Children’s Sermon May 16
Title: Choosing God’s Way
Theme: How to choose a godly leader
Object: a baseball bat
Scripture: And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Acts 1:26
Good morning, kids!
Did you ever play a pick-up game of baseball? That was always a lot of fun when I was a kid. One of the toughest decisions was deciding who would be the two captains. And then…we had to decide who would pick first to make the teams.
We could have played rock-paper-scissors, or we could have flipped a coin if anyone had one. Instead, we’d often toss a bat. The two captains would have to use their hands to work their way up to the knob on the end of the bat. Whoever could place their thumb over the end first was the winner and could make the first pick for teams.
Seems like a silly way to make choices, doesn’t it? Could you imagine picking a church leader like that? Well, the Bible says that is how the early church picked the 12th disciple after Judas fell away. Instead of tossing a bat, they cast lots to decide between a couple of good candidates.
This wasn’t just some random choice. Before casting the lots, the disciples prayed, “24You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” (Acts 1:24-25)
When they cast lots, they believed that God was working through that event. And God did. Sometime, if you are stuck and can’t make a decision, pray, and trust that God will show you the answer. He will
© Randall J. Forester, 2021
