minds. Let the story speak for itself. Don’t make it a sermon. Stories enhance sermons; sermons do not enhance stories.

Tools for Storytelling

  1. Voice. Your voice is your most important tool in telling Bible stories. The tone and mood of your voice should interpret the Bible story. The feelings of fear, sadness, anger, frustration, or even sleepiness should be evident in your voice to the same degree that they are evident in the story. The speed and direction of your voice will communicate. Example: "Jeremiah was put into a hole in the ground. He went down, down, deep, deep down in the hole." Your voice can drop with the words "down" and "deep." Also, using action words and sound words ("Slap," "Crash," "Smack") can add interest, movement, and meaning to the Bible story. The pitch and inflection of the voice should be used from time to time to indicate different characters in a story. Be careful. Too much character can distract from the story. Don't panic in the pauses. Pauses actualy can be used to great dramatic effect. In pauses, listeners feel the presence, not the absence of God.
  2. Facial Expression. Your face is the movie screen of the story. It can be blank with sound only or filled with the action of the story. A smile or a frown can help project the image of the place and people. As you portray different people in the story, think about what their faces would look like.
  3. Gestures and Movements. It's been said that if you tie the hands of a storyteller, he or she will forget the story. Use your hands and body to tell and live the story. The best rule for using gestures is to use only meaningful gestures and to use them on a limited basis. Storytellers who use gestures and movements for every event or person in the story risk losing the preschoolers or making gestures and movement less significant by overuse.


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Sermon 4 Kids: How to Use Object Lessons

1. Choose the idea you want to illustrate and find an object that can represent that idea.
2. Plan every step for using the object lesson carefully in advance.
---Make an outline of the required steps.
---Keep the demonstration simple.
---Do not digress from the main ideas.
3. Practice using the object to illustrate the truth until it is smooth.
4. Rehearse your demonstration with a “guinea pig” if possible. Try to find someone around the same age as the intended audience.
5. Tell a story the listener can relate to along with the object lesson. Stories have an emotional impact on the listener and provide a means by which younger children, who think in very concrete terms can identify with the truth.
6. Be sure every member of class can see demonstration.
7. Check frequently to make sure the demonstration is understood.
8. Keep summarizing as you go along.
9. Don’t hurry the lesson or drag out the lesson.
10. Keep the punch line to the very end and build the suspense if you can. Make sure your draw the connection between the object and the idea.
11. Resist the temptation to explain all the deep symbolism you've been able to uncover. The power of an object lesson is in its simplicity. One of the quickest ways to ruin an object lesson is try to make it more than it is. Make just one truth visible to your students - that's enough. Be sure that all details are authentic.
12. Remember that it's the Holy Spirit, not your object lesson, that instructs and changes students. Never use a visual aid because you are caught short. They must work for you, not instead of you. Remember: They are a means to an end, not an end in themselves


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Sermon for Kids: Building Bridges - Part 2

Building bridges requires you to take stock of where you are and where you want to go.

Every bridge has a starting point and an end point. Too often, teachers think all they need to do is explain what the Bible means. But knowledge for the sake of knowledge is meaningless. While we must surely begin with this, we must then explore how Biblical truths apply to the lives of our youth. We need to choose a destination.

With each truth, there are many possible destinations. Some applications will be very closely related to a truth, while others may be a little far off. We need to explore those that are closely related and choose a destination, a landing point. When we do this, it will be much easier to determine the direction and links that will take us to our chosen destination. Anything else is just extra weight. Add too much weight and we risk the possibility that the bridge may collapse before we reach our goal!

Where do you want to go? CHOOSING YOUR GOAL!

An effective goal reveals in relatively broad terms what the student should learn. Instead of stating what the student will do to prove he has learned, it sets in relatively broad terms the direction of learning.

Read the following statements. Which ones do you consider “relatively broad” statements of the direction of learning.

  1. The student arranges in chronological order a random list of ten events in the life of Jesus.
  2. The student knows the teachings of Jesus.
  3. The student matches the 10 beatitudes of Jesus with examples of each.
  4. The student demonstrates understanding of the meanings of the beatitudes.
  5. The student understands the teaching of the "sermon on the mount"

The ANSWER?
The list contains some very specific statements-one and three. They specify rather minute indicators that the learner has achieved a goal. So we do not call them goals. Numbers two, four, and five express learning intent in relatively board terms.

Next: More about choosing your goal!



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