Delivering the Word To Kids – Preparation Stage

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:

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

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.