Christmas Story Repeat
Jesus being born is a special story for everyone. For me and for you! The story of Jesus being born, the life he lived, and then eventually the death that he died on the cross was all for you. He came to this world for you!
This was such great news for every single person that even a big group of angels shows up praising God saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” in Luke 2:14.
I pray that when you hear the Christmas story, even if you’ve heard it before, that your heart explodes with worship for what God has done for each of us through Jesus.
So here are some questions to get us talking about this famous story. You can pause to discuss and as always, there’s no wrong answer!
1. If you had to be one character in the Christmas story, like if you could be Mary or Joseph or Jesus or an angel or a shepherd or a sheep or a wise man or anyone else in the story, who would you want to be?
2. What’s your favorite part of the Christmas story? Do you have a favorite detail?
One last time before we sign off, let’s practice this awesome verse together. You can repeat after me. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14
Backseat Bible Nuggets was created by me, Laura, a mom of 2 that wanted an easy tool to help refocus our hectic days. Our hope is that this helps every adult easily start Christ centered conversations with the kids in their life. We are so honored you listen and would love for you to leave us a review or better yet, spread the word. Let your friends know about this podcast! And as always, I’m praying that your backseaters grow deep roots as you go along the way.
Emmanuel
Emmanuel.
It’s another name for Jesus. In fact, it was a name given to Jesus like 700 years before Jesus was born! Did your parents name you 700 years before you were born?!
Mine didn’t!
You see, this time of year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus we have to remember something very very important. This birth had been planned since the beginning of time! That’s pretty crazy. Most ladies are pregnant with a baby for 9 months, but Jesus being born had been in the works for thousands of YEARS!
We know this because 700 years before Jesus was born a guy in the Bible named Isaiah said that a virgin would have a baby boy and they would name him Emmanuel.
Here’s the super cool part. Guess what Emmanuel means? If you know what the name Emmanuel means go ahead and tell me…
Emmanuel means God with us. And that’s just what happened when Jesus was born. God was with us through this little bitty baby who needed his mommy and daddy to feed him and bathe him and change his diaper. But then he grew and grew and became a man who told everyone about God and His ways and eventually died on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life with Him. Whew. What a life this miracle baby had!
He changed the world! Emmanuel…God with us. What a cool name.
What a cool God that He would want to come and be WITH US. He left heaven to come to us.
And if you’re anything like me you might think….why? Why would God want to come and be with ME? I can think of a lot better things He could be doing or cooler people He could be hanging out with. I mean, I make bad choices sometimes and mess up and I don’t always have the best attitude. Why would He want to be with me and not someone else?
Well, it’s all because He loves us no matter what…even the worst part of us. He loves you and He loves me so much that He wanted to be WITH US. Emmanuel.
Matthew chapter 1 tells us of the details about the birth of Jesus and says in Matthew 1:22 and 23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet: (who was Isaiah 700 years earlier) “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel.”
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:
- Emmanuel is another name for Jesus, but what does it mean?
- Why is it important that God wanted to be with us?
- How can you thank God for the gift of Jesus in coming to be with us?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel.” Matthew 1:23
For Parents: Jesus and Santa
Hey Parents! Have you ever wondered how to best approach and balance the topic of Jesus and the topic of Santa during the Christmas season? Well, after a BBN parent asked me about this, I have put together a special parents-only content bundle on this topic. It'll include some thoughts on the subject along with 4 suggested activties to get the conversation flowing and help you set the stage for you to have age-appropriate converstaions with your kids! It'll even include a beautiful and meaningful piece of digital artwork from Lauren Johnston Duncan (@laurenjohnstonduncan)! If you're interested in this content, please send your email address to @backseatbiblenuggets on Instagram or Facebook or [email protected]. Merry Christmas, y'all!
Thankful
We get to hear from some Backseat Bible Nuggets listeners today! They are going to share some of the things that they are most thankful for.
We have so much to be thankful for. And even if I don’t know you, I know that the Lord has surely blessed you with some special gifts in your own life. Can you think of some things right now that you’re thankful for?
The Bible tells us in the first part of James 1:17 that “every good and perfect gift is from God.” Every good and perfect gift is from God!
Those things that you can think of that you’re thankful for…they are all from God Himself. He loves you so much and He’s given you so much. Let’s thank Him together for those gifts that He’s given us.
Will you pray with me?
Lord, you are the giver of the good gifts in our life. It’s so cool that you love us like you do and that you give us things in our life that are awesome. Thank you for giving us the gift of salvation and eternal life through what you did on the cross. That’s the best gift! But I also thank you for things like family and friends, good food and sports and even beautiful things in your creation. It’s a gift to be able to talk to you like this in prayer. Help me understand just how much you’ve given to me and help me to continue to thank you for those good things every day. In your name I pray, amen.
