Explaining All Saints Sunday to Children

For a very long time, I thought of All Saints Day as a day of glorifying the dead. There was always a necrology read with sad music played underneath and a list of dead people in the bulletin. As a kid, that made it feel pretty creepy. (Especially, on the heels of Halloween.) As an adult and a worship leader, I have come to realize that, while it is a day to remember those who have passed away, it is also a lot more than that. 

However, it can still be a little tough to explain it to kids who, like I once did, might be a little "creeped out" by all the death talk. Having done an All Saints Sunday children's sermon on a few occasions, here are four ways I have found to approach it that take the focus off the death aspect and make it a little more digestible for kids. 

One way is to play on kids' love of super heroes and equate superheros to saints. It might go something like this. 

•  Show some pictures of super heroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) and ask children to identify them OR simply ask kids who their favorite superhero is. 
• Then, show some pictures of saints and ask kids if they know who those people are. (Most likely, they will not.)
• Explain that they are all saints which means that they are superheros of the church who were special because of the things they did. (You can give an example or two such as St. Francis of Assisi who was superhero in the way he loved all of God's creation; Saint (Mother) Teresa who was a hero in the way she cared for sick & poor people; St. Patrick who was a hero in teaching people about Christianity.)
• Then, ask if they see anyone in the congregation who looks like a saint or superhero (probable answer is no unless your congregants wear halos & capes! 😉).
• Finally, explain to them that, actually, we are all saints because God loves us and has given each of us special & unique gifts and talents.
• Wrap up by explaining that this is All Saints Sunday which is a day that we remember saints (people from God's family and our congregation) who have passed away and a day that we remember we are all saints who have the ability to be God's superheros. 

Another idea for All saints children's messages is to focus on family heritage. 

• Bring in a family photo album or family tree and show the children some of your relatives who were important in your faith but have passed away.
• Then
• Option A - Explain that the bible is like a photo album of God's family as it tells the story of so many people who loved God and helped to create the Church. 
• Option B - If available, you could use a pictorial directory of your congregation here. Explain that it is a different kind of family photo album because it shows the church family. 
• Finally, explain that we are all saints because we are all part of God's family. On All Saints Sunday, we remember the people in our family who have passed away and express gratitude for all the saints - past and present - who have helped form the church and who have helped us personally form our faith.  

A third idea is to focus on the Beatitudes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. 

• Begin by asking children if they have rules in their family. Then, ask them to list some. (Examples might be not hitting, share toys, bedtime at 8pm, etc.) (If possible, you can choose a personal family photo album and talk about some rules you had to follow as a child). 
• Remind children that we are all God's children and ask if there are any special rules we have to follow as part of God's family.  Jesus gives is a list of these rules/expectations in the Beatitudes. Read the scripture or excerpts from it. 
• Let children know that we are called saints because we are all part of Gods family and that we should all use the Beatuuides as a guide to help us remember how Jesus wants saints to live. 
• Explain that today is a special day to remember saints that have passed away and to be grateful for all the ways those saints showed us how to live by the Beatitudes. 

Last, but no least, books are always a great way to explain difficult topics to children. Two books that are perfect for All Saits Day are The Keeping Quilt (Patricia Polacco)  and The Name Quilt (Phyllis Root). In both books, an heirloom family quilt is used to keep memories and pass down stories of family members who are gone. This is a great way to explain that, while we may not have a quilt, All Saints Day is a special day when we remember people who were part of our church family and have passed away. 

I think the biggest goal in an All Saints Day children's sermon is to help children understand the concept of Saints and that we are all, in a sense, saints. It is also important to try and put a positive spin on the concept of death which can be confusing and scary for kids. Hopefully, one of the ideas listed here will help you formulate your own children's sermon that is meaningful in your congregation. 

Five Finger Prayer

Since children are very tactile, teaching them through touch and movement is a great way to help them learn. This can also be done when teaching them to pray! 

