Bathroom Humor in the Bible

This is the 100^th episode of Backseat Bible Nuggets podcast! Woohoo!

This fun project that started 2.5 years ago aimed to help parents have Christ centered conversations with their kids in the middle of the busy and hectic schedules of life. And the Lord has been faithful to the idea that He gave me. HE has made this podcast grow. HE has planted seeds in the hearts of our children through it. HE has grown our confidence as parents to remind us that WE are equipped by His Spirit living in us to lead our kids to Jesus in daily conversations.

Surely, He has done great things! To God be the Glory!

Its also equally true that this podcast has never taken a break. Lots of podcasts break for certain seasons, but this one kept right on trucking. At one point we slowed the pace, but never a pause.

Well my friends, that day has come. Its time for Backseat Bible Nuggets to take a break and pause. Why? Well, because Im learning the importance of rest and Sabbath. Ive been a bit confused about resting in the past and while I knew it was Biblical, I guess I saw it as optional and something we COULD do on an as needed basis. This is in fact, not the case though! 

Isaiah 40:28 says God doesnt grow tired or weary. If this is the case, which it is, they why does God, from the beginning of time, show us what it means to have a rhythm of rest built in to our life? If sabbath rest is optional they why is it such a main point of Genesis 2:1-3 where it says that God rested from all of His work? Because He was tired? Well, no.not possible. And if God doesnt grow tired or weary as Isaiah tells us, then why do we see Jesus set a rhythm of retreat back to His Father? Why does Jesus often slip away from the crowd for a few moments? I think these examples point to the importance, the essential fact of needed rest. Not the option of it.

So, friends, thats what Backseat Bible Nuggets is going to do for now. Rest. It doesnt mean Ill take a nap every day, although I wouldnt complain! But it does mean there wont be new episodes for a while. Good news is that you now have 100 episodes to listen to, along with other great resources. 

Even better news is that by this point, I hope and pray youre seeing how the simplest most mundane daily occurrence is an opportunity to talk to your kids about Jesus. YOU can do it! YOU are the parent to your specific kids for a reason. YOU can speak to them best. YOU can minister to their hearts most successfully. Will you commit to do it? Will you daily ground yourself in Gods word so that you naturally overflow the gospel to your kids? It starts with you!

Youve got this Mama! Its gonna be great, Dad. And to the grandparents listening, we need your wisdom more than ever! I love yall and cant wait to catch up soon. But for now, Im going to take a rest.

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

John 10:28 talks about someone snatching something out of another persons hands. Now, Im just curious if youve ever snatched someone from someone before? Maybe your sibling had a toy that you wanted and you just grabbed it. How well did that go? It never goes well in our house when that happens. And let me guess, you hate it when someone else snatches something out of your hands, right? No one likes having something taken from them when it was theirs to begin with. And as parents we teach this lesson to our kids. Maybe youve already learned it!

Well since we know that having something snatched from us isnt the most enjoyable, Jesus clearly tells us that nothing can be snatched out of His hands. And guess whats in His hands? His children! He holds those who believe in Him in His hands. Those must be some BIG BIG hands!

John 10:28 is where Jesus says, I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

So thats saying that Jesus is the one who gives us eternal life when we believe in Him. And because we have eternal life, we wont ever die. Okay. But the second part of that verse is where Jesus says that once you believe in Him, youre in His hand, and nothing can snatch you out.

Like you cant fall out. You cant jump out. You cant get lost and wander out. And this is a huge deal because Hes talking spiritually. Meaning once we give our heart to Jesus, nothing changes that. Itll always be safe and secure in His hands. Isnt that awesome. It brings such confidence and comfort to know that He has me forever and ever and Im protected in His hands as His child.

Lets talk about some questions today. Remember, dont overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing.

1.     Who are the people in Gods hands?

2.     Who would try to snatch anything out of Gods hands?

3.     If you have given your heart to Jesus, how does it feel to hear that nothing can snatch you out of His hands?

Lets practice our verse one last time before we go. You can repeat after me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

There is a lot of amazing content out there, so Christian Parenting did all the sorting and filtering for you and put together a resource to help you navigate it all.

Discipleship Simplified is a digital guide that includes some of the best articles, podcasts, and videos on topics like:

· Faith at home

· Reading the bible

· Theology

· Prayer

You will also find conversation guides and discussion starters. Even scripts to use with your kids.

