Everyday Theology + Questions Kids Ask

Trillia Newbell is the author of Enjoy, Fear and Faith, United, and God's Very Good Idea. She's been published in Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, and more. Trillia is married to Thern and they reside with their two children near Nashville, TN. You can find her at trillianewbell.com and follow her on twitter at @trillianewbell.

Today, she joins us to talk about what kids can do when they are sad.

There are so many great passages in Scripture that we can run to when we feel sad - and it should be a great encouragement that even Jesus felt sad! Jesus is God, who came as a baby and grew and experienced life just as we do. He was sad, hungry, tempted, happy, and tired. He understands, and today He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us before God.

Listen in to hear more.

The work of translation cannot be emphasized enough. We want God's Word to be carried to every tribe and tongue so that they may read His Word for themselves in the language that they speak and even think in so that the Word of the Lord may dwell richly within them and also so that they might understand the gospel.

We are so blessed to have so many translations of the Bible in English, and as we discover more manuscripts and have more archaeological evidence, we get closer, not farther away from what we know the original Greek/Hebrew text said.

So which translations should we use with kids? Why do translations choose different words but are using the same original text? Listen in to hear.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that are uncomfortable or challenging. We see it throughout Scripture, but we don't want it to be true of us. And, even when we step out in faith and do the hard things God has called us to do, it doesn't always work out like we hope. But, God is always in control and obedience s always what is most satisfying and brings the most peace, even when obedience leads us into difficult situations.

Today's featured resource is CentriKid Camps. Learn more at centrikid.com

If you are listening on April 4th, make sure to check out the #MLK50 live stream here: https://live1.thegospelcoalition.org This event is put on by the ERLC, which Dan Darling works with, and I am so thankful they have made this event on racial reconciliation available for all of us online.

Today's episode covers some topics that some find controversial. Ultimately, we want kids to know that God loves everyone and hopes that they will follow Him, but He also knows that not all people will. There are particular rights that are afforded to His children.

These concepts of theology - of being children of God and as the Bible says, His chosen people should not point us to arrogance but to fall on our knees in worship!

Today, we're not talking about a specific question kids are asking, but rather how we can help kids build a framework for the whole story of Scripture.

We'll talk about explaining creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration as a good foundation to build upon as they learn the stories in Scripture and realize that it all points to Jesus' sacrifice for our sin and ultimately, the end of the story, or His return to make things good like they were before sin entered the world.

I hope that this will help you understand Scripture better, and will also help your kids! Join us here to jump into the conversation.

Good Friday was a traumatic day - full of difficulty, pain, and shame for Jesus. Good Friday was the day that He carried His cross up to Golgatha and was crucified. Jesus was completely innocent of sin, but took on God's wrath on the cross so that we might be able to have a right relationship with God. Through His death, He paid for our sin with His blood, and through His resurrection, He guaranteed that the debt had been paid and sin and death had been ultimately defeated - and that one day all who trust Him will be raised just like He was raised.

Good Friday may not seem good - like a day at the amusement park, zoo, or pool might be to our kids, but it is good because of what it purchased for us. Ultimately, through Jesus' death on the cross, the separation between God and man that sin caused was removed. The temple veil was torn, and all who trust Jesus were then allowed to have a right relationship with God without the need to go through a high priest for forgiveness of sin and prayer. Instead, Jesus acts as our great High Priest.

Good Friday is good because we see God's great love for His people and Jesus' great sacrifice on our behalf. Our sin was the cause of Good Friday, but Jesus' victory is what we celebrate a few days later!

Read more show notes at www.marycwiley.com/podcast/why-is-good-friday-good

As we read the Old Testament and all the times God promised to send a Messiah, Jesus' entrance into the world can seem like it took FOREVER. We read from Adam and Eve to Noah to David and on into the minor prophets, and God's people were yearning all along for a Savior, waiting on His arrival. Then, between the books of Malachi and Matthew were 400 years of silence, and God's people were just waiting.

