Here are some messages that help teach about Lent:
Living Sacrifice Children’s Sermon
Children’s Sermon – The Story of Lent
Author: tamerakraft
Learning about St. Valentine for Kidmin
Valentines Day is the day Saint Valentine was executed in 278 AD. One way you can celebrate Valentine’s Day with your students is to tell the story of Saint Valentine.
Saint Valentine was a priest and a bishop, and was martyred in Rome under Claudius II and buried on February 14th. The story of his life has some great applications you can use with your students.
Valentine was born in Rome during the third century. He was a priest and then a bishop. During that time, the emperor of Rome, Claudius II, wanted to end Christianity, so he outlawed Christianity and killed Christians.
Claudius waged war on many nations to make the kingdom of Rome larger, but he had a hard time recruiting soldiers. He believed this was because men didn’t want to leave their wives, so he outlawed marriage.
Valentine continued to preach about God, and whenever a Christian couple wanted to be married, he would perform the marriage ceremony. Because of this, he was arrested and jailed.
Emperor Claudius liked Saint Valentine and invited him to the palace many times to talk to him. Valentine knew Claudius needed to ask Jesus into his heart and be saved, so Valentine talked to Claudius about Jesus often.
This made the emperor furious, and he order Valentine to not mention Jesus again. Valentine knew Claudius would have him killed if he didn’t stop talking about Jesus, but he also knew Claudius needed to hear about Jesus. He made the decision to share the Gospel with the emperor.
The emperor became so furious that he order Valentine to renounce his faith. Valentine wouldn’t do that, and Claudius order him to be beaten with clubs. When he still wouldn’t renounce Jesus, Claudius ordered him stoned to death and beheaded. Valentine was buried on February 14th.
The life of Saint Valentine offers us these lessons:
- It is important to share the Gospel.
- Marriage is important to God.
- Don’t let anything, even death, stop you from declaring Jesus is Lord.
10 Tips to Make Recruiting Workers for Kidmin Easier
Recruiting volunteers for children’s ministry is always a daunting task. Here’s 10 tips to make it easier.
1. Develop friendships. It’s easier to recruit somebody who believes you care about him or her more than you care about what he can do for you.
2. Keep the children before the congregation. Children who are never seen will be forgotten. Find ways to keep children’s ministry in front of the congregation. Give testimonies. Give children a part to play in the adult service. Have children’s choirs and dramas. Find creative ways to remind your congregation how important children’s ministry is.
3. Give regular updates about the good things going on in children’s ministry. People are more willing to volunteer for a ministry if there are exciting things going on.
4. Have your pastor talk about the children’s ministry. If people know children’s ministry is on the pastor’s heart, they will be more likely to volunteer.
5. Have a recruiting drive one month a year. Let the congregation know this is the time to sign up. Give them the option of making a commitment for a certain period of time so they don’t feel like they will be trapped forever in kidmin.
6. Ask for temporary workers. Let the volunteer get his feet wet without having to commit to anything.
7. Ask. Some people will never take the initiative. They’re waiting to be asked.
8. Have job descriptions in writing. Let them know what their responsibilities will be.
9. Have teacher training in place. Don’t use the method of throwing a worker in a room with a teacher manual. Only a few will last past the first month.
10. Have a list of requirements, and do screening. Let your volunteers know you don’t accept just anyone. Those being recruited want to make a difference. They don’t want to feel like you’ll take any warm body.
5 Essential Roles of a Children’s Pastor
Ephesians 4:12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
A children’s pastor wears many hats. He has to be an administrator, a project manager, a pastor, a teacher, a visionary, and a event planner. All of this can be exhausting. However, there are five essential roles of a children pastor that need to remain a priority.
A Children’s Pastor is a Leader. Biblical leadership is different than worldly leadership and is a hat a children’s pastor must wear. Biblical leadership is servant leadership. You serve God by following the example of Christ and leading others through example, integrity, and love.
A leader also has a responsibility to receive a vision and direction from God and to communicate it to those on his team. As a servant leader, he should look to his team for ideas of how to implement the vision, but God has given him the role to cast the vision for children’s ministry. One word of caution, any vision God gives you should fit within the senior pastor’s vision for the church.
A leader is an administrator. As children’s pastor, it is your responsibility to put together a team to plan, organize, set goals, and carry through on the vision God has given you.
A Children’s Pastor is a Mentor. Another word for mentor is guide or coach. They take time to equip their students, the children’s ministry team under their care. This is a daunting task if you try to mentor everyone. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Jesus had many followers but only twelve disciples. He spent most of His time pouring into three of those twelve – John, Peter, and James. Most of his mentoring wasn’t done in church meetings or special conferences. He took his disciples with him and mentored using teachable moments as He went about ministering. Mentor those God places in your path as you are ministering, and teach them to do the same. This will multiply the leadership in your ministry.
