Strange Place to Find Children's Resources

When you think of gathering material for Children’s Ministry, one does not think of looking to John Stott or someone connected to Charles Spurgeon. The picture that comes to mind is one with very deep messages using big words and heavy concepts that are hard for adults to understand not to mention children. Fortunately, I came across two gems when I was searching for resources for our next series on animals.

The first resource is written by John Stott called The Birds Our Teachers. It is a small book and I paid just over 11 dollars for it from Christianbook.com including shipping but it is filled with simple truths that are related to the behavior of birds. Stott was an amateur bird watcher and spent quite a bit of time obeying God’s command in Matt 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air”. He has 11 chapters where he ties either a trait of a specific bird or a general characteristic of birds in general to a biblical truth. Not to give away his thunder, he uses the fact of migration in certain birds and how they return to the same place year after year to our needing to repent and return to Christ after we sin. Simple enough for a child to understand but a profound lesson that anyone can benefit from considering. After reading some of his writing in Seminary, I was pleasantly surprised how accessible this book is and how easily it can be used for our Children’s Church.

The second resource is written by a preacher named Richard Newton (1813-1887). He was born in England but came to America early in his life. He spent most of his time in America in Pennsylvania with attending the University of Pennsylvania and pasturing there as well. He wrote a book called Bible Animals and Lessons Taught by them for Children. It is really a collection of 16 sermons that he preached to children on different animals that are found in the Bible. Again, instead of being too high-brow, he is gentle and speaks the language of children. It is easy to see why the great Charles H Spurgeon called him “The Prince of Preachers to the young”. For example, he teaches about the goodness of God by discussing the way the camel was distinctly made for walking in the desert for long periods of time. I do need to say that some of what he said about the physical makeup of the camel was incorrect and he continued the thought that in talking with the rich young ruler, Jesus used “eye of a needle” to mean a small city gate. While those are important, the greatest thing I received by reading his book is the lessons and insight he had to relate the animals to God’s truths.

One never knows from where great material will come. I hope these resources can help bring God’s big message to the little hearts to which we minister.