Be an Active Sermon Listener

In this post there are some specific helps for this Sunday's sermon and some general helps for any Sunday.

SPECIFIC HELPS FOR THIS SUNDAY

• Read: Romans 10:4-13 together before Sunday.  Read through it a couple of times.
• Illustration Discussion:  What needs to happen for someone to get into a zoo or amusement park?  What needs to happen before your answer to the last question?  (For example:  someone needs to buy a ticket or pass.  What needs to happen so a ticket can be bought? and so on.)
• Draw:  Have your child use the back of the sermon note page to draw a picture.  Here is an example.

• Listen:  Listen for, think about and talk about these three words and how they are related
• Righteousness
• Incarnation
• Resurrection
• Think:  Think about and write down ACTION words
• What does God do?
• What does Jesus do?
• What should man do?

GENERAL HELPS FOR ANY SUNDAY

Help Your Child Become an Active Sermon Listener from Children Desiring God  - Click HERE for free brochure.

Help your child to focus on the sermon by quietly whispering instructions to him (i.e. “Listen to this story”, “Can you draw a picture of...”) This is not a time of long instruction, but just very short statements to focus his attention. It is also not a time for your child to whisper back to you. Encourage a younger child to listen to the sermon and to draw a picture of something from the sermon. This should not be seen as a time for doodling, but for active listening. If your child is very young and has a hard time sitting for a long time, after he has listened to the sermon for a while, you may want to let your child look at small, non-distracting Bible storybooks. 

As your child gets older and learns to write, model for him how to take simple notes. Let him copy your notes at first; eventually encourage him to take his own notes. For notetaking, use a My Church Notebook from Children Desiring God or a spiral notebook that is specifically for Sundays. 

Put together a tote bag for your child to use specifically in church. Inside you may want to include some of the following items: small Bible storybooks, a pad of paper or notebook, the Fighter Verses Coloring Book or other Bible story coloring books, and Crayola Twistable™ crayons or colored pencils.