A Children’s Pastor is an Evangelist. It’s great to minister to the children in your church, but what have you done to develop a children’s ministry that reaches out to unsaved children? You can do this with special events and community outreaches, but that isn’t the only way to evangelize. Make sure the students under you hear and understand the Gospel and give them opportunities to make decisions for Christ. Then teach them how to share the Gospel and send them out to evangelize their friends.
A Children’s Pastor is a Teacher. There is a movement in children’s ministry that troubles me. Among some, the Word of God is not being taught to children. Instead they’re entertained by elaborate gospel illusions and games or they’re taught Bible stories and Bible truths in a watered down fashion. Sometimes the stories don’t even come from the Bible but from video clips that teach values.
There’s nothing wrong with these methods if their main goal is to teach God’s Word to children in a way they can understand and accept. The problem is not in the methods but when the methods become more important than the message. God uses His Word to equip His people. We, as children’s pastors, need to teach God’s Word to children to equip them. If we don’t, we raise a generation of people who have gone to church all their lives but don’t know God, His Word, or His power.
A Children’s Pastor is a Shepherd. God assigns pastors to care for His sheep or, in the case of a children’s pastor, His lambs. There are four main responsibilities of a shepherd.
A shepherd feeds his lambs. We do this by preaching the Word. Don’t water down the Gospel for children. Teach them the full measure of Scripture using methods they can understand.
A shepherd protects the flock. God expects you to protect the lambs He’s placed under you. This means spiritually by teaching the sound doctrine, but it also means physically. Protect them from those who may wish to harm them by having worker screening and policies in place. Teach your workers, not only how to teach, but how to recognize signs of abuse and what to do about it, and how to administer first aide.
A shepherd knows his flock. It’s important to develop a relationship with the lambs under you. One of the best ways to do that is to set up regular times to visit and call the child in your ministry, but it goes further than that. When a child in your ministry has a special event like a concert or a game, do your best to attend. If a child is in the hospital or has another crisis, be there. In other words, love your students enough to take the time to be a part of their lives.
A shepherd prays for his flock. Follow the example of the Apostle Paul, and pray daily for the lambs God has entrusted to you. Here’s a great prayer from scripture to pray over children.
I Thessalonians 3:10-13 (ICB) And we continue praying with all our heart for you night and day. We pray that we can see you again and give you all the things you need to make your faith strong. We pray that our God and Father and our Lord Jesus will prepare the way for us to come to you. We pray that the Lord will make your love grow more and more for each other and for all people. We pray that you will love others as we love you and that your hearts will be made strong. Then you will be holy and without fault before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy people.
The Highest Calling of a Children’s Pastor
Heart Knowledge or Head Knowledge: Teaching the Bible systematically to children is important. I go so far to say it’s essential to have children grow up knowing the Word of God. But if all you’re giving your students is knowledge, it’s not enough. Heart knowledge of God is vital.
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
Head knowledge will teach students facts, but it will not impart the divine light of God’s living Word, Jesus Christ. When children internalize this divine light, they learn the truth of God’s Word, and it takes root in their hearts.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Children don’t just need to know about God. This need to know God and have their own relationship with Him. Too many people have been raised in the church thinking they were right with God because of head knowledge, only to find that wasn’t enough. These are the children who often grow up in the church only to turn their back on God as teens or adults.
Salvation: Too many ministries focus on helping children know how to be good. It’s important for children to know what God expects from them, but they can never be good enough to please God. Children need to know that they are sinners and that Christ died for them so they could be set free from the curse of sin. He took their punishment. Until they surrender their lives to God, they will never be saved no matter how good they are or how often they attend church. They also need to understand this is more than having head knowledge about God’s gift of salvation or saying a magic prayer. Salvation begins with God’s grace, and ends with a sinner surrendering and yielding to God’s divine light.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Changed Lives: Children need to know that when they are saved, their lives should change and transform. While everyone sins sometimes, a person who has really accepted Christ and become His child should want to please God and stay away from sin. When He does sin, he should be taught to confess that sin, turn to God, and repent. He should be taught that repentance is more than saying your sorry. It’s changing your mind and turning away from sin. If they still are happy living in sin, they are not really saved.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
A Living Sacrifice: Children also need to understand that when they are saved, they’re giving their lives to God. They are surrendering and yielding control of their lives to God. The lives they live are no longer their own.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Fullness of Joy: Children who have a heart knowledge of God should be taught how they can expect fullness of joy in their lives. They can live in God’s abundant life of peace, love, hope, faith, and joy. They can expect the favor and direction of God in their lives. They can expect the baptism, gifts, and fullness of the Holy Spirit as children. They should be taught the John Piper quote” God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” When a child gets hold of God in this way, he will never turn from Him. He will want to spend time with God because it is fun.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Relationship: When a child is saved, he has a right relationship with the God who created the universe. That child can abide or live in His presence. The more we yield to God, the closer our relationship with Him. We can talk to Him through prayer. We can get guidance from Him through the Bible. We can ask Him anything, and He will answer. We can fellowship with Him and come into His presence through praise and worship. When your students have a relationship like this with God, they won’t fall away as teenagers or adults. They will stand firm through trials and temptations, and if they do fall away, they won’t be able to resist God for long before they return to the fold. They will serve and enjoy God all the days of their lives and throughout eternity.
Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Highest Calling: This is the highest calling of a children’s pastor, not to teach children about God, but to introduce children to God and help them develop their relationship with Him.
Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Make Your Children’s Ministry Like Disney
There is a lot of pressure for children’s pastors to make there children’s ministries bigger, better, glitzier, funner, more like Disney World. While we should look for ways to engage our students with innovative, exciting new methods, I’m not a fan of turning Kidmin in to Disney Land. I’m not saying we should go back to the days of flannelgraphs, but we need to keep our focus on what’s eternally important. Here are three reasons why you should resist the temptation to become like Disney.
1. We have a better brand. Disney is a well known brand for children, but there is no way we can compete with them. We cannot spend enough or recruit enough worker to create a Disney like atmosphere in our children’s services. Here’s the good news. We don’t have to because we have something better. We are presenting the Kingdom of God to children every time we meet. When we start becoming convinced what the world has to offer is better than what we have to offer, we need to spend time getting to know the King of Kings and Lord of Lords all over again.
John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
2. We have the source of joy. Disney is known for making children happy, but that happiness is fleeting. We can introduce our students to the Holy Spirit, the source of joy. He’s not only our source of joy, but of peace and of righteousness. How could Disney ever compete with that?
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
3. We foster eternal relationships, not momentary pleasures. Disney is exciting, but fleeting. The relationships we are fostering with our students are eternal. Those relationships aren’t only with children’s workers and the church members, but the most important relationship we can foster with our students is to introduce them to Jesus Christ. That relationship is eternal. Disney won’t help them during the hard times of life. Jesus will. Disney won’t be there throughout their lifetimes. Jesus will. A relationship with Jesus Christ doesn’t only benefit our students throughout their lives. Their relationship with Jesus Christ is eternal.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Halloween Puppet Skit – Make Demons Tremble
Make Demons Tremble
by Tamera Kraft
This skit needs a devil puppet and a super hero puppet.
SIN: (Comes dancing in happy and excited.) Oh how I love this time of year. Everybody is worshipping me. Children are holding seines to conjure up my demons. Scary movies are putting my spirit of fear into people. My witches are sacrificing animals and children to me. Evil men are poisoning candy. I just love Halloween. As for those Christians, they hide out on Halloween. I’ve got them running scared and now I’m coming after you….ha…ha…ha. (Music begins playing.) What’s that. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Oh no! It’s Scripture Man.
SCRIPTURE MAN: Yes, Mr. Sin. I’m Scripture Man, strange visitor from heaven who came to Earth to give the Sword of the Word of God to anyone who will use it.
SIN: Well your sniveling little Christian won’t use the Word of God tonight. They’re trembling in their homes. They’re scared of me on Halloween.
SCRIPTURE MAN: Not this Halloween, Mr. Sin. This Halloween, God’s calling an army to make demons tremble tonight and every night.
SIN: (looks a little scared.) You can’t make me tremble tonight. Halloween’s my property.
SCRIPTURE MAN: God can make you tremble every night. James 2:19 says that you know there is a God and it makes you tremble.
SIN: (looking very scared. Pleading.) But this is Halloween. Please just let me have this one night. I promise I won’t bother any Christians. Please, just one night.
SCRIPTURE MAN: You have made Halloween a night of darkness. But John 1:5 says that the light shines in the darkness. We Christians are taking Halloween back. We are going to shine in the darkness you’ve created.
SIN: I won’t go. You can’t make me.
SCRIPTURE MAN: James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he must flee from you.
SIN: (whining) Please don’t.
SCRIPTURE MAN: Mark 16:17 says that if we believe in Jesus, then in his name we can drive out demons. Children, on the count of three, I want you to drive Mr. Sin out of here by shouting the name of Jesus. Ready…1…2…3 IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
(Mr. Sin shrieks in terror and disappears.)
SCRIPTURE MAN: Remember, Children, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Good-bye. (Flies away.)
