Children’s time – a brief lesson specifically targeted for preschool and elementary age youngsters – is an important part of the Sunday morning worship service in many churches today. But many of those who are called upon to provide these lessons feel too intimidated to write their own sermon material. Pastors, children’s ministry leaders, and Sunday school teachers who need fresh, exciting messages that captivate their young people will find that this collection of easy-to-prepare lessons is just what the doctor ordered. Geared toward the typical age range of the children’s time audience – toddlerhood to age 13 – Ping-Pong Words is a valuable sermon resource for anyone who presents children’s sermons or devotionals. Each of the 31 lessons is scripture-based and runs 3-5 minutes in length, and many include demonstrations using simple visual aids such as ping-pong balls, family pictures, a flashlight, and clothespins to illustrate common precepts in ways that clearly communicate God’s word to young ears, eyes, and hearts. The lessons are flexible and can be incorporated into a variety of churches and ecumenical settings. Appropriate for Sunday school, worship services, religious schools and day care programs, Bible clubs, and anywhere else where young people gather to learn about God, this volume is certain to earn a trusted place on the bookshelf. Marti Kramer Suddarth is an elementary schoolteacher and freelance writer who lives in Corydon, Indiana. Her stories and music reviews have appeared in several publications, including Heart-Stirring Stories of Love and Chicken Soup for the Shopper’s Soul, and she is the author of Mini-Musicals for Special Days (Contemporary Drama Service). Suddarth is an active member of Community of Hope Nazarene Church in Corydon, and she is a graduate of Oakland City University and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.
