Children’s Sermon April 18

Title:   Dare to Rise
Theme: Always allow God to help you to stand
Objects: a picture of a small child who has just fallen.
Scripture: Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.

Micah 7:8

Good morning, kids.  What do you think happened to the boy in the picture below?  Why do think it happened?  The path looks smooth.  The bike looks like it should be in good shape.  The weather is nice.  How could he fall?  (Wait for answers.)  That’s right—he’s young and learning how to ride a bike.

Does anyone here know what it means to fail?  We all do, right?  Sometimes, we’re not able to do a new thing right the first time.  It might mean that we sin—we don’t do the right thing when we should.  Part of being human is learning what it means to fail.  No baby walks correctly the first time.  Everyone makes mistakes, stumbles, and falls. 

So, how do we get anything right if we all fail at some point and not just once or twice?  Well, we learn from our failures.  We learn what not to do, or how to do things better.  Failure teaches us a lot of things.  We shouldn’t be afraid to fail, or we would never discover what new things we can do—maybe, we might even be the first to do something or discover something.

We should never be afraid to fail.  Otherwise, we’d all be crawling around on the floor instead of walking.  With God, we find forgiveness, grace and mercy when we fail.  We are forgiven and are given the opportunity to start over again.  That’s why Micah tells his enemies not to gloat over him because he knows he will rise after he falls.  He can do this by God’s power of forgiveness.

Even when it’s dark and there seems no way out, he knows God’s light will come.  That’s our faith.  People who learn these lessons early on are destined for great things because they are always growing and learning.  They bounce back, and they keep climbing upward.

Dear Holy Spirit, bless these kids.  When they stumble and fall, forgive them and strengthen them to rise again.  When they feel lost and in the dark, O Lord, be the Light that leads them onward and upward to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

©Randall J. Forester, 2021