Season: Prophets
Episode 8: “John the Baptist – The Prophet Who Knew Jesus Best”
Today’s Bible Bite: Matthew 3

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NMHOLPWeTM (God’s Story: John the Baptist)
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming!” (Matthew 3:3)

For hundreds of years the prophets had been telling people God’s messages. One of the messages was a promise that God was going to send someone to rescue them; the rescuer was known as the Messiah. Jesus was the Messiah! But one of the prophets, Isaiah, also told people that God would send a special prophet before the Messiah came to prepare the people for his arrival. That was John!

John was…how to say this nicely…a little different. He lived in the wilderness for a time; he ate bugs and honey; he wore itchy clothing made from camel hair and had a belt of leather. John didn’t care. He knew that he had a job from God. He needed to let people know that the Messiah was about to come any day and they needed to get right with God. Many people didn’t like his message because he didn’t worry about tradition; he told them exactly what God told him to say. That annoyed people. John didn’t care.

But one day something happened that John really did care about. As he was baptizing people, Jesus came and asked John to baptize him. This was a big deal and John didn’t feel he was good enough, but Jesus told him it was exactly what God wanted him to do. And so John baptized Jesus, the Messiah, the long promised rescuer…and God was pleased.

Think about it...
• John the Baptist was given a job even before he was born. Which of the prophets told people about John?
• John ate bugs and honey, wore camel hair clothing and a leather belt, and lived in the wilderness. How would you like to live like that?
• John told people that they needed to say they were sorry to God and be baptized. Why was this important?
• John obeyed God, but when Jesus came to be baptized John hesitated. Why did John not want to baptize Jesus?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, that John obeyed you and cared more about what you wanted than what others thought. Help me to always do what you want me to, no matter what other people think.

Season: Prophets
Episode 7: “Anna – A Prophet Who Saw the Messiah”
Today’s Bible Bite: Luke 2:22-40

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leN-xNrkjbo (God’s Story: Anna & Simeon)
“Anna gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38)

Unlike most of the prophets that we read about in the Old Testament, Anna was a prophet in New Testament times—that means that she was alive after Jesus was born. As a young woman, her husband had died; they had only been married for seven years. In the story, Anna was already 84 years old, and had spent her time in the Temple serving God, praying and fasting day and night, ever since she had become a widow. We don’t know exactly how long she had been doing this, but it is safe to assume that this had been her life for about sixty years!

She was a prophet which meant that God gave her messages to share with the people. One day he gave her an extra special one—the Messiah had finally arrived. For years, the prophets had promised that God was going to send the Messiah, a rescuer. The people had waited…and waited…and waited! But the day finally arrived when Jesus’ parents brought him to the Temple and Anna was able to tell everyone that he had finally come. God had fulfilled his promise.

Think about it...
• Anna and Simeon both heard God speak. Has God ever talked to you?
• When Jesus’ parents took him to the Temple Anna and Simeon both knew that this was no ordinary baby. How did they respond?
• Both Anna and Simeon were getting quite old. Do you think they ever gave up looking for the Messiah?
• Sometimes God’s promises take time. Why is it so hard to wait sometimes?
• Anna told everyone that the Messiah had come. Do you think others believed her?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for answering Anna and Simeon’s prayers. Thank you that Anna was able to share this wonderful message, “Jesus has come!” Help me to tell others your amazing message, “…and he’s come back!”

Season: Prophets
Episode 6: “Jeremiah – The Prophet No One Listened To”
Today’s Bible Bite: Jeremiah 1, 38

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSK36cHbrk0 (Bible Project – for adults and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f5erbw-TQc (Superbook – God visits Jeremiah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64GYd0_ALX8 (Sharefaith Kids – Jeremiah in the Cistern)

“So these officials went to King Zedekiah and said, ‘Sir, Jeremiah must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!’” (Jeremiah 38:4)

God chose Jeremiah to be his prophet and to deliver his messages when Jeremiah was just a young man. God warned Jeremiah that people were not going to like what he had to say, but God would be with him. During Jeremiah’s day, the people had turned their backs on God and were worshiping lots of different idols. God decided to allow Babylon to capture Judah; he wanted the Israelites to realize that they needed him. By refusing to obey only him, they were telling God they didn’t need him and so he allowed the Babylonians to capture the city.

Before they did, however, Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah about what God was going to do and advised the king to cooperate with the Babylonians. The Babylonians were going to take charge of the whole of Judah and many of the surrounding nations, but God would rescue his people from them again. They would be captives in Babylon for seventy years, but would then be allowed to come back when God punished the Babylonians.