Hey, now it’s your turn. I want you to talk with your people about the things you’re thankful for and THEN I want you to pray and thank God for those things! I’m sure He can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
Self Control (and screens)
Hudson talks to us about having self control with something he loves - screen time! Remember that self control is a fruit of the Spirit? And it's something that doesn't always come naturally to us. But as we walk and grow in the Lord, self control is something that God will develop in us just like a fruit growing on a tree or vine.
In this episode, we talk about the familiar Bible verse of 2 Timothy 1:7 that says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-control.”
Head vs. Heart
What's the difference between having head knowledge and having heart knowledge? In this episode, we explore the differences by using candy as a simple and fun example.
And is the head or the heart more important? This episode will teach you kids the importance of having heart knowledge of God and how the Lord values our heart more than our head knowledge (knowing lots of facts about Him).
The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
And in 1 Samuel 16:7 we find out that, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Knowing the difference between head versus heart knowledge is foundational to lifelong Christian doctrine.
Sad
Is God good even when I’m sad?
We had a very sad day in our family this past week and it made us wonder about this question. Is God good even on the sad days?
Our go-to prayer in our house before we start the day usually includes: “Lord, help us to have good days.” We pray that all the time! And it’s a great thing to ask of God. But what happens with it turns out to NOT be a good day? Does that mean God forgot about our prayer?
Well, I’m here to tell you, after our past week, that God is still good….so good…even on our sad days. There are lots of things in life that will happen as we go through our day, but none of them change anything about God. In fact, God hasn’t changed at all since the beginning of time. Can you imagine that?! Like you and I change every day. We grow taller, our hair gets longer, our fingernails need clipping, our brains grow bigger and understand more, the things we experience change as we get older. SO much change in our lives!
But God, the never-changing God, is the same yesterday, today and forever. That’s Hebrews 13:8.
And since our God never changes, we can be sure that He is good to us always. EVEN on the sad days. No matter how sad they might be.
And we can run to God in our sadness. Have you ever run to your mom or dad when you’re sad? You can run to God just the same when you’re sad! And He will meet you with open arms ready to listen to you and hug you in the best way. He’s really awesome like that.
Listen to this…Psalms 34:17-18 says that, “Godly people cry out, and the Lord hears them. He saves them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.”
I love that. He is close to those who hearts have been broken. Aw man, it can feel like our hearts have been broken sometimes. But this verse tells us that God is right there with you when you are sad!
Here are some questions that you can talk about with your people. You can pause after each question to discuss. And, like always…don’t overthink it! The point is to get talking about what we are learning about the Lord!
- Tell me about a time you were sad recently. What made you sad? How did it feel?
- Is God good even on the sad days?
- How do we know that God is good even when we are sad?
Let’s try and learn our verse together. You can repeat after me.
“The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.” Psalm 34:18
First Place
When it comes to raising confident and godly girls, YOU are the right mom for the job. But you don’t have to go at it alone!
A course called Helping Moms Raise Confident Daughters was developed by Terra Mattson, a licensed marriage and family therapist of over 20 years. Each Course includes:
Eight video lessons for moms like you, giving behind-the-scenes coaching on the mental, emotional, and physical world of your girl;
Conversation guides to foster deep discussions between you and your daughter; and a downloadable journal to spark a more intimate connection between you, your girl, and the Lord.
Visit cpguides.org to select your course today!
On the episode this week, we are talking about how most of us LOVE to win! First place is the best place, right?! Or is it? Find out how Jesus and God's kingdom views first place. This is a great episode for those super competitive kids in your life. But, it's also a great reminder of all of us that Jesus said, "So the last will be first and the first will be last." Matthew 16:20
Esther
How cool is it that there’s a story about a queen who loved God in the Bible? We just heard how brave she was to go to the king and ask for him to save the lives of the Jews. When Esther went to the King without him asking her to come she could have been killed! Kings were very serious back then with lots of strict rules!
In fact, Esther said this in the Bible: “I’ll go to the king. I’ll do it even though it against the law. And if I have to die, I’ll die.” Esther 4:16
Esther, trusting God and His plan, knew what she had to do to save the Jewish people. Even if it meant putting her life on the line. Wow! What bravery!
You can read more about Queen Esther in the Bible. She has a whole book in the Bible named after her for what she did!
Through the book of Esther, we see that God’s plan will always win. And we learn that He always takes care of His people. AND guess what? Esther’s story shows us that God has more power than any king or ruler.
So, here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss. Oh, and the point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!
- How do you think Esther felt when she had to be brave?
- Have you ever had to be brave and do something you were scared to do?
- For this last question, you might have to go and read more about Queen Esther to answer. But, in what ways did God honor her bravery? Like what happened to Esther after she did this for God?
Our verse today is Esther 4:16. You can repeat after me. “I’ll go to the king. I’ll do it even though it against the law. And if I have to die, I’ll die.” Esther 4:16