© 2001, Revival Fire 4 Kids, Tamera Kraft
Summer Checklist For Children’s Ministry
Summer is always a hectic time for Children’s Ministry. Here’s a checklist to help the summer go smoother.
Camp Applications: If you have church camp for your children, make sure the information and applications have been sent to parents.
Summer Teachers/Program: Summer is a time that wrecks havoc for Sunday School programs because of vacations and weekend trips. If you do something special for summer, make sure it’s in place and teachers are aware. If not, have a list of substitutes to teach when regular teachers are out of town. Remind regular teachers to give you a list of weeks they’ll be gone ASAP.
Vacation Bible School: Do you have your workers in place for VBS? Have you ordered all the materials you’ll need? Plan a meeting for workers to pass out materials and answer their questions.
Kid’s Crusades: Have you booked a date for your kid’s crusade with the children’s evangelist? Make sure you have talked to the evangelist about all the details of the crusade.
Plan Summer Children’s Church: During the summer, you’ll be busier than normal and will be tempted to skimp on Children’s Church planning. You can avoid this by planning the whole summer program ahead of time.
Check Your Supplies: If you haven’t already done so, this is a good time to check and organize the supplies you’ll need for the summer.
While nothing can keep the summer from overwhelming even the most organized Children’s Pastor, the more you pre-plan for the weeks ahead, the better prepared you’ll be.
Valentine’s Week Lesson – Healing a Hurting Heart
Here is a Children’s Sermon that’s great for the Week of Valentine’s Day. Of course you’ll want to put this sermon in your own words. You can draw simalar pictues to display on posterboard or copy the images for Powerpoint.
God cares about you more than anyone ever could. He loves you. No matter what the condition of your heart is, God wants to heal it. Let’s see some of the things He says in the Bible about broken hearts.
The Condemned Heart
Condemned means to sentence to jail or prison; to judge against, blame, find fault with. Makes us feel bad about ourselves and about our relationship with God.
Causes: Unconfessed sin, rebellion, walking against God’s ways, devil’s lies.
Verses:
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Bruised Heart
Hurts when touched on that spot. Not deep unless continually bruised.
Causes: Disappointed, let down by someone, not feeling loved for a brief time, discouraged.
Verses:
Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
The Wounded Heart
To be hit or wounded. Cannot heal unless cleansed & treated. Can affect whole life unless dealt with.
Causes: Angry words, hurtful words, hitting, fighting, arguing at home, someone close turning away, being cheated by someone you trust, rejection in any form.
Verses:
Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
Zechariah 13:6 If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your body ?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’
The Broken Heart
Torn, broken in pieces, crushed, shattered. Effects felt for a lifetime.
Causes: Sense of loss (death, divorce, moving away), Deep rejection or abandonment, abuse, rudely treated, defiled, violated or hurtfully treated, illegitimate, not wanted at birth.
Verses:
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
God Can Heal Your Heart:
End with talking about how God can heal your heart no matter what has happened in the past. He wants to heal and restore you.
Matthew 12:20 He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Encourage your students to come forward and receive healing for their hearts. Pray for them to be healed.
Valentines Week Sermon: The Heart Test
This message comes from 1 Samuel 16:7: …God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Tell the story of 1 Samuel 16 in your own words. Then talk about how David became king because he had a heart for God. God cares more about us having a heart for Him than he does about how you look, or how talented or popular you are. God chose David because of his heart. In 1 Samuel 13:14, God calls David a man after His own heart.
This Valentine’s Day, challenge your children to have a heart for God by giving them “The Heart Test”.
Have you asked Jesus into your heart?
When you look for me with all your heart, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:13 NIRV)
You can’t have a heart for God unless Jesus is living inside your heart.
What you say shows if you have a heart for God.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:34-35 NKJV)
If you say things that please God and help people, that shows you have a heart for God. If you say mean things or curse, you might not have a heart for God.
What you spend your time and money on shows if you have a heart for God?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21 NKJV)
If you have a heart for God, you’ll want to spend time with Him and you’ll want to give to Him and others.
Are you passionate for the things of God or lukewarm?
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:16 NKJV)
God wants us to be excited about praising Him, reading our Bibles, going to church, and praying.
Do You Live In Sin and Unbelief?
So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God. (Hebrews 3:12 ICB)
If we have a heart for God, we won’t want to sin or doubt anything in God’s Word.
Check the Word to see what is in your heart?
God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than a sword sharpened on both sides. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined. It cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. And God’s word judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. (Hebrews 4:12 ICB)
If you are still not sure if you have a heart for God, ask God to show you through the Bible.
Do you follow the most important commandment?
Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. (Mark 12:30 ICB)
Challenge your students to make a commitment to love God with all their heart.