Backseat Bible Nuggets – Details, episodes & analysis

*Click the banner in Apple Podcasts to order Extra Nuggets!*

The Bible is the most amazing book ever to exist. It’s unlike any other book! I bet you probably have a Bible or 2 in your house but do you know just how special it is? Let’s see if you know these facts about the Bible…

Did you know the Bible is like it’s own little library since it’s made up of lots of different books written by different authors?

That’s right, there’s 66 different books written by over 40 different people! 

But, the Bible has one MAIN author who wrote all of it through those 40 different human authors…and that’s the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who told the human authors what to write down and how to say it. And it’s the Holy Spirit who has protected and preserved these words for thousands of years so that we can read them today!

In fact, the oldest book of the Bible was written over 3 thousand 500 years ago. And books don’t just happen to stick around for that long unless it’s by some miracle. And the Bible IS a miracle, not only because we have it but because it’s what we call the inspired word of God. And the word of God is described as a sword. That’s pretty cool, right? We can think of God’s word as a way that we can get to know God better and learn about who He is and what He’s like and how He acts and the things He says. Stuff like that. But we can also use God’s word to fight. Well, at least, that’s what Jesus did. Remember when Jesus fought with Satan when Satan was trying to tempt him? Jesus fought back to Satan’s tricks with God’s words – the words in the Bible. And we are to do the same today! We should know the Bible so well that we can use it whenever Satan tries to trick US!

You know, sometimes, God seems hard to understand or difficult to figure out and wrap our head around because He’s so different from us as humans. I mean, God is GOD and there’s no one else like Him. SO we don’t have many other ways of understanding Him or getting to know Him OTHER than reading the Bible. It’s like a letter He left for you to read about Him. He wants you to know Him and not some made up version of what you THINK he might be like..He wants you to know the REAL Him even the unexpected things about Him or the things that are hard to understand or even the mysterious things about Him. The Bible begins to reveal all sides of God to us if we take the time to read it!

And it’s because of how awesome the Bible is that I want us to start walking through each book of the Bible together. The plan is to complete the Old Testament this school year. I want us to talk about what each book is about, talk about a few of the cool stories found there and then talk about how it fits in this bigger story that God is writing. I want us to learn how different books show us different aspects of WHO God is and what we can learn from it. We are going to be doing this for subscribers only so I’d love for you to join us as we journey together through the awesome books of the Bible. You can click the banner in Apple podcasts to sign up for just a few dollars. 

But before we sign off, listen to this verse. 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The Bible is God breathed….just imagine that. Isn’t that amazing that the words we read in our Bibles are directly from God just like your breath comes out of your body? I sure hope you’ll join us as we go through the books on Extra Nuggets, but more than anything, I pray you fall in love with reading your Bible. I pray you love it so much that you can tell others about what a special book it is to you in your life. And I pray that by reading it you come to love the Lord more and more.

Alright, parents! I want you to think about how many times you’ve bought a devotional book to do with your kids and you had the best intentions.. yall were going to do it every night at bedtime or at breakfast. And it was going to be this lovely time of blissful discipleship. But alas, life happened and that book ended up on the shelf and that dream of family devotionals …well it’s honestly on the shelf with those well intended books. I’m serious I probably have at LEAST 5 of those books in my house right now. 

And it’s not for lack of trying! It’s just that life is busy, seasons change, and honestly some days I’m just tired and don’t feel like doing it. 

Well, despite how many kids devotional books you’ve bought in the past, this podcast is here to help you accomplish your family discipleship goals in the easiest way possible. Even if you’re the best at family discipleship and you’re rocking a family bible study every day, I’m sure there are some days you just don’t have it and could use some back up. THAT’S what Backseat Bible Nuggets is here for! AND if we think of it like the easiest most convenient devotional ever, then it's a nobrainer that you’d sign up for Extra Nuggets, our new subscription plan. If you become a subscriber then you’ll have access to more content over the next year. So, go ahead and click the Extra Nuggets banner in Apple podcasts and get started! Your overloaded bookshelf will thank you later!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever been given? Maybe it was a birthday present or something you got for Christmas. Maybe it was a surprise treat you weren’t even expecting or maybe the best gift you’ve been given was getting to do something cool, like go on a trip or do some sort of  special experience.

