Part of the “Delivering the Word To Kids” Series
Preparation is the key to so many different facets of delivering a great message. I know everyone has their own preparation routines. I am going to share with you mine. I use these both in speaking to children and adults. Whatever you decide to do, make sure its a system you can work.
1) Pray
Here’s a novel idea, lets ask God for His help in delivering His powerful message. Here are some of the things I’ll ask God for.
- Boldness and confidence
The disciples prayed for it in Acts 4:29, we might ought to do the same. - Creativity
I like to say “I AM a creative genius because the creator lives in me”. - The right words
In Ephesians 6:19 Paul asks the Ephesians to pray that he would have the right words and would say them boldly. - God’s power on my words
Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 2:4. - Confirming miracles to my preaching
Mark 16:20 says the disciples did the preaching and God did the miracles. I want to do the preaching and let Him perform miracles. - I will also pray the Ephesians prayers over my self, fellow teachers, and students. (here and here)
- I’ll ask God to bring anything to my memory that may help with this message.
2) Study
This one should be a given, but often I can plainly see that its not. I like to look over the lesson ahead of time whether it is a curriculum or something I wrote.
3) Meditation
Joshua 1:8 (NLT) says:
This word in Hebrew means to muse, mutter, utter, devise, plot, speak and to imagine. So what I do is take all the scriptures pertaining to the topic and begin to muse, mutter, utter, devise, plot, speak and imagine them. I see how they fit together. I check other versions and translations. I even look at commentaries and concordances. I even get ideas from looking at Hebrew and Greek meanings.
4) Think
I spend time thinking about ways to make it funny, personal, and easy to understand. I think about what God wants the kids to get from the day’s sermon. What do we want them to do? I will think of ways I can interact. I make time to think and I expect results.
5) Rehearse
I sometimes will actually make a dry run through what I am going to say. More times than not, I don’t go through the whole thing word for word. I NEVER MEMORIZE ONLY FAMILIARIZE. I look over all my notes and add anything that needs added, highlight lines and cues, etc.
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