The king, others leaders and the people did not want to hear what Jeremiah said. They were very mean to him. At one point, he was put in a cistern with no food. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard what had happened to Jeremiah and he arranged for him to be rescued from the mud in the cistern. God made certain that Jeremiah didn’t die, stuck in the mud, from starvation or worse. No matter how much people didn’t like his message, Jeremiah always only ever told the message God gave him to share.

Think about it...
• God chose Jeremiah to be his prophet and warned him that it was not going to be an easy job. How would you like it if God gave you a job like Jeremiah’s?
• Jeremiah’s job was to give the king and the people of Judah God’s messages. What was the message?
• The people didn’t want to surrender to the Babylonians. They got really angry with Jeremiah. What did they do?
• God sent a group of men to rescue Jeremiah. Did the attempt to kill Jeremiah silence him?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for Jeremiah’s bravery and willingness to speak for you, even though others didn’t want to listen. Help us to be brave, too. Help us to obey you no matter what others might say or do.

"Ten Commandments” – One of the God’s commandments says, “You should not murder.” God does not want us killing other people, which should be a no-brainer; but too often people don’t respect other people, and though they may not ‘murder’ them, they also don’t try to help them…and in God’s eyes that’s wrong!
Today’s Lesson - “Honour Human Life”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RFhi71mvYU (Murder starts somewhere – for adults)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiaXI_3WIvg (Douglas Talks)

Lesson Overview:
Exodus 20:13
Commandment #6 – “You must not murder.”
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Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

We need to obey this commandment, not just by not killing anyone, but also by helping others to live well, to provide for their needs and to stick up for them when someone is being mean to them. Jesus said, that not only were we not to kill anyone, we are also not to hate anyone. In fact, he told us we need to love our enemies, not be hateful to those who hate us. That can be very hard to do, but goes know that when we hate others, it also hurts us.

Engage:
• God tells us not to kill others, but he also doesn’t want us to hurt anyone at all. How can we hurt others?
• In fact, Jesus told us that we should love others, even our enemies. How can we show others we love them, even when they are mean to us?
• When we hate others, we don’t respect them or honour them. Why does God want us to honour other people?
• When we hate others, we can become hateful and mean. Why doesn’t God want us to have hate in us?

Theme verses:
Mark 12:30-31 - “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Prayer - Thank you, God, for loving me, creating me and caring for me. Help me to remember that you see everyone that way, too. When I hate what you love, I am not obeying you. Help me to honour others.
~ Pastor Jane

Season: Prophets
Episode 4: “Isaiah – Knew the Future”
Today’s Bible Bite: Isaiah 38-39; 2 Kings 20

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0A6Uchb1F8 (Bible Project – Isaiah 1-39 – for parents and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TzdEPuqgQg (Bible Project – Isaiah 40-66 – for parents and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wRLMXfyajU (Two Fish Talks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJZ3q76hkig (Sharefaith Kids)

“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,” says the LORD.’” (Isaiah 39:5-6)

King Hezekiah was very sick and God told the prophet, Isaiah, to tell King Hezekiah that he would soon die and should get everything in order. But Hezekiah didn’t want to die—he was only 39 years old. He prayed and cried out to God. So, God gave Isaiah a new message, to tell King Hezekiah that he would allow him to live for 15 more years. King Hezekiah did get better and lived another 15 years…just like Isaiah had said, because as God’s prophet, Isaiah only told people what God told him to say. They could trust him.

After King Hezekiah got better, an envoy of Babylonians came to wish him well. The king wanted to impress his company, so he showed him all the treasures of Judah. But this didn’t please God; Hezekiah should have been more concerned with trusting God, not trying to make friends with the Babylonians. God then sent Isaiah to the king with a new message. The Babylonians would one day come and take everything that Hezekiah had shown to them, but it would happen after Hezekiah was gone. Isaiah’s words didn’t come true right away, but about one hundred years later, the Babylonians came and did exactly what Isaiah had warned about—they conquered Judah, took away all the treasures and even took away captives to serve the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

Think about it...
• King Hezekiah was very sick and Isaiah told him he was going to die. How would you respond if someone came to you with that news?
• God agreed to give the king fifteen more years to live and even gave him a sign. What sign did God give Hezekiah that Isaiah was telling him the truth?
• Isaiah always told others what God told him to. Do you think Isaiah had an easy or hard job?
• Sometimes Isaiah’s job was no fun because people didn’t like his messages, but Isaiah knew it was more important to tell the truth than to just tell people what they wanted to hear. When do you find it hard to tell other people the truth?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for listening to Hezekiah. His story reminds us that you listen to us when we pray. Thank you that Isaiah was willing to tell people the words you gave him. He lived in a time when lots of people didn’t want to hear about you, just like we do today. Help us to always be willing to tell others about you, just like Isaiah did.