My guess is that you’ve been given a lot in your life and that you’ve been blessed in lots of different ways. I know for me, it would be hard for me to think about the BEST gift I’ve ever been given since I’ve received lots of great gifts over my lifetime! But I remember when I was younger and how I really really really wanted to bird for a pet.  I had already tried cats, dogs, turtles, fish and hamsters for pets, but never a bird and I just thought it would be amazing. So I talked about it constantly to my parents and family. Everyone knew I wanted this bird.

I dreamed about what the cage would look like. I planned where it would go in my room. I brainstormed what I’d name the bird. I thought through all the details of owning a bird. I was so excited about having a bird. And would you know, the day came where my parents actually got me the bird?! I couldn’t believe it. I remember walking down the stairs in my house and seeing this big sheet covering something that looked sorta like a cage and there were tweets coming come underneath. All of my dreaming and wishing and hoping had actually come true! I was so excited.

Now, what I want you to know is that my parents aren’t the biggest animal lovers. It’s not like they shared my same desire for birds. And looking back, I bet they weren’t thrilled about bringing another animal to live inside their house. So, why did they get me the bird? Why does someone get another person a gift? What would lead them to do that? Well, love! My parents loved me enough to know that I really wanted that bird and they felt compelled to get the bird because of their love for me.  

This is how our Heavenly Father works too! The Lord knows you and knows what you love and He LOVES to give His children good gifts. In fact, Matthew 7:11 says, “Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

In other words, if humans, who are sinful, understand the concept of loving someone so much that they want to give gifts out of love, how much more does our Father in&

The Advent book is out this year from Christian Parenting! I’m so excited because we loved ours last year. This year the book is called ‘Jesus, Light of the World’ and every day includes scripture, a short devotional, engaging activities that encourages kids to take ownership of their faith and yall know we love all those things here at Backseat Bible Nuggets.  You can get your copy at cpgive.org. That’s cpgive.org.

I have some friends who are going to be real life missionaries! I have always heard about missionaries, but I’ve never actually known a missionary that I called my friend. Do you know what a missionary is? A missionary is someone who is so excited about telling others about Jesus that they make it their job.

Your parents probably have a job where they might leave the house to go to work or maybe they work from home, but a missionary is willing to go anywhere where people need to hear about Jesus. To be more specific, a foreign missionary usually means they go to another country or a different part of the world to live and to tell others about Jesus and the Bible.

My friends are going to northern Africa to tell the people there about Jesus. How cool is that?

I think missionaries are like super heroes. And you should read some stories about missionaries, just like you read books about super heroes. Hudson, my 9 year old and I read a book on Hudson Taylor this summer. I chose it because they had the same name, but the life story of this early missionary made a huge impact on me! A missionary’s literal job is to introduce people to Jesus, which changes people’s lives forever. Is there a more important job? No!

But while my friends are packing up everything and moving to Africa and agreeing to learn a new language and live in a new culture, it reminded me that being a missionary doesn’t only mean those people willing to move to a different country. It’s important for all of us to be missionaries right where we live now.

Did you know that Jesus told all people who believe in Him to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded” in Matthew 28:19 and 20?

That verse I just read is called the Great Commission. Can you say Great Commission?

And it is the job description of a missionary, or really every person who believes in Jesus – to go and make disciples, which is just a fancy word for people who know and follow Jesus. And it says to do this everywhere…where you live, where you go to school, where you practice sports, where you dance, where your parents work, and even for some foreign missionaries it means wherever the Lord calls them in the world.

Okay, let’s talk about some things. You can pause after each question to discuss. And don’t overthink it…the point is to get conversation flowing.

1.     Did you know that you’re supposed to be telling others about Jesus?

2.     Is there anywhere that you can think of where you SHOULDN’T talk about Jesus?

3.     Who in your life might not know Jesus and you could tell them what YOU know about Jesus?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice our verse together. You can repeat after me. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19 and 20.

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

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.... 

 ............

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

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

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

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

One of the coolest things about our world is that it’s made up of billions of people who are different from us. Not one single person is the same! We have different countries, languages, beliefs, habits, and preferences. This is one of the coolest things about our world! How diverse it is! 

You can meet different people or even travel to different countries and experience the way they do life. Every country has different foods they eat, music they listen to, clothes they wear, even how they like to do things. I mean even toilets look different in different countries! Really, look it up! Toