Backseat Bible Nuggets

We recently saw the second Boss Baby movie in the theater. And one of the characters, Armstrong, asked a very good question during the movie. He said, “why do parents get to be in charge anyway?” 

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The Bible tells us in Romans 13:1, “All of you must obey those who rule over you. There are no authorities except the ones God has chosen. Those who now rule have been chosen by God.”

In other words, our parents, teachers, etc. have been put in charge by God. And that means that we must obey them! God chose your parents. He chose your teacher. He chose the people who are in charge. So we must respect them and honor them. We must listen to them and obey them. 

A few verses later in Romans 13 it says that those who are in charge or that “rule over you,” as the verse said, have someone in charge of them too. They are serving God! They are responsible to God, who has ultimate authority and rule over them and really over everything. 

 Two last thoughts on this:

1.     I actually WANT God to be in charge of everything. Life goes so much better than way! So whomever God puts in charge of me, I want to honor and respect because God put them there and His plan in the best plan.

2.     The earlier I learn to respect and obey those who are in charge, the earlier I learn to respect and obey God. And this is something that even adults struggle with! But, God gave us people on earth to help us learn authority. It’s all in a practice to teach us how to respect and obey God as the ultimate ruler of our lives.

So here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     Give some examples of people who are in charge of you or who have authority over you.

2.     How should you treat those who are in charge?

3.     Why should we respect, honor and obey those who are in charge? Or in other words, why do parents get to be in charge anyway?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice the first half of our verse. Romans 13:1a. You can repeat after me. “All of you - must obey - those who rule over you. There are no authorities - except the ones God has chosen.” 

*Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donations

Okay, I know it’s middle of summer and it’s HOT! But let’s talk about snowflakes. Have you heard that every snowflake is different? There are never two that are exactly the same. I always think that’s so cool to think about! But even cooler than snowflakes is the fact that there are never two people who are alike either. Our great God is such a magnificent creator that He never runs out of ideas and since the beginning of time has made each and every human unique. Not like anyone else. 

Think about that. There has never been anyone JUST like you. And there never will be anyone JUST like you. YOU are the only YOU that there will ever be! 

The Bible tells us that God knit us together in our Mama’s belly. I always love to think of God literally making me piece by piece in just the exact way He wanted me to be made. It’s like He’s sitting at His craft table with the supplies…paper and scissors and glue and glitter and crayons and …well, you get the point. ALL the supplies you could dream of! And He knows just where He wants each piece to go on each person. He doesn’t mess up and have to redo it. Even what WE might think of as a mistake, isn’t. He fully planned on making you in that way! No mess ups. No need for redos.

Even His timing of WHEN and WHERE He made you is unique. He didn’t make you 1,000 or 100 years ago, no He made you to be born on the EXACT day you were born. He wanted you to be alive in 2021 listening to this podcast just like you’re doing now! And ever further, He wanted you to live WHERE you are living in the world right now. Your exact neighborhood is unique – just for you! He makes no mistakes even in the details! 

Acts 17:26b says that “he decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live.” So this means that God, Himself, said I want YOU to live now and in this exact spot. The exact place you are now living. No mess ups. No need for redos.

But why would He go to all that trouble? I mean it’d be a lot easier if He just had one big God-sized cookie cutter to make people out of. And we’d probably all end up looking like gingerbread men and women. Then He could make people in big batches, right? 

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So when we think about God making us piece by piece when He was creating us in our Mom’s belly, He wasn’t just using a cookie cutter. He was taking His time putting each piece and detail together. You’re not just any ole cookie, are you?! How awesome and exciting is it that God created you piece by piece, uniquely YOU, to live today and put you in the exact place where you are right now? 

And if He went to ALL the trouble, then He has GREAT and EXCITING plans for your life. He’s got mighty adventures ahead of you! Adventures that can have eternal impact – that means your adventures could change things forever. Wow!

When you start to understand how He planned out and created every detail of your life, then you can start to get excited about what that means for His plans for your life.

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1.     What does it mean in Acts 17:26b when it says He determines exactly the time and place that we should live?

2.     How did God make you unique or special?

3.     How can God use YOU in the exact places in which He’s placed you? Like your neighborhood, school, friends, etc. How can He use you there?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice Acts 17:26b together. Since we are only focusing on the second half of the verse, that’s why we say “b” after the verse reference. That let’s us know it’s just a portion of the verse. You can repeat after me. Acts 17:26b “he decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live.” Acts 17:26b

*Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donat

Invisible. You know, when you can’t see something with your own two eyes but  you know it’s there. It almost sounds like a super power. Like if I was playing hide and seek and could suddenly make myself invisible, how cool would that be? I’d win every time! 

While I don’t see myself being able to become invisible any time soon, there ARE things in our world that are invisible. Can you think of some things that are invisible? 

