Everyday Theology + Questions Kids Ask

The Lord's Supper is one of those moments in church life that can be difficult to understand for kids. Talking about blood is normally not something we do much unless one of our children is literally bleeding, so to think of Jesus' blood and it's symbolism in the cup that we take is a little weird. Not to mention, SNACK TIME! Bread and juice? Of course every kid wants in on that. Listen in to hear how Brittany and her family have talked about this ordinance with their kids.

Featured resource: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/preventing-metoo-begins-pre-school-4-books-help-talk-kids/

Katie Orr joins us to talk about understanding God as our perfect Father, even if and especially if a child's earthly father is absent or not the best example of godly love and care. Although this is probably not a question your kids will ask directly, it is an important conversation for you to begin with them to help them understand that when they hear God referred to as Father, He is the only perfect parent - loving, providing, protecting, and caring perfectly for them.

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With historical evidence - both inside the Biblical text and outside it - we can certainly confirm that Jesus was a person who lived in a certain time of history from the town of Nazareth. What must be taken on faith is the rest of the story: that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, took on the wrath of God for sin on the cross, died, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven. Indeed, it is the greatest story ever told but is also foolishness to those who don't believe. It seems crazy! But it's true. And we can help our kids be ready for the questions they may have or be asked that revolve around Jesus' existence, Personhood, and ultimately deity.

Get Devotional Doctrine here: https://www.gospelproject.com/doctrine-book/

Danielle Bell has been serving in children's ministry for 21 years, and is currently at Dawson Family of Faith in Birmingham, Alabama. She recently adopted an adorable little girl from the foster system, and is passionate about helping people serve kids and families within the foster system well.

In this episode, we talk about why foster care matters, what you can do to help, how you can educate your kids on why some kids are adopted and also calm any fears they have about them being "taken away" and adopted to another family, and what it looks like on the daily to do all the things as a single mom of a two year old.

Jamie Ivey and her husband, Aaron, worship pastor at The Austin Stone Community Church, live in Austin, Texas with their four kids and two dogs.

Through her podcast, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, she uses a raw a nd intimate approach to connect with her audience. Jamie's prayer and hope is for God to use her words to encourage and show others that they are not alone, while constantly pointing them to Jesus.

Today we talk about discipline and how it's so difficult with our kids, why we continue to sin even after we become a Christian, and why confession is so important and not talked about enough in our churches and our families.

Jamie tells a story about finding out one of her kids was using an app in a way that she didn't approve, and how she didn't handle the situation like she wished she had. Make sure to listen in, as there's so much wisdom there.

Today's featured resource is If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey. If you've ever felt like a fraud in your Christian life or wondered how people would respond if they really knew everything about you, then this s book is for you. It's available anywhere books are sold!

Today's guest is Jana Magruder. Jana is the Director of LifeWay Kids and brings a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and curriculum writing. She and her husband, Michael, along with their three children reside in Nashville, TN.

Why do we pray? If God really is in control and is all-knowing, shouldn't He know what we need and what we would ask for if we were praying anyway? God is in control and God does know. In fact, He knows BETTER than we do about what we need, but prayer is still SO valuable. There's so mystery about it - but we know two things for sure: Prayer changes our hearts and prayer has the power to really change things. We see God answer prayer over and over again in Scripture and He does the same for us.

Dorena Williamson is a bridge buider, speaker, writer, and worship leader who knows the power and beauty of racial awareness. She and her husband, Dr. Chris Williamson, planted Strong Tower Bible Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and have spent more than twenty years ministering to its richly diverse faith community. Dorena and Chris have four children.

Dorena joins us today to talk about race, how to talk with kids about the difficult past of American slave trade and oppression, relearning history, and celebrating diversity in all the world because God has created it and it is good!

Prayer is the most important weapon we have against the enemy, and the Bible even says that Jesus intercedes for us while He sits at the right hand of the Father. Yet, there are often questions about the nature of prayer. Because it's a conversation with a God who we cannot see who knows all things and is entirely in control it seems like it may be pointless to voice our needs, our gratitude, and our worship because God already knows what we are going to pray before we pray it. Still, we see prayer as unbelievably powerful throughout Scripture. Prayer changes things - and we can be a part of what God is doing in the world by having a vibrant prayer life.

Why would God, if He knew Adam and Eve would sin, put a tree in the garden that would sentence them to death if they ate from it?

We know God is sovereign, and there also is need for humanity to obey. A love without choice is not love at all, so God gave us the opportunity to obey out of love. And yet, Jesus was not God's plan B. Even as consequences were being discussed of Adam and Eve's sin, God tells them that there will come a time when a Messiah will come to redeem what had been done and make all things right again.

It can be easier to help kids understand how Jesus is the same us - how He was born, was a child, and had all the experiences we have, but it's much more difficult to help kids understand how He is different - that He is God and He is sitting at the right hand of the Father today interceding for us.

In this episode, we talk about how we should speak truth in as bite-sized portion for our kids as possible, but not watering it down so that it has a different meaning. We want our kids to know what is true, even if it's hard to comprehend.