Why did God wait so long? This is one of those questions that we just don't have Scripture that answers it directly, but we can infer that God was working in hearts all along, pointing them to want to love and obey Him and that Jesus came at God's perfect time.

Similarly, many ask today why God is waiting so long to send Jesus back to earth to make all things right, and in the same way, God is being so merciful - giving more time for those who do not trust Him to turn from their wicked ways and obey Him (2 Peter 3:9). We look forward to that day, and we celebrate His entrance into the world as God the Son - God with skin on to live among us - His perfect life that He lived out in our place - His death on the cross to pay what we deserved to pay for sin - and His resurrection and ultimately ascension, proving that death was defeated and that He has secured a right relationship with God for all who trust Him. Hallelujah! The depth of our sin was so deep, but God's grace was still deeper.

We talk a lot about what's different from before we were Christians to deciding to follow Jesus, but that doesn't mean it's super easy to talk about with our kids. That's no different for Jamie. Of course, we know that there's no weighting of sin in the Lord's eyes and that even one of the "tiniest" sins is deserving of death (Romans 6:23), there are some sins that do have weighter consequences. In Jamie's life, those "big sins" were premarital sex and abuse of alcohol, and sometimes we don't want to tell our kids because we don't want them to think less of us or to give them permission to do the same - because we want better for them.

I don't think we are giving them permission to do what we did, but are instead giving them a picture of the pointing them to a Savior. When we share, our focus has to be not what we did, but what Jesus did. We always point back to the gospel, being confident that we aren't so much sharing our failures, but shining a great big spotlight on our Savior.

Mistakes or failures DO NOT mean that we cannot be a good example. We will always fail God even when we love Him dearly and are following Him. We've been sinners since Adam, yet God chose to send Jesus to pay for sin. The Gospel is why we can share our story and point to Jesus instead. How gracious God is that He would send Jesus and forgive us. I pray that my kids won't remember what their mom did so much, but that they'll see a God who pursued their mom.

Read more of the show notes at www.marycwiley.com/podcast/before-you-were-a-christian

It shows the sin in the world and how sin has broken certain people, and that brokenness twists their minds and hearts that they feel they need to lash out. I hope that this helps my kids understand the profoundness of human need - that sin is constant and everywhere and our need for a Savior is obvious in all aspects of life and in every day. As Christians, what is our appropriate response? It has to be more than simple social posts, but we can DO something. We can advocate before God that He will do something about it, give, or seek to influence for justice.

We rest in the hope that all of this WILL be fixed. We rest in the hope that we have a way to be forgiven of sin because of Jesus and that one day He will return and He will clean up His Kingdom and all will be made right.

The quick answer is "God's glory," but it has far-reaching implications. Our lives are not for our own enjoyment or our own pleasure, but for Him.

Why would God create a world He knew would rebel against Him?

We have to let some tension hang here, as we don't know all the ins and outs of the mind of God, but we know God created us knowing we would fall. He knew He would send Jesus. This question screams His love to us, which drives to His glory. The more we understand His love, the more we understand His glory. God knew the full ramifications of what was happening, and yet He chose to create nonetheless.

Creation before the fall shows us what life will be like when Jesus returns and makes everything right again. Heaven by Randy Alcorn is super helpful (AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) to learn more here. Prior to the fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed their work and enjoyed one another. Our relationships that we know today will be changed in eternity, but all relationships, all work, and every moment will point to God's glory.

Even right after Adam and Eve sinned, God slaughtered an animal and made Adam and Eve clothing. His plan to provide covering for their sin through the blood of Christ is already being foreshadowed here. We consistently see God's grace and humanity's need for Him throughout Scripture.

Featured Resource: Cornerstones by Brian Dembowczyk is a fantastic resource that walks through 200 questions and answers to build a strong theology with kids. Read more at www.marycwiley.com/podcast/whydidgodcreate