Dance!
Alright Backseaters, as we start this episode, I want you to show me your best dance move. GO ahead and let me see it! I’ll be dancing right along with you.
Wow! Incredible moves! Where did you learn to dance like that?
Did you know that dancing is not only fun but it can be used to worship God? That’s right! The Bible talks about dancing a lot. If you want to read some verses you can check out Ecclesiastes 3:4 or Psalm 30:11 or Psalm 149:3.
But today we are going to talk about King David dancing. You have probably heard of King David but have you heard of his dance moves? King David loved to dance and he wasn’t afraid to show it!
Now, he didn’t just dance to show off his dance moves, but he danced to worship God, to give God glory and he did it in response to how awesome he thought God was.
2 Samuel chapter 6 tells us the story of when King David brought the ark to Jerusalem. Now, this ark is called the ark of the covenant. NOT Noah’s ark. NOT A BOAT! The ark of the covenant was a special box that God told the people exactly how to make and it represented God himself being with the people. It seems a little strange to us today because we live in a different time where God’s Spirit can be with us anywhere, anytime. But it wasn’t always like this!
God’s presence, or just God being with His people centered around this box called the ark of the covenant. Okay, so the ark of the covenant was coming into Jerusalem and King David…oh man….he was SO excited. You know why? Because it meant God would be with them, close to them!
And guess what? David showed His excitement and praise and worship to God by busting out his BEST dance moves!
2 Samuel 6:14b tells us that David, “danced in front of the Lord with all his might.” Show me how you can dance with all your might like David.
NICE!
And David wasn’t the only one worshipping. EVERYONE was excited and worshipping God, it says! The next verse says that “the whole community of Israel helped him bring it up. They shouted. They blew trumpets.”
They all worshipped God in different ways, but King David is known for his dance moves in this story.
So, let’s talk about a few things… You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get us talking:
- What’s your favorite way to worship the Lord?
- Why do you think it’s important for you to worship God?
- What do you think is God’s favorite dance move?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “David danced in front of the Lord with all his might.” 2 Samuel 6:14b
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
All Nations
Last week our family visited Washington DC and had so much fun exploring all the sites and being in the city. We noticed that there are a lot of differences between Washington DC and where we live in Florida.
One major difference that was easy to see was how many different TYPES of people we saw. We saw people from all different countries from all over the world. It was easy to tell they were from a different country because they either looked different from us, dressed in different clothing styles or even spoke a different language.
The different languages was fun to hear as you’re walking past someone and they are speaking something they can understand but yet makes no sense to me! Anyway, the differences were fun to see and something to be celebrated.
But, it also makes me think how we are all the same in a lot of ways. I kept thinking about how Jesus loves each of us – no matter what we look like or where we are from or what language we speak.
Makes me think of the song, Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. It also makes me think of one of our favorite songs right now by Ellie Holcomb called “God of all nations.” We love her whole Sing album, but the song God of all nations reminds us that every language, every color…you and I are sisters and brothers.
Those songs help us remember the truth we hear from the Bible. “For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only Son, so whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Did you catch that? For God so loved the WORLD. Not just one country or type of person. So even though certain people might seem different from me, to God they are all loved the same! AND guess what? One day, when all believers are in heaven, it’ll be people from all over the world from all through time and we will all be united in God’s kingdom. How awesome will that day be?!
Okay friends, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get us talking:
- Do you know someone from a different country? Or maybe just someone who is different from you? Tell me their name.
- Okay, now let’s talk about how you and that person are the same. What are your similarities?
- Why do you think it’s important to know that God loves people from all over the world in every country?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
Why Should I Become a Christian?
This episode is a follow-up to the 'How do I become a Christian?' episode. If we don't understand the WHY behind the HOW then we're missing the whole point.
We talk about how because we are all sinners then we need Jesus! That's WHY we should ask Jesus to be Lord of our life and follow Him and His ways. An understanding of personal sin needs to come before a true commitment to following Jesus. Let's make sure our kids understand that they need Jesus because they are sinners, not becuase their parents tell them to or because they grow up going to church.
