Gospel Centered Object Lessons
How can we capture the attention of our young people and communicate to them the truth of God's word? One of the best ways is with object lessons that can be used to illustrate biblical truth. Jesus was a master at using object lessons to teach about the Kingdom of God. "Behold the fowls of the air. They sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them... Behold the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matt 6:26-29) Objects catch the attention of our audience and allow us to draw parallels to spiritual truth. Of course, the greatest spiritual truth we can teach is the gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
Below are children's sermons that have been presented by Dr. Ken McNulty as part of the worship service at the Haverhill SDA church. Each sermon begins with a title, a theme, an object(s), and a Bible text. These are followed by notes that can be used in presenting the sermon. You are encouraged to modify these notes as necessary to connect with your particular audience and to make the children's sermon your own. No claim of originality is made for many of these ideas, only for the way they are presented. You are welcome to use these notes in your own preparation and presentation. You may want to keep the objects in a carry bag until the time they are displayed.
The children's sermons are given below with the reverse sequence date (yymmdd) so that the sermons appear in chronological order with the most recent at the bottom of the list. The title gives a quick clue about the subject. The date is often useful for finding a sermon that touches on a particular holiday. The files are in Microsoft Word format. Sometimes weeks will be skipped if the guest speaker has a children's sermon or if our church has a combined service with another church or at camp meeting time. After three or four years, the sermons can be repeated since the children grow up and move on.
May God bless you as you minister to the little lambs of your fold.
2015
150103 New Year - A Time to Know Jesus
150207 Pride Goes before a Fall
150228 What Makes Balloons Fly
150314 Saint Patrick and His Enemies
150411 Thermometer or Thermostat
150502 It's What's Inside that Counts
150718 Getting into Camp Winnekeag
151219 Candy Cane Bible Promise
2016
160123 The Gospel According to You
160220 Butterfly or Caterpillar
160402 Conversion - A Home Run
160514 Make Jesus Your Respirator
160806 He'll Keep You from Falling
160813 Beating the Heat on Judgment
160917 Four Hundred and Ninety
161001 Flying South in Formation
161015 Fight the Cavities of Sin
161231 Time to Say Yes to Jesus
2017
170107 Stay Connected to Jesus
170204 Super Bowl Sunday Again
170225 Temporary and Permanent
170422 Believe It or Not Supplement
170513 The Most Creative Job in the World
170520 The Glove of the Spirit
170701 Liberty and Justice for All
2018
180106 Keeping Your Resolution
180113 Two Boxes; Different Contents
180217 What's Your Reaction Time?
180303 The Helmet of Salvation
180317 Overcome Every Obstacle
181013 Look Where You're Going
181027 The Greatest Disguise in the World
2019
190112 Some Taken, Others Left
190413 Jesus Took Our Punishment
190511 Actions Speak Louder than Words
190608 The Twinkling of an Eye
190914 Our Intelligent Designer
191005 Thermostat or Thermometer
191109 The Devil and Duck Hunting
191123 Thanksgiving Mystery Word
2020
200118 The Fruit of the Spirit
2021
210313 Thermometer or Thermostat
210515 Compass a Reliable Guide
210612 Make Jesus Your Respirator