You can go to www.cpgive.org to download your copy for just $5!

Our family loves to play Monopoly, especially my 9 year old. And if youve ever played this game you know that there are times where you have to go to a spot on the gameboard that is the jail. And when youre in jail, in the game, you lose your turn until youre free from jail. In order to get out of jail, you need to draw a card that says Get Out of Jail Free. This is the best card because it gets you back in the game and moving along with the other players.

This game of monopoly shows us something spiritually. We can think of our sin, that all humans are born with, as a type of jail. Our sin can keep us trapped, in a sense. We cant get out on our own. And it ultimately keeps us separated from God.

If we were playing monopoly we would keep hoping and hoping we would draw one of those cards to get us out! And guess what? When Jesus came, He came to get us out of that sin jail. He came as the Son of God. He came to live the perfect human life. And He came to die for our sins to offer us forgiveness from our sins. THEN He came BACK to life, winning over sin and death and showing that He will forever and always be the winner of LIFE both today and for always.

Jesus did all of this so that we could have forgiveness from our sins, which is like our Get Out of Jail Free card. Its through the forgiveness of our sins that we can have a relationship with Jesus both today and then forever in heaven with Him. But instead of waiting and just trying to get lucky by drawing the right card, in a sense, Jesus offers this forgiveness to everyone who accepts it. Isnt that amazing? Its a free gift that gets you out of that sin jail! Have you ever heard better news!?

Psalm 86:5 says, You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you.

 Lets talk about some questions today. Remember, dont overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing.

1.     How do you respond when you think about Jesus forgiving your sins?

2.     If Jesus is willing to forgive your sins, how do you think He wants you to treat others?

Lets practice our verse one last time before we go. You can repeat after me. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, - abounding in love - to all who call on you. Psalm 86:5

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

Episode 1: Christmas Story

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 youve 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, theres 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.     Whats your favorite part of the Christmas story? Do you have a favorite detail?

One last time before we sign off, lets 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, Im praying that your backseaters grow deep roots as you go along the way. 

Episode 2: Emmanuel

Emmanuel.

Its 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 didnt!

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! Thats 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.

Heres 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 thats 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! EmmanuelGod 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 youre 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 dont always have the best attitude. Why would He want to be with me and not someone else?

Well, its all because He loves us no matter whateven 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 alwaysdont overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:

1. Emmanuel is another name for Jesus, but what does it mean?
2. Why is it important that God wanted to be with us?
3. How can you thank God for the gift of Jesus in coming to be with us?

Lets 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

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

www.BackseatBibleNuggets.com

John 5:17 says, Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.

Did you know that God never takes a day off? He doesnt stop working on the weekends or certain days. He is always with us every minute of every day. He never has a day where He gets sick and has to cancel plans. Did you know that God never stops working?

Psalm 121:4b says that the Lord will neither slumber or sleep. He never gets too tired and has to take a nap or go to bed early. He never even has to sleep which means no matter what time it is, He is there and He is doing something. He never stops working. His powerful plan for your life and for the world is always right on track since God doesnt look away or close His eyes for a second.

He is always working.

What does that mean for us? Well, it means we can take comfort knowing that our Lord is open for business whenever we need Him. It also means that we can trust that He never changes. He wont forget us. He wont get tired of working and quit. Jesus said in John 5:17 that My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.

Who is Jesus father Hes talking about there? Can you yell it out?

Its GOD! Thats right!

Jesus, when He was walking on earth in his human body, certainly had to sleep and stop working because He was too tired. But remember that Jesus and God and united in something called the Trinity, which we have another episode about that you can check out. But that means that even if Jesus took a nap, God was always still working forever and ever. He never stops working. He has energy forever and ever and ever and never runs out.

Lets talk about 2 questions today. Remember, theres no wrong answer, so dont overthink it! The point is to get conversation flowing:

1.     First question: Is there anyone you know, besides God, who never has to sleep?

2.     Why is it important to know that the Lord never stops working?

Lets practice our verse one last time before we go. You can repeat after me. Jesus said to them, - My Father is always at his work - to this very day, - and I, too, am working.- John 5:17

Backseat Bible Nuggets is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To find practical and spiritual advice to help you grow into the parent you want to be visit www.ChristianParenting.org

www.backseatbiblenuggets.com