Season: Prophets
Episode 4: “Huldah – Advisor to the Nation”
Today’s Bible Bite: 2 Kings 22:1-20

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krgh2_-ykm0 (Grace Link – “Hidden Treasure”)

“So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah.” (2 Kings 22:14a)

King Josiah was one of the really good kings of Judah. His grandfather and father had done many wrong things, but when Josiah became king at the age of eight, he began to clean up the mess they had made. He got rid of many of the idols and repaired God’s Temple. While the Temple was being repaired, they found the lost book of the Law. Josiah was very excited to have this book, but when he heard what it said he realized that the nation of Judah was in big trouble. They hadn’t been obeying God like they were supposed to.

He sent some men to the prophet Huldah and she explained what was going to happen. God was going to bring about the punishments that were listed in the book of the Law on the nation for disobeying him, but because Josiah loved and served God with his whole heart, it would not happen while he was king. The men told King Josiah what Huldah had told them and Josiah determined to help the people worship God even more than before. He believed Huldah who gave him God’s message and continued to obey God all his life.

Think about it...
• King Josiah wanted to please God and repaired the Temple. What did they find at the Temple?
• The book of the Law contained God’s message to his people. Why did King Josiah tear his robes when he heard it read to him?
• King Josiah needed some advice. Who did he ask to advise him?
• Huldah told the king what God told her. What was her message?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving Judah a wise king who knew to seek good advice. Thank you for Huldah and how she was willing to deliver your message to the king. Help us to be like Huldah—always listening to you and willing to tell people the truth even when it’s hard

"Ten Commandments” – One of the things that we can do to please God is to honour our parents, by respecting them and valuing them. It is one of the commandments God gave to the Israelites and we need to obey it too.

Today’s Lesson - “Honour Your Parents”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-gdN__-K-A (Christians Questions – Obey your parents)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCMhAPmpTDc (The Parable of the Wooden Bowl)

Lesson Overview:
Exodus 20:12
Commandment #5 – “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
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Some people think that the commandment to ‘honour your father and mother’ is only about expecting children to obey their parents; but, it’s way bigger than that. Yes, we can honour our parents when we are children by obeying their directions and learning from them; however, no matter how old we get they are still our parents and God still wants us to honour them. As we get older there is still a lot we can learn from our parents. And as they get older, we may find that they need our help, too.
When God told the people of Israel that he wanted them to honour their parents, he wasn’t just giving them a rule to follow as kids. Families are to take care of one another, no matter how old they are. Parents are to take care of their children and children are to obey their parents; but honouring also means taking care of grandparents, valuing and respecting every member of the family, no matter how young or old. If we don’t live to honour our parents and families, how can we ever hope to honour God who gave them to us.

Engage:
• God told the Israelites to honour their parents. What does it mean to ‘honour’ our parents?
• Even when we are no longer children, God still wants us to honour our parents. How might that look?
• When we learn to respect, value and take care of our families we make God happy. Why?
• God told the Israelites they would enjoy long life in the promised land if they remembered to honour their parents. Why is ‘dishonouring’ the members of our family a problem that can have a big impact on our whole lives?

Theme verses:
Mark 12:30-31 - “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
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Prayer - Thank you, God, for giving us our parents to take care of us. Please help us to obey their instructions and to learn from them. Help us to honour each person in our families, by respecting and valuing them, young and old. Help us to always treat our families—parents, grandparents, brother and sisters, aunts and uncles and cousins—in a way that pleases you!
~ Pastor Jane

"Ten Commandments” – God gave the ten commandments to Moses so that his people would understand how to live in a way that pleased him. He wanted them to lives of honour (integrity, honesty and moral uprightness) and he wanted them to show God honour (glorify and respect) as well as to honour (respect and esteem) others. When we honour God and others we fulfill Jesus’ commandments to love God and others. Jesus told us that was what God’s commandments were for.

Today’s Lesson - “Honour God”

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BGO9Mmd_cU (The Bible Project – adults and older children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaCIq4q9Xuc (Pursue God Kids)

Lesson Overview:
Exodus 20:1-11
Commandment #1 – “I AM to be your only God” – There is only One God and he requires us to recognize that he is to be our King and we are to serve him.

Commandment #2 – “Don’t make idols to worship” – We shouldn’t rely on anything except God and nothing deserves our worship except God. We are not to make statues or to place our trust in other stuff (like people, money or our own wisdom). If there is something that you refuse to live without, you may have an idol.

