tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post3435198562064676284..comments2024-03-05T06:53:14.628-05:00Comments on Worshiping With Children: Year A - The Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 22, 2011)Worshiping with Childrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12023055938126631743noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post-63089133143586889272012-07-21T09:42:50.831-04:002012-07-21T09:42:50.831-04:00Angela, good question. The problem with object le...Angela, good question. The problem with object lessons is that they depend on the mental skill of transference, i.e. applying facts of one situation to another. All the studies show that children's brains do not mature enough to do this until ten or twelve years old - or even later. To check this out for yourself talk to children after an object lesson. Ask, "what did pastor say about (the object)?" Then ask, "why do you think pastor told you that?" The children will happily tell you in great detail about the object. But when you ask what the object means, they get vague. Often the youngest say "oh, it was something about God, I think." If older children caught a few more specific words in the meaning message, they will try to work them in, i.e. we are supposed to be kind or to pray or whatever. They just don't get the message. The adults however do get it and often remember it more clearly than the more complicated points of the "real" sermon. So, they enjoy object lessons and give preachers lots of positive feedback about them. That puts preachers in a tough spot - preaching to kids or to the adults.Worshiping with Childrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023055938126631743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post-68855072212554238542012-07-21T03:41:17.494-04:002012-07-21T03:41:17.494-04:00Hi Carolyn,
A genuine question from someone new t...Hi Carolyn,<br /><br />A genuine question from someone new to children's ministry: is there something perilous about object lessons? Your comment about the cornerstone made me curious...<br /><br />Thanks for your work... I'm a regular visitor here!<br /><br />AngelaAngelanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post-79312585484530443802011-05-25T21:26:00.284-04:002011-05-25T21:26:00.284-04:00Brian, you do know how to make a person's day!...Brian, you do know how to make a person's day! I would have never thought of using all these worship suggestions as family devotional activities the week before they appear in worship. How cool is that! Thanks for sharing.Worshiping with Childrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12023055938126631743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post-91274445623199803822011-05-25T20:17:15.843-04:002011-05-25T20:17:15.843-04:00I use your wonderful site with my children each ni...I use your wonderful site with my children each night. We take one of the passages each night and I lead them in the activity. This has been great for evening devotions. We've kept a bowl of rock on the table this week, and my children have really enjoyed grabbing a rock out whenever they hear "rock" or "stone" in the passage. Tonight we used the human tower picture. We had a great conversation on how important we all are at church. (They have recently been asking why we go to church when we can read the Bible at home).<br />A couple weeks ago, I shared your idea with our worship director and we had some of the children walk/run the road to Emmaus in our Evensong service.<br />Thank you!Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500399617983809790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995851195771634116.post-3852717176854466982011-05-19T08:58:43.082-04:002011-05-19T08:58:43.082-04:00I make a weekly visit to your site before preparin...I make a weekly visit to your site before preparing worship liturgy. Thanks so much for your wisdom!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14299106968376558651noreply@blogger.com