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
Second Coming
We talk a lot on here about how Jesus came to earth and died for our sins. But, did you know that Jesus is going to come back to earth some day?!
Yeah! He’s going to come back one day. But this time it’ll be different. This time He won’t be born in a manger with Mary and Joseph as his Mom and Dad. This time will be A LOT different.
I have to tell you up front that we don’t know EXACTLY all the details about how Jesus will come back, but we DO know He said He would come back so we can trust that it’s true.
We can look to the Bible for some clues about what it will be like when Jesus returns to earth. So, here’s what we DO know about when Jesus comes back again, which we also sometimes call His second coming.
We know he will come on the clouds. We know that every eye will see Him. That means every person will see Him with their own eyeballs. We know He will come with all of His angels – tons and tons of angels with Him. Oh, and there will be trumpets! Loud trumpets! (trumpet sound) AND we know that the only person who knows when all of this will happen is (drum roll) God, Himself.
Revelation 1:7a says, ”Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him…”
How cool is that?! Our God is so amazing that He can do all of those things – like come in the clouds with millions even billions of angels behind Him. With a trumpet call announcing His arrival so that all eyes on earth will look to Him and see Him. I REALLY want to see this because I think it’ll be the coolest sight ever!
And it will be for those who know and love Jesus! For those who don’t know Him or follow Him, though, it won’t be the best day ever. That’s because when Jesus comes back they won’t have time anymore to turn to Him. That’s why it’s important that we know and follow Jesus TODAY! We can’t wait to do that because remember….no one knows when He’s coming back. Only God knows that!
What if it’s today? Look up! Do you see Him in the clouds right now? What if it’s tomorrow? What if it’s when you’re 100 years old? Who knows?! Maybe it won’t happen in your lifetime. Maybe it’ll be in 10,000 years. Only God knows. But, we are told to live for Him right now and to be excited about the day when He comes back in this awesome way.
Okay friends, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get us talking about this:
- What are some things we know from the Bible about Jesus’ second coming?
- What are some questions that you might have about Jesus coming back to earth? There are plenty of things that we don’t know about this day! So what are some of your questions?
- How do you think you’ll respond if you see Him coming back? Would you jump for joy or find a trumpet to blow or maybe you’d hide not knowing what was happening or something else?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him…” Revelation 1:7a
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
Forgive and Forget
Does God forgive and forget? When we say, "God, please forgive me," we can magically erase His memory? Explore and ponder these questions with us!
Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins from us. He has removed them as far as the east is from the west.”
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
Love
Did you know there are lots and lots of different meanings for the word “love”? The Bible has A LOT to say about love. So much so that we don’t have time to talk about every Bible verse that mentions the word. In fact, the type of Bible translation that I’m using mentions love 551 times! Woah!
Here are a few major things I want us to know about God’s love though.
1 John 4:19 says that “we love because He first loved us.” God loved us first. He didn’t wait on us to love Him before He returned that love. He loved us before we were even born! And this verse reminds us that He Himself is the definition of love. We love because He first loved us.
And also, His love for us and our love for Him makes us do things. Sorta like how your love for a certain food makes you crave it or how your love for a friend makes you want to play with them. Another way to say it is that love is action. Love isn’t JUST a feeling, it makes us do certain actions.
Mark 21:31 tells us to love our neighbor as ourself. And 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 talks about what actions go along with love. Listen to this: “Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. Love never fails.”
Okay, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:
- How is God’s love different from other types of love?
- How do you know that God loves you?
- How can you show love to someone today?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual guidance to help you grow into the perfectly imperfect parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org
How do I become a Christian?
How do I become a Christian? This episode walks through the basic understanding required to pray and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. We must first start with our sin nature and our need to be forgiven. Then we look to the cross where Jesus died for our sins. Finally, we must ask Him to be in charge of our life and live out each day for Him with the help of His Holy Spirit.