What about God? Is He invisible? Humm. That’s interesting to think about. Right now, if you wanted to, could you see God with your own two eyes? The answer is tricky. The simple answer is “no.” The more complicated answer is “no, but I can see EVIDENCE of Him.”

What does THAT mean?! Sounds confusing, but the Lord has actually given us a great example of this to help us understand. When we think of God being invisible I like to think of it like the wind. Can you see the wind? No. Do you know that the wind is real? Sure! Can you tell where the wind is blowing? Definitely. The wind is an invisible force that can pack a power punch in a storm or it can be gentle and refreshing at other times. 

Do you believe in the wind? Hah, okay that’s a silly question. Who doesn’t believe in the wind? We can’t see it, but we know its there. We’ve never wondered if it was real or not because we can SEE what the wind can do. In other words, we can see the evidence of the wind. We can feel it blowing our hair. We can see it waving in the trees. We can even hear it with our ears sometimes. We can’t SEE the wind itself, but we can certainly feel it and see the effects it has on everything when it’s blowing.

This is how our great God is! Though we cannot see Him, we can feel Him and see what He is doing around us if we are looking. We shouldn’t wonder whether or not He’s there just because we can’t see Him, just like we shouldn’t question whether or not the wind is real just because we can’t see it or touch it....

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Romans 1:20 tells us “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” 

That verse is longer than we normally have but it’s packed with so much great truth!  Romans 1:20 is telling us that ever since God created this big beautiful world, everything that we can see and experience and enjoy all point to who He is and actually helps us to understand Him. So next time you see, feel or hear the wind think about God and how He is like the wind!

Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What does the Bible tell us about God being invisible?

2.     How is God like the wind?

3.     Do you think its cool or confusing that God is invisible to us? And why?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice Romans 1:20b together. Since it’s a pretty long verse we are going to just say the middle half, which I why we say “b” after the verse reference. That let’s us know it’s just a portion of the verse. You can repeat after me. “Through everything God made, we can clearly see His invisible qualities.” Romans 1:20b

You’ve been listening to Backseat Bible Nuggets. A podcast for kids about God’s great love for them and His written word. Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. We’re honored you listened and pray deep roots grow in the lives of your backseaters as you go along the way.

Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donation

Let’s talk about opposites. The opposite of hot is….COLD! The opposite of sad is….HAPPY! The opposite of good is….BAD!

God, who represents all things good, has an opposite who is bad and is an enemy of God. This bad guy is named Satan or the devil. And while he has limited powers, he is still a bad guy who we need to talk about. He’s very sneaky. And his #1 goal is to trick people and lead them away from God. Opposite from God. 

Satan is the one who made himself look like snake when he went to Eve in the garden of eden. He slithered over to her and told her that she should eat from the tree, the one tree that God told Adam and Eve NOT to touch. He kept talking to her until he convinced her to try the fruit. She did and so did Adam. In this moment, something called sin entered the world. You see, before that moment, everything had been perfect and heavenly. But after that rule was broken, nothing would ever be the same. Adam and Eve were sent away from the garden, separated from God because of their sin.

You see, God is perfect and has never made a mistake. He is a holy king. And because of His holiness, He can’t stand sin. I don’t mean like when you eat a food and say “ugh, I can’t stand that!” No, God himself is the complete opposite of sin. They will never be close to the same. 

Anything that is opposite from God can be called sin. The Bible tells us that we are all born sinners. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means that EVERYONE, even your parents or pastor or someone you look up to, sins. No one is perfect. And we ALL fall short of the glory of God. Meaning that none of us can even come close to God’s perfection and His holiness.

So you see, when Adam and Eve messed up and sinned there were HUGE consequences that happened and they were really sad about it. But God had a plan!

Now, this plan might sound a little strange, but we can talk later about how it was actually the perfect plan. The plan was to send Jesus, His only son, who would die to save us from our sin, all the bad in us. And through Jesus we would be able to be with God again one day, just how Adam and Eve had been with Him in the garden.

God’s plan worked perfectly and it’s still working today!
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So remember next time you’re tempted to do something that is opposite from what God would want you to do, that it’s probably a trick from the enemy and that you have weapons that God has given you to fight sin! Ask Him for help!

So here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What is sin?

2.     What is an example of sin in your life?

3.     What should we do when we find ourselves sinning?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice Romans 3:23 together. You can repeat after me.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

You’ve been listening to Backseat Bible Nuggets. A podcast for kids about God’s great love for them and His written word. Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. We’re honored you listened and pray deep roots grow in the lives of your backseaters as you go along the way.

Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donations

In our last podcast, we talked about prayer and how it’s really not that complicated. It’s just having a conversation with Jesus! But we kinda need to stop and pause because while it IS just that simple, it’s also very different from talking to someone you can see.

