Welcome

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the Dollar Store Children Sermons.  I hope you find an idea that will work for you, either as a full flushed out idea, or a springboard to get your creative juices flowing!

I appreciate the suggestions people have made the last year, and I have tried to incorporate some of them.  One that I recently added is what I am calling, “The Take Away,” which allows the viewer to see what the main idea of that week happens to be.  I hope you find it helpful!

Thank you for the work that you are doing, and the passion that you do it with!  The kids thank you for it!

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed week!

Pastor John Stevens
Zion Lutheran Church, ELCA
Oregon City, Oregon

52 thoughts on “Welcome”

  1. I appreciate what you do here. You inspired me to learn “the professor’s nightmare” with the rope a couple weeks ago. What a great tool for the tool bag. You are rockin’ it!

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  2. I used the lego plate springboard for the Children’s Message that went out today! Our congregation at First Congregational Church of Kent Connecticut is using YouTube to broadcast our services . The response has been wonderful – so many children and adults have heard and loved the Word this way. Thank you for your inspiration! You are helping us to rock it!
    God bless you!

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      • Hi John , I have been listening to your sermons over quite some time and have given me huge inspiration for preaching in our Anglo catholic church to the young congregation at our Sunday morning services. Thank you so much for all that you do for the church it is so much appreciated by many I know .I just I wanted to thank you so much for your massive input that I have found very inspiring.
        I am a self supporting priest in the diocese of Exeter U.K. during the week I make and restore stained glass, I have listed my website below.
        May God bless you for all that you do to forward the Church of God amen

  4. I am interested in learning the rope trick you did for the lesson on September 20. 3 different size ropes become the same length. Not sure where to ask that so I am asking it here. Thank you for your dedication to ministry. I appreciate you effort to share.

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  5. Love your Palm Sunday idea for a virtual procession. I watched your video and said “DUH, of course! why didn’t I think of that!” . Thank you for sharing your creativity. I pray blessings on your ministry and family this week! Pastor Jeff

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  6. LOVE THESE SPRINGBOARDS! I enjoy your ministry so much! I was looking for something to use for International Women’s day and didn’t find anything. Maybe I missed it or maybe its an idea for your future use!

    THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!

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    • No you didn’t miss it. Since I primarily do lectionary texts, I missed it.

      However this is what I’m thinking. One idea for a springboard:

      I would use a spool of thread. I have the spool in my shirt pocket and I use a needle, and getting a small end of the thread to stick out of my alb. It’s best if it’s an odd color and it stands out. It comes from the old practical joke where you have a piece of thread on the back of your jacket or shirt and someone tries to help you and they pull in the thread just keeps coming and coming and coming.

      You down and notice the thread and pick at it… so it starts to thread through.

      “You know… this reminds me of today. Many people forget how important women are through the Bible… but if we follow the thread you see they hold it all together. The Heroines of the Faith!”

      Each pull name a woman of the faith, and start to work in local women saints of the faith.

      I hope that helps some!

      Thank you so much for your kind words!

      – John

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      • We normally follow the RCL as well but this felt like a good week to think outside the box. I JUST did the thread thing! The kiddo was shocked when I had her pull at it! Love the idea of “thread” and being woven into the stories! Springboarded! Thank you!

      • We normally follow the RCL as well but this felt like a good week to think outside the box. I JUST did the thread thing! The nearest kiddo was shocked when I had her pull at it! I do love the idea of “thread” and being woven into the stories! Properly Springboarded! Thank you so much!!! You are too good!

        Shannon

        On Mon, Mar 2, 2020 at 9:42 PM Dollar Store Children Sermons wrote:

        > John Stevens commented: “No you didn’t miss it. Since I primarily do > lectionary texts, I missed it. However this is what I’m thinking. One idea > for a springboard: I would use a spool of thread. I have the spool in my > shirt pocket and I use a needle, and getting a small end of ” >

    • We normally follow the RCL as well but this felt like a good week to think outside the box. I JUST did the thread thing! The kiddo was shocked when I had her pull at it! Love the idea of “thread” and being woven into the stories! Springboarded! Thank you!

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  7. While we have someone else in the congregation who works tirelessly for the Children’s Sermon on a Sunday, I am tasked with having a chapel service for our preschool children every Monday morning. I cannot begin to tell you how often I have either used your ideas or found inspiration in them. Blessings on this wonderful ministry of yours!

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  8. Pastor John,
    I have been serving two small congregations in central Montana for the last year as an Lay Pastoral Assistant (LPA) where I lead worship and preach. Your ideas for children sermons have been a God-send for me. Thank you!

    Dick Deschamps, LPA
    Montana Synod

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  9. Love the little tissue pack idea for this Sunday: “Jesus Wept.” (Why’d they have to go and lengthen the shortest verse in the Bible!!??)
    Thanks for all the good ideas I find here.

    Blessings,
    Saul Stensvaag

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  10. Just wanted to add a big thank you for helping to get the creative juices flowing!
    Hope you have a blessed week too 😉
    Andy

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  11. John, I love your site and look at it all the time, always finding some good ideas. I did notice that when I listened to the selection for the regular lectionary this Sunday (February 28, 2016, 4th in Lent), you said the Gospel was the Good Samaritan and even referred to Jesus asking “Who is your neighbor?” But the text is actually Luke 15, the Prodigal Son. I’ve made the same slip myself (recently), confusing those two most famous parables of Jesus, but I thought you might want to correct your video. God bless your life and ministry in every way.

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  13. Your very creative work to relate a children’s sermon to an inexpensive object is very good. We have no children in our old church, yet I do a children’s “story” every Sunday for two reasons, first because it is always tied to the scripture passage and message coming soon after so it gives the adults a visual image and a summary to remember, which they say they appreciate, and because it is one way to create some buzz in the community that might help attract families with children. Regarding Sept 27, are you sure salt never looses it’s flavor? Apparently at some point, it’s only good for paving roads for ox carts and chariots. Another approach is that both air fresheners and salt can loose their “aroma,” yet salt having lost it’s taste can still kill plants. Air fresheners fade, salt fades yet remains lethal, but God’s love never loses it’s aroma and never looses it’s compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. God’s love goes the distance, all the way to reconcile us to God for eternity. Thanks again.

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    • Thanks! I will have to go back and check how I said it! 🙂 I didn’t mean to say it doesn’t loose its flavor but rather that salt is salt us salt… That it can’t not be salt.

      That being said, I like your take on it!!

      Thank you very much.

      John

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  14. Fantastic idea!
    In addition to listing the sermons according to the lectionary, I would love to see a list of texts and then the DS children’s message you created. Our pastors use sermon themes and choose Scripture references, i.e. do not follow the lectionary. Therefore I search for resources for creating children’s messages that connect went with a particular Scripture Reference. You might think about this!
    Judy E. Williams

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    • Judy,

      Thanks for the comment and the suggestion. That is a good idea, and one that I will look into. At this time you can search for particular texts in the text book. Helps if you search with quotes, “John 3:16″… and will come up with children sermons based on that text, if there are any. But I do like the idea of being able to see it all there.

      Thanks!

      John

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  16. In search for a children’s sermon, I came upon your blog. As a retired K teacher, I love your ideas. I do have a suggestion that may be helpful for those looking for a specific “sermon” or idea. Could you please post the “objective” or lesson that you will be trying to relay to the children. This would be beneficial when someone is looking and searching. Thanks so much for your help and your willingness to share your thoughts and ideas. Our children need to know God’s love and this is a special way in which to share. God bless.

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  17. Hi, there! As the lay person responsible for the Children’s Sermon every week at our tiny (14 pews!) country church, I truly enjoy your site. Even if I don’t do exactly the same thing, it’s easy to adapt an inspired idea to our small group of kids (and, given their age ranges – from 1 to about 4th grade, but mostly pre-K) – and that is saying something! Better yet, the kids go home and talk about what I did, and remember it… that, in turn, helps the parents to be able to reinforce the message during the week. They still talk about the magic tricks (they think I’m awesome when I do these!), and -interestingly enough- I adapted one of your ideas (the magnetic erase-tablet) to a small dry-erase board and spent a few minutes with them writing down all of the things I did wrong (said a bad word, lost my temper, dinner was late, etc., etc.). It was a good list and the kids were amazed that a GROWN-UP would admit to doing that many things wrong (I told them I was having a bad week! *grin*). Anyway, then I took the eraser and told them that, with forgiveness, God gives them a clean slate, every day – we get to erase all of the bad stuff and we get left gleaming white and clean. For about 3 weeks, every time I ran into one of the kids in town, they’d look at whoever they were with and “share” – “She said a bad word!” *laughing* Yes, but I got forgiven for it – that’s the important part! That’s the important part! Too funny! So, sorry this is so long, but I just wanted to share how much fun I have getting inspired by your messages (this week, the ladies deviated from the lectionary and are doing Matthew 25:35-40); I am using the mission message of sharing and my “prop” is a bag of Chips Ahoy – you can guarantee they are going to want me to share those! 🙂 Blessings! ~Chris

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  18. Thx for all the great sermons. My pastor asked if I was following the lectionary because I always read the same bible verse he has in bulletin. I told him about your site. He thinks its awesome! I wondered if u r going to continue? I certainly hope so! GOD BLESS YOU & YOUR MINISTRY!
    Debbie
    KCMO
    Gracemor Christian Church

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    • Thank you so much! Yes, I most assuredly will continue! I will be videoing the next 6 to 7 Sundays tomorrow. Hope to get this Sundays up today!

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  19. Hi John, you are providing a wonderful collection of ideas and resources and for that I want to say ‘thanks’ and encourage you in this ministry. I have found that your ideas are engaging the whole church family and not just the younger folks. Every blessing.

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  21. Hi John. I just discovered your blot and shared it with our children’s homilists. I’m a member of Mission of the Atonement in Beaverton, and my dad, many aunts and uncles, and roommate from PLU all attended Zion Lutheran back in the day. Thanks so much for doing this great blog–it’s a wonderful idea!

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