Sermons for Youth – Addressing The Challenges Of Preaching To Teenagers

Sermons for youth can change the hearts of youth for the 21^st century. Today’s youth have many negative influences pressing against them every day. TV shows portray alcohol, foul language, violence, and sexual perversion as a normal part of life. Youth face heavy peer pressure at school to experiment with drugs and other harmful substances. Cell phones, social networking, and video games are great, but many of our teenagers are consumed with technology today. Despite all of the challenges we face today, it is still possible to get the attention of the teenagers in your youth group.

Here are some ways you can reach the teenagers in your church with your sermons for youth:

Utilize humor in your sermons

There is nothing wrong with including humor in your sermons. Today’s youth want to be entertained, and this is a great way to start your sermon. If you have a large youth group, have some of the youth put together a short skit to begin the sermon. See if someone in the youth group loves making videos. Put together a short funny video to begin the sermon. It doesn’t have to be something that is long and drawn out. Let the youth use their creativity to come up with something funny. This builds relationships within the youth group, and it keeps the youth engaged.

You can also start sermons for youth groups by telling a funny story. This is a great way to take a funny story and tie it to the message for the day. This works with adults too. People don’t always remember facts and figures, but they remember stories. Everyone loves a great story. Don’t be afraid to tell a story to begin your sermon.

Embrace technology in your sermons for youth groups. Do not avoid it!

Don’t be afraid to show video clips in your sermons. As technology has improved, it is getting less and less expensive to own video equipment. It does not cost tens of thousands of dollars to install a video projector in the youth room. If the youth have a Bible on their phone, they should be allowed to use it during the sermon. Create a Facebook page for the youth group, and make sure that all the youth on Facebook are connected to the page. Send out a regular email to the youth with all of the events going on during the week.

Hold contests and fun games during the youth service to get the youth to come.

Not all parents force their teenagers to go to the youth meetings. If you send weekly emails to the youth group, use these emails to promote fun games or contests you will have at the youth service. The first goal in youth ministry is to get the youth to the youth services!

Give regular altar calls in your sermons for youth groups.

Youth need to be challenged at the end of the youth service. 80% of people make a decision for Christ before their 18^th birthday. You should give a call to salvation at the end of many of your sermons. Don’t just stop at the salvation call. Some of the youth in your youth group are being called into full-time ministry. When you are preaching your sermons for youth groups, challenge them to answer God’s call to go into full-time ministry.

Sermons For Kids – Great Ideas To Reach Children For Christ

One of the toughest challenges for children’s pastors and youth pastors is trying to come up with sermons for kids.  Children and teenagers have a short attention span, as their minds are more concerned about television, music, and having fun.  We have to learn how to engage their minds in our sermons right away!  Make the teenagers turn off their cell phones and threaten to take them if they go off.  Make sure that the kids are not talking and that they respect you as the speaker.  

What message do you want to communicate to the kids?  How do you persuade the youth to get serious about Christ?  How do you get them to focus on you for 20 minutes?  These are tough questions!  I recommend adding a lot of variety to your sermons.  Some of your sermons should start with a funny video.  Other sermons for kids could start with a serious video.  Maybe you could start your sermon with a game.  Start your sermon by grabbing the attention of your youth.  

There are several great sermons for kids you could preach today.

Sermons on Love

Children and adults want to be loved.  Today’s society has distorted the meaning of love.  If you consider how much time today’s teenagers spend watching TV and surfing the internet, it is easy to understand why teenagers are confused about love.  We have to constantly remind our youth about the real meaning of love.    Sermons on love will teach youth and adults about true love.  Most youth think that love is just a feeling and get love and infatuation mixed up.   There are many great sermons on love that you can find online. 

Sermons about Jesus

Everyone loves listening to stories.  Tell a story about Jesus to start your sermon.  Try to be creative.  When you are preaching sermons for kids, you could have a few youth perform a short skit about a real story that occurred in the Scriptures.  If you are preaching to a group of youth that includes many unsaved youth, then any sermons about Jesus should work great if you work in a few stories into your sermon. 

Sermons on Faith

It is never too early to teach sermons on faith.  Some of your sermons for kids should focus on faith issues.  Youth often have greater faith than adults because they have not experienced many of life’s hardships.  Teach your kids how to have faith in the small things in life.  Kids can pray for faith that they will pass tough tests at school.   Teenagers can build their faith by praying for money for mission trips.  There are many examples of great sermons on faith.

Sermons on Prayer

Prayer is one of the cornerstones of your faith.   When you are preaching sermons for kids, you should focus on preaching several sermons on prayer.  If you can instill a prayer life in the teenagers in your youth group, they are less likely to fall away when they become adults.  

There are many sermons for kids you can preach to your youth.  Many of the same sermons you preach to adults should be preached to children too.  Since most youth have a shorter attention span than adults, you have to find creative ways to reach the youth for Christ with sermons for kids.