Well, you’re not alone if you wondered to yourself…hum, but how can I talk to someone who I can’t see? Or how will I know if He’s even listening? 

I want you to know that it’s great to ask questions like this because God WANTS to answer your questions! Plus this is how we learn together and better understand these things that can sometimes be very confusing. AND these are questions that plenty of people have had since the beginning of time. 

In fact, let’s go all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve (the 2 first people ever created) walked around with God and actually had back and forth conversations. Their relationship and conversations with God looked very similar to how you’ve talked and interacted with people around you today. Adam and Eve would talk and God would respond and back and forth it would go. Imagine all the things they talked about!

But then, Adam and Eve broke the one rule God gave them, sin changed everything, and they were sent away, being separated from God. 

But God…He didn’t give up there. In His perfect kindness and deep love for us, He didn’t stop listening and talking to us altogether. Even though we all mess up, just like Adam and Eve did, God doesn’t get mad and give us the silent treatment. You know the silent treatment where one person gets mad at the other and says, “I’m not talking to you ever again!” God loves us way too much to ever say that. And because of that, we can be confident that He is ALWAYS listening when we pray to Him.... 

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Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What does it mean that prayer is like a conversation? 

2.     Do you find it hard or difficult to pray to God? If so, why?

3.     How do we know that God hears us when we pray to Him?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice 1 John 5:14 together. Repeat after me. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14

 You’ve been listening to Backseat Bible Nuggets. A podcast for kids about God’s great love for them and His written word. Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. We’re honored you listened and pray deep roots grow in the lives of your backseaters as you go along the way.

Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donations

What was your first word when you were a baby? Was it Dada? Or Mama? Or supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Okay, probably not that. BUT from an early age, even as babies, we are born with a desire to talk. We want people around us to know what we are thinking or feeling. This is why babies cry, right? Even before a baby can say a single word they want to let others know when they are happy or mad or sad.

Think of toddlers. Maybe you know a toddler and I bet you wouldn’t describe them as very quiet and having very few things to say. No, most children of any age really like to talk and be loud. And even if some of our friends listening struggle with putting sounds and words together, they probably have their own special way of showing those around them what they think and feel.

This is how we are wired as humans! It’s our instinct from day 1 of our life to communicate. So let’s talk about how that relates to prayer.

Praying is simple. It’s just talking to God. Just like you talk to your family members or your friends, it’s just like that when we pray to the Lord. In fact, prayer is sorta just a fancy word for having a conversation with Him. There are no magic words that are needed when we pray. And there is no right or wrong way to pray to Jesus. The only way we can mess up praying is by NOT doing it at all. Think of it this way: Who’s taking care of you today? No matter who is it, think of who is in charge of making sure you have food and clothes today? Okay. Now, what if you didn’t talk to them at all. All day. OR what if you ONLY talked to them for a minute or two before a meal or before bedtime. It wouldn’t make sense would it?! That would be silly and kinda just weird to be with someone all day but only talk to them for a brief moment at certain times.

So, why do we pray this way? Some people think we are only supposed to pray before a meal or maybe right before we go to bed. While those are great times to pray, so are the other 1,440 minutes that are in your day! Yep, there are 1,440 minutes in a day (assuming you stay up all night, which I would NOT recommend!) and so that means that there are plenty of opportunities to talk to God during your day.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray continually.” That’s our verse! Just 2 words! Let’s hear it again, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually.” You might be wondering what continually means. It means… always happening, constant. In other words, pray without ever stopping.

Wait. Does that mean that we are supposed to sit around and pray all. Day. Long?! What about my toys I love? Or games with friends? Or crafting? or sports?  No, no, no. Go back to thinking of prayer as talking to God. Do you talk while you are playing with your favorite things? Sure you do! And so we can also pray while we are doing other things!

We can pray out loud while we are doing our favorite activity or we can just say it in our head, silently. We can say long prayers as we think of different things or we can say short quick prayers. We can thank Him for things AND we can ask Him for things. Remember, it’s a just conversation between you and God! And 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is telling us to never stop having that conversation.

Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What do you think prayer is?

2.     What does the Bible tell us about prayer? What did the verse say that we talked about?

3.     Why does God want us to pray to Him?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice the shortest verse we’ve ever had. I bet you can remember this one! Repeat after me. 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually.”
*Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

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Everyone is scared of something. Did you know that? What’s your mom or dad scared of? Or your grandparents? They’re scared of something too! If you don’t know what the adults in your life are scared of, just ask them! You might get some funny answers.

Me, for example, I’m scared of snakes. Any kind of snake. Long ones, skinny ones, short ones, fat ones….snakes are NOT my thing. And yet somehow I always seem to have lots of interactions with snakes. One time a snake even came in to my house when I opened my front door to get a package! Like he wanted to move in with us or something!