One of my favorite ways to do this is with the Five Finger Prayer! There are several versions of this one, but here is the one I like:

• Simply start with a salutation (the thumb) such as, "Dear God" or "Loving God."
• Then, for the index finger, say "I'm sorry for . . . . " This is a very basic method to begin teaching children about confession and forgiveness of sins.
• For the middle finger, children should say thank you to God! "Thanks you for my family," "Thank you for my friends," Thank you for food, toys, or pets," are some common ways kids like to finish this sentence. 
• When you get to the ring finger, it's time to ask God to help others. "Please help a sick family member or friend" and "Please help homeless people," are some I hear frequently when I do this with children. 
• Of course, the pinky finger comes next! Use this one to ask God for personal help. "Help me be nice to my sibling," "Help be do my best in school," or even "Help me keep my undies dry at night!" will work here. 
• Finally, close your fingers around the palm of your hand or press your palms together and say "Amen!" 

One super cute thing I've done with this is to let children make a place-mat with their handprint. I typed out the phrase for each finger and left a space for children to put their handprint on the side. It looks like this:

You could also do this by tracing the hand and writing the phrases "on the fingers" as it is in the graphic above. It can then be laminated and used at the table for mealtime prayers or kept under a pillow for bedtime prayers. It  makes a cute keepsake, too!  

Have you every used the Five Finger Prayer??

(Psst . .  It works for adults, too!)

Beach Ball Prayers

One of my favorite places to go is to the beach!! Lots of families in our congregation spend time at the beach over the summer and through out the year as well. In the spirit of summertime, I included these three ways to pray with a beach ball in the summer devotional we created for families in our congregation and preschool. 

Who knew you could pray with a beach ball? What a fun, interactive way to get kids engaged! 

"Thank you" prayer toss - This one is super easy! You simply toss the beach ball back and forth (or around a circle). When you catch the ball, say "Thank you God for . . . . . ." Then, toss the ball to someone else. Repeat as many times as you like! 

Beach Ball Psalms - Write the following verses on the sections of a beach ball with a permanent marker. Toss the ball to one another and say the verse your thumb lands near! 

• Psalm 23:1 - "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." 
• Psalm 106:1 - " O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever"
• Psalm 139:14 - " . . .I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works"
• Psalm 67:1 - "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us"
• Psalm 145:8 - "The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love"
• Psalm 51:10 - "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

Pray the colors of the ball -  

Red: Pray for someone who is hurt, sick, or sad

Blue: Thank god for water in the ocean and in the pool to keep us cool!

White: Pray for peace in the world and/or your community.

Yellow: Thank God for the sun and the stars in the sky.

Orange:  Pray for God to help you with something you are worried about.

Green: Thank God for the grass, the trees, and all the creatures he created.

Purple: Thanks God for the special people in your life like family, friends, and teachers

What other ways can you think of to use a beach ball while you pray? 

The Road To Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)/What Does Jesus Look Like?

Most people have in their minds a preconceived image of Jesus. Typically, it's a Caucasian man with long-ish brown hair, wearing some kind of robe/toga type of clothing. Two truths, however, are that A) we don't really know what Jesus looked like because there are no photos or descriptions of his physical appearance and B) based on the region of the world where he lived, he probably was NOT Caucasian with blue eyes and light hair. (If you google "images of Jesus" as I suggest below, you will see that the vast majority portray him as a fair skinned, blue-eyed, rather svelte man.) 

Like most things, though, children want a picture of Jesus to associate with the man they learn about in bible stories. Often, the image they conjure is either one of a man who looks similar to other men in their lives or an image presented to them by books, television, etc. 

As adults, we are expected to have the answers and can find it hard to let that answer be, "I don't know." When it comes to the question of what Jesus looked like, though, that is precisely the answer we should give because it is the truth.   

The story of the Road to Emmaus is a great reminder of this, I think. In the story, Jesus resurrected walks alongside Cleopas and another man who certainly should have recognized Jesus, but did not. Their lack of recognition is a great segue into disucssing Jesus' appearance to children.

Recently, when I did a children's sermon on this, I "googles" some images of Jesus. Without telling the children who it was, I showed them a few and asked if they recognized the man in the picture. 

I showed the pictures int his order with the LEAST recognizable ones first:

1. Through advances in forensic science, an anthropologist proposed this image as that of a typical Galilean man. 
2. I like to call this one "movie star Jesus"
3. An African American image of Jesus
4. A little closer to the "typical" depiction of Jesus
5. The "status quo" blue-eyed, fair skinned Jesus

When I showed these pictures to the children, a few guessed the next to last was Jesus and they all said the last one was Jesus. However, they did not recognize the others as being Christ and even said the first one (probably the most culturally accurate) looked scary and mean. 

After that, I explained that there is no description of Jesus in the bible, so we really don't know what he looked like. I told them that it's okay to think about what He might have looked like and that we all might see something different in our minds when we think about it. I told them that I like to "see" Jesus in other people by noticing when people are kind or helpful - when people show love the way Jesus did. Even if we don't exactly know what Jesus looked liked, we know what he would have wanted to see in us and we can try to show Jesus to other people through our actions. 

Mealtime Prayer Box

Knowing that prayer is a key component to a healthy spiritual life, it is important that we begin to teach our children early. One of the most frequent and routine opportunities to incorporate a a family prayer practice is by saying mealtime prayers.

"God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food." Everyone knows that one, right?

While I believe there is nothing wring with memorization and recitation, it can become boring when we recite the same thing over and over. Therefore, it loses some of its meaningfulness. 

At my house, my youngest daughter (age 10) is usually the one who recites our mealtime prayer because her older sisters are far too old and mature for that! 😉 However, even she often sighs and mumbles because, after reciting the same blessing many, many times, she is getting a little tired of it. 

So, here is an idea to keep your mealtime prayer practice from becoming stale and mundane - create a mealtime prayer jar! It's is a super simple thing that might just jazz up your family dinnertime prayers! 

Simply take and empty, clean jar. Any shape or size will do. A box works great as well! Then, paint it, decorate with stickers or markers - whatever you want! Last, print the below pdf and cut apart each of the 25 short, sweet mealtime prayers. (Or create your own) Each night, when you gather at the table, pull one out an read it. Everyone at the table can read one or you can just choose one person to be the reader for that evening. You could even make a jar for each person around your table! Whatever works of you family is fine - there really aren't any rules! 

I hope this idea works for you and that your family enjoys this simple prayer practice! 

Teaching Children To Pray: Body Prayer

I truly believe prayer is central to a healthy, strong spiritual life. However, I also admit that prayer is an area of my own spiritual life that could use some improvement. As I continue to grow in this area, I am learning that prayer can take many different forms. It doesn't always have to be an eloquently scripted Psalm, but it also shouldn't always just be a "Help me!" shouted in desperation. Although both of those methods are perfectly acceptable, there are a lot of other styles that fall somewhere in between.

Like many skills, I think the earlier we start teaching children to pray, the more natural it will be for them as they grow in spirituality. However, we have to teach them in ways they can grasp and absorb in their youthfulness. Since young children often struggle to sit still, why not give them a prayer that lets them move their bodies??

This is a whole body prayer that I use in preschool chapel with 3-5 year olds. We started it at our first chapel sessions this school year when the lesson was about Hannah praying. I said it (along with the motions) and they repeated after me. They really liked it, so I decided to keep doing it. We have closed every chapel with it this year and, now, the children know it by heart. In fact, they frequently jump up and start reciting it with motions as soon as I say, "Let's do our body prayer!". I even used it in a Sunday children's message and got the whole congregation to participate from a sitting position! 

Like most things in life, what works for some might not work for others. Using this body prayer might not be a great fit for everyone, but it is a great way to show children that prayer comes in many different forms. Give it a try with your little ones! 

We were doing this body prayer in this photo! 

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Delivering an Effective Children's Message

I was born and raised a Presbyterian which is the basis for my theological acumen. However, my professional knowledge is in the area of child development. 

As a Christian educator, one of my jobs is to frequently offer the children's message during worship services and it's one of my favorite things to do. Not "tooting my own horn," but recognizing gifts, I often get compliments from the adults in in the congregation saying they enjoy my children's sermons. I guess that means I'm pretty okay at it and, unlike some people, I am extremely comfortable sitting on the chancel steps surrounded by little ones.  

In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me.” I believe that offering a children’s message during worship services provides an opportunity for the church to fulfill part of our baptismal promises and embrace children the way Jesus us said we should. It is great opportunity to share a biblical message with littles ones, but also a time when the smallest disciples take center stage in worship sending the message that the church values their presence. Since these moments are usually quite brief, it is important for the message to be inviting and engaging – for the little children that come to the steps and for the big children of all ages still sitting in the pews. When I am crafting a message, this is the strategy I use. Remember your vowels:

Attention Grabber

Engaging

Interactive

On Kid-level

Understandable

(Personal)

First, you need an attention grabber. This might be an object, a picture, a sound, or even a joke! It is simply something that gets the kids interested right away and makes them want to listen to find out more.

Next, your message needs to be engaging. We've all heard speakers who spoke in a monotone voice looking down at their notes the entire time rather than looking at the audience. Don't be that kind of speaker!! Remember, kids are used to watching brightly colored cartoons and tween shows where the middle-school aged actors are extremely over dramatic. They love it because it's not boring - it's engaging! You don't have to be Oscar-worthy, but you can't be too humdrum either. 

You should also make your message interactive. Young children retain so much more information when they are able to actively engage with it. Find a way to get the children involved in your message by adding some movements for them, teaching them a related song, giving them a phrase to repeat. It can even be as simple as asking them questions. The point is to involve them in it in some way.

Next on the list is offering a message on kid-level and I mean this literally. You have to get down on their level. If they are sitting on the floor, you should be on the floor with them - or, at least in a small chair  - so that you are not towering over them which can feel intimidating. This allows you to look them in the eye when you or they are speaking and conveys the message that you are truly talking WITH them rather than AT them. 

Almost last, but most definitely not least, is that your message has to be understandable. Young children do not have the experience or the maturity to comprehend abstract concepts. Instead they think in very concrete terms. If they have never experienced something and cannot touch it, taste it, smell it, or see it, they will most likely have a very difficult time grasping the concept. Therefore, use concepts and language they can follow.  

Finally, it's not absolutely necessary, but it is helpful if you can find a way to make the story personal. This can be done by either telling a story about yourself (i.e. "When I was a kid like you, this happened and made me feel really sad) or it can be done by making a correlation to something personal to the kids (i.e. Have you ever lost something that was really important to you and felt very sad because you no longer had it?) Making the stories personal lays the foundation for children to see how the scriptures apply to their current lives - something even big kids and grown ups can struggle with.  

I'd like to tell you this is a foolproof method and that, if you follow the steps, every message you offer will "knock it out of the park." Unfortunately, that's not true. I believe these tips will go a very long way in helping to create a great message, but talking to children is not without challenges. 

"What do I do if the children ask me a question?" There are three ways to approach this situation:

• Answer it! Make sure your answer is short, simple, and understandable. Then, answer it and move on.
• Save it for later. If it is a question too complicated for a simple answer or one you are not comfortable answering in front of the crowd, you can suggest a future conversation. Say something like, "That's a really good question and I would like to talk to you about that, but we don't have a lot of time right now, so let's talk later." IMPORTANT: If you take this approach, follow up. The kid might forget the question two seconds after they ask it, but you shouldn't. Email their parents, find the child after the service - whatever works, but do follow up.
• Ignore - You are teaching the story of Palm Sunday and little Johnny blurts out, "Why is the sky blue?" or little Suzy says, "Did you know I hurt my finger yesterday?" These questions are completely unrelated to the matter at hand. You could, of course, save it for later, but another option is to just ignore it and keep going with your message. This is an especially good strategy when the questions start coming like dominoes! 

"What if the children are misbehaving?" There are also a couple different ways to handle this:

• Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. The best solution is to not encourage their behavior by paying it any extra attention. Hopefully, if it is extremely disruptive, parents will come address it. Since a children's message time is usually very brief, this is often the best approach (in my opinion) as long as safety is not a concern.
• Redirection is another strategy. Ask a question directed at the child who is acting up or invite him/her to help you if you can. Find a way to distract the child from the misbehavior and re-focus their attention on the message.
• Predict, preempt, and/or readjust as much as possible. Not long ago, we rearranged one of our worship spaces a bit. As part of this process, a large flower arrangement was placed near the rug where we do the children's sermon. It turned out to be a huge distraction for the children and a bit of a safety concern if they pulled on it too hard. The solution? We moved it. Realizing the problem it caused, we proactively addressed the situation in order to prevent the distraction in the future. 

Delivering a children's message is unpredictable because children are unpredictable! There is no 100% guaranteed strategy for planning a perfect one. However, if you follow these guidelines and just relax, more often than not, your message will be meaningful and engaging. Most importantly, the children will learn the information as well as feel welcomed and embraced.