Commandment #3 – “Don’t misuse God’s name” – Sometimes this has been explained that we shouldn’t use God’s name as a swear (which can happen a lot), but that’s not all it means. We should also not make claims that are untrue…like ‘God told me’ (if he didn’t), just to get our own way.

Commandment #4 – “Rest on the Sabbath…just like God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. It is to be a day to set apart to spend with him” – God knows we need rest and that we need to spend regular time with him so our relationship with him stays healthy. He told us we should take regularly scheduled breaks from working to focus on and worship him.

Engage:
• The Bible tells us that there is only One God. So why do other people believe in other gods?
• God wants us to rely on him. How can other stuff become an idol?
• We can misuse God’s name by using it as a swear or by misrepresenting him (claiming he wants something only because it is something we want). How would you like it if someone claimed you said something you hadn’t just because they wanted to manipulate others?
• God wants us to spend time with him. Can we only do that once a week? How often can we spend time with God?

Theme verses:
Mark 12:30-31 - “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
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Prayer - Thank you, God, for your reminders of who you are and how we are to treat you. You want us to have a relationship with you. Show us how to treat you with honour…by loving you with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength and obeying you!
~ Pastor Jane

Season: Prophets
Episode 3: “Jonah the Runaway Prophet”
Today’s Bible Bite: Jonah

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLIabZc0O4c (The Bible Project – Jonah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSadLyqshg (Saddleback Kids – Jonah)

“The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 ‘Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.’ 3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD.” (Jonah 1:1-3a)

God had a job for the prophet Jonah, but he didn’t want it. God wanted him to warn the people of Ninevah that he was going to the destroy the city because they were so wicked. Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites and wanted to see them punished; he didn’t want to warn them and so tried to run away. But, as a prophet of God, he should have known that was impossible. He got on a ship heading for Tarshish…in the opposite direction. God sent a storm and Jonah told the sailors they needed to throw him overboard. Was he still trying to get away from giving God’s message? If he was, it didn’t work because God sent a big fish to swallow him **gulp** in one bite.

After three days, God had the fish spit Jonah up on shore…eww, gross! Jonah then obeyed God and gave the message to the Ninevites. All the people said they were sorry and promised to change. Jonah really hoped God would still choose to destroy them, so went up onto a hill outside the city to watch and see what would happen. When God decided to spare the people, Jonah was really annoyed. He accused God of being too soft…too compassionate. But God didn’t want to destroy all the people and was very happy when they changed.

Think about it...
• God wanted Jonah to do a job. What was it?
• Jonah didn’t want to warn the Ninevites. What did he do instead?
• God was determined to have Jonah give the message, so had a big fish swallow him. What do you think it would have been like in the fish?
• After Jonah gave the message, he really hoped God would destroy the Ninevites. Why did God change his plan?
• Sometimes God wants us to do things we would rather not. What can we learn from Jonah’s story?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for saving the people of Ninevah and giving them a chance to change. Help us to always be willing to obey you, even when we would rather do something else. Help us never to try to run away like Jonah did.
~ Pastor Jane

Season: Prophets
Episode 2: “Elisha Defeats the Arameans”
Today’s Bible Bite: 2 Kings 6:8-23

Video Story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZpjin_AVqg (Elisha & the Syrian Army)

“Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:12)

Elijah the prophet had done some amazing things for God. His successor, Elisha also did many incredible things as a prophet of God. He made a little bit of oil fill jars and jars; he prayed for a little boy who had died and he came back to life; he gave directions to a man who was sick with leprosy and when he followed those directions he was healed; he made an axe head float, made a poisonous stew safe to eat and when he prayed, a small amount of bread fed a large group of men. Elijah always knew what to do when there was a problem. He would pray and God would answer!
One day the Syrian King wanted Elisha arrested, but when Elisha saw the army that had come he asked God to blind them. He lead them to the King of Israel, their enemies. Then God helped them to see again. Can you imagine their surprise when they found themselves surrounded and outnumbered by their enemies! The King of Israel was very excited and asked Elisha what he should do with them. Elisha’s answer must have surprised him, “Feed them and send them home.” He did and the Syrians left for home. They didn’t try to capture Elisha again!

Think about it...
• Elisha was able to perform many different kinds of miracles. Whenever he came across a problem, what did Elisha do?
• Elisha trusted God to help him. What kinds of things did God help him do?
• We all have problems at times. Do you remember to talk to God first?
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Prayer: Thank you, God, for Elisha and the way he trusted you to do incredible things. Help us to remember, that when we have problems we should be like Elisha and pray to you for help. And to always trust you!
~ Pastor Jane