Church From Home
Several churches, like ours (!) have added Sermon Notes pages for Children to their website along with songs and copies of the bulletin. These are amazing resources! Thank the people who are keeping up with this sort of stuff. It’s no joke! Download and Print it ALL!
If your church does not have links to Sermon Notes, download mine for older and younger kids HERE or dedicate a blank journal to sermon notes—it just depends on the age and personality of your child.
Tips for Success:
1 -1 1/2 Hours before Church Starts: Wake everyone up in time to eat breakfast and do what they need to do to feel human in the morning.
Half an Hour before Church Starts: Look over the resources you can print out with your children half an hour before church starts. Do they know any of the songs? Can they find the passage in their Bible? Do they have their sermon notes, a big book to use as a desk, and pencil or markers or whatever you use? Do they have one very small uninteresting toy that doesn’t make noise, build, or transform? Have they been to the bathroom and petted the dog? Do they know you’re going to talk about the sermon after church? Do you have something on which to take notes?
Sit together and participate in church. Sing when they sing and pray when they pray. Don’t worry about wiggling. A church service is longer than a TV episode and doesn’t have as many interesting graphics. Stop and take a break if you need to. Answer short respectful questions and pleas for help.
BEFORE YOU GET UP—Take a few minutes to play one of two games with your kids. Three Questions or Stump the Parent.
Three Questions—Ask each child three questions on their level. Let their siblings help them and ask leading questions if they don’t remember something. Offer one small reward for each correct answer—one m&m or chocolate chip are popular here. The only way to miss out on the reward is just to refuse to try. Every week, the listening will magically improve.
Stump the Parent—This is every child’s favorite game. Let them ask as many obscure questions about the sermon as they can think of. Try to answer each one and be honest about what you don’t know. Let them correct you from their notes or go back and listen to that part of the sermon. Let them watch you learning. Show them you are proud of them for hearing things you missed and make a big deal about how your family was put together by God to benefit everyone.
Happy Listening!