Anyway, I’ve learned to live with my fear of snakes because they are all around where we live. In fact, I saw a possum eat one the other day for a morning snack in my backyard! It’s a fear that I can’t get away from. Snakes exist and my fear of snakes exists, so what’s the answer? What gives? 

Think of what you’re scared of. What scares you most? You don’t have to say it out loud but just think about it. Being scared of something is the same as being fearful. So if I’m scared of snakes I can also say I have a fear of snakes. That’s my fear.

Well the Bible has something to say about fear. Listen to 2 Timothy 1:7. It says, “God did not give us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and self control.”

In other words, when we are a child of God we have God’s own Spirit, the Holy Spirit living in us!! This should blow our mind! We have God’s huge power living inside of us – the same power that created our world by just speaking word and it coming to existence. The same power that made hungry lions go to sleep and not eat Daniel. The same power that held back the rushing waters so that God’s people could cross over safely to freedom. The same power that brought Jesus back to life 3 days after he was crucified on the cross.  I could go on and on.

But here’s the deal… if we have THAT sorta power living in us….Why should we ever feel scared of something? Well, we shouldn’t! But….even if we try really hard to not be scared, it always seems to come creeping back, right?

That’s something that we will always deal with while we live on this Earth, but you should know that it’s not from God to feel that way. No. The verse said that God’s Spirit DOES NOT make us weak and fearful. He is no scardey cat! God is the only one who has no fears. And if He gave us His Spirit, like actually part of Himself to live in us, then we too shouldn’t give in to our fears.

 Because He gave us a Spirit of power and love and self control. You see, He doesn’t want you to go through your day and night being scared of this and that. No! He wants to replace your fear with His power, His love, and His ability to help us control our fears.

 We can’t control our fears on our own. No, we need a helper. And that’s just what God WANTS to do for us! He isn’t scared of what you’re scared of. But He doesn’t laugh at your fears and think they are silly or ridiculous. He wants to HELP you with your fears.

 Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! Listen. There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it!

1.     What are you scared of? What’s your fear? 

2.     Do you believe that God can help you with that fear? Can He actually help you to not be afraid of that?

3.     What would be different in your life if you trusted Him to take away your fear and replace it with His power, love and self control?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice 2 Timothy 1:7 together “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self control.”

Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. 
*Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at —

Hey……you….yeah, you…..what cha doing right now? Riding in the car? Listening to something while waiting on dinner? Laying on the floor with nothing to do? Playing legos?

Did you know that all of these activities and NOT activities are opportunities to talk about God? 

Yep!

The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy chapter 6 to talk about God no matter what’s happening… any circumstance. Any time of the day. Any place. Whenever and wherever! 

In fact, listen in Deuteronomy 6 verses 5-7. It says this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The people in Bible times walked everywhere they went. They didn’t have bikes or roller blades or scooters. Just walking! But, how do you get to places most of the time? If you live in a town like we do, we drive everywhere we go! And this Bible verse that tells us to talk about God when we are “walking along the road” can now be applied to “when we are riding in the car.” 

Some of my best thinking and talking happens on car rides!

And so that’s why we’ve named this podcast BACKSEAT Bible nuggets. It was created for parents that have someone in the backseat that they want to talk about God with as they are going as the Bible has commanded us in Deuteronomy 6:7. These are short devotional podcasts to get you talking about God and His word as you go!

 So, back to our verses…Let’s hear it again. Deuteronomy 6:5-7. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Whew! That means everything that we have in us! My heart, my brain, the things I do in my own strength with my arms and legs and hands and so on) These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. (In other words, parents are called to have God’s commandments in their hearts and minds so that they can then TEACH them to YOU, their kiddos!) Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (All. The. Time!)

Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss or just generally review together when it’s over. Oh, and this is important! Listen. There’s no wrong answer to these! The point is to get conversation flowing. So don’t overthink it! 

1. Okay, so first. What does it mean to love God with ALL of our heart, soul and strength?

2. Why is it important that we talk about God and His words in the Bible?

 3. And lastly, how can you make sure that you talk about the Lord all the time, like it said in scripture. Remember it said talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up? How will YOU help your parents do that? 

I’m sure they would love to talk about Him with you! And even if they don’t know all the answers, you can learn together! God loves when we come to Him. Whether we know it all or not!

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice Deuteronomy 6:5 together. You can repeat after me: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

You’ve been listening to Backseat Bible Nuggets. A podcast for kids about God’s great love for them and His written word. Parents you can check out more resources at BackseatBibleNuggets.com. We’re honored you listened and pray deep roots grow in the lives of your backseaters as you go along the way.

* Music: Forest by Vlad Gluschenko

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/backseat-bible-nuggets/donations