JourneyOnline
Abingdon Press, 2007
RRP $22.95
Leading worship and preaching is one thing, but giving a children’s address in worship? Help me please!
Enter stage left The Abingdon Children’s Sermon Library, Volume 2. While the entries for sermon ideas and topics are bland in presentation (100% text, black-and-white, Times New Roman font with no pictures!), the content and ideas are helpful.
There are 52 sermons entered in this second volume so one could use one per week without sourcing other material.
The difficulty would be for those who may want this to link with or complement the day’s lectionary reading as the sermons do not follow a lectionary year.
The entries are written according to the seasons of the Christian calendar, including other significant yearly dates such as Mother’s Day, St. Valentine’s, and Father’s Day.
There is also a four week series on ‘Love,’ which is suggested for the month of February to coincide with St. Valentine’s Day, and a seven week series on ‘Building Up the Body of Christ’ to coincide with Lent & Easter.
The sermons are short, reminding those of us to keep the message short, simple, and to the point.
The entries come listed with a ‘focus’ and ‘experience’ point, outlining the focus of the sermon and how this is intended to be experienced by the children. If there is any further preparation required, this also is listed in the entry.
The entries themselves are formatted like a script and therefore anticipate possible responses that children may give, which can be quite helpful.
This format provides its users with a solid foundation of simple language and logical process when talking with children.
There are 10 different contributors and as I read through each of the entries I found I became familiar with the different contributor’s styles of sharing a children’s address.
The Abingdon Children’s Sermon Library, Volume 2 comes with a Scripture index, and each entry in the contents is listed with an appropriate title, suggested season/Sunday for use, and scripture reference.
It does not include a subject/topic index which would be very helpful for quick reference.
The Abingdon Children’s Sermon Library, Volume 2 will be a good reference for those who like books instead of websites, and it would be highly useful for people who have difficulty knowing what to do and say with children during the children’s address.
Reviewed by Jock Dunbar