This is a complicated subject for some kids and will likely require listening to other episodes to put all the puzzle pieces of understanding together for the big picture.
We are praying for you as you listen to this episode with your Backseaters!
Bathroom Humor in the Bible
One of the goals of this podcast is to get you interested and excited about God’s word. The Bible is important to our everyday life…when we submit or REALLY listen to God’s word it puts our heart and attitude in the right place to go throughout our day no matter what happens. God’s word is living and active, it’s powerful, as we’ve talked about before!
But today, I want to remind us that God’s has a sense of humor and we can find that when we look at details of the Bible. In fact, Hudson, my 8-year-old, found something he thought was super funny in the Bible the other day that made him laugh. Do you think it’s okay to laugh at something in the Bible? It is! I think God loves when we laugh and I think He especially loves when we are reading His word with enough attention to realize when something is funny!
Okay, so Hudson was reading in 1 Samuel 24 and this is where David is being chased by Saul because Saul wants to kill him. Listen to what it says and see if you can find the funny parts… “Saul returned from chasing the Philistines. Then he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So, Saul took 3,000 of the best soldiers from the whole nation of Israel. He started out to look for David and his men. He planned to look near the Rocky Cliffs of the Wild Goats. He came to some sheep pens along the way. A cave was there. Saul went in to go to the toilet. David and his men were far back in the cave. David’s men said, “This is the day the Lord told you about. He said to you, ‘I will hand your enemy over to you. Then you can deal with him as you want to.’” So David came up close to Saul without being seen and he cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.” That’s 1 Samuel 24:1-4.
Did you find anything sort of funny about that? First of all, I should say, there was nothing funny about this situation because Saul was trying to kill David and David was hiding for his life! Yikes!
But here’s what’s funny….if you are in to bathroom humor, which most kids are, right?! Saul has to use the toilet, he has to go to the bathroom. And it just so happens that he chooses to use a cave where David and his men are hiding. PU!!
And Hudson pointed out that Saul must’ve gone #2 if he was in there long enough for David and his men to discuss what was happening AND for David to sneak up and cut a corner of his robe off.
What in the world!? HAHA! Can you imagine? Have you ever snuck up on someone going to the bathroom? I wouldn’t recommend it. Stinky!!!
Anyway, this goes to show that when we pay attention to the details of God’s word - when we listen and really think about the details of what we are reading then it comes alive to us! These aren’t just made up stories! They are real life! And sometimes real life can be a little bit funny and make us laugh.
Okay, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:
- What did you find funny about that story with David and Saul?
- Why do you think God would include funny details like that in the Bible?
- Can you think of other funny stories or situations in the Bible?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “Saul went in to go to the toilet. David and his men were far back in the cave.” 2 Samuel 24:3b
Jesus was Lost
Have you ever been lost? If that’s ever happened to you then you know how scary and confusing it can be for everyone involved!
Well did you know that one time Mary and Joseph lost Jesus? I mean the most important child in the world was LOST! That’s right!
Luke 2:41-52 tells us about the time that Jesus was lost for 3 days. And this was way before they had cell phones to call people or text and ask if anyone had seen Jesus. They just had to go around asking and I’m sure Mary and Joseph were worried sick.
I love thinking about this story right after Christmas where we tend to imagine Jesus so peacefully sleeping in the manger almost like a fairytale. This story reminds us that Jesus lived a normal human life. Sure, He was the savior of the world and He wasn’t worried or scared when He was lost. But, it reminds us of that He was fully human. And that meant that things happened….like being lost. AND that God chose Mary and Joseph knowing full well that they would lose Jesus one day for a few days. Their parenting mess up didn’t disqualify them from being the perfect choice of parents to Jesus. And that’s reassuring to me as a parent, myself!
Okay, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:
- How did Mary and Joseph lose Jesus?
- How did Jesus respond to being lost?
- What do we learn about Jesus as a 12 year old boy through this story?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “Why were you looking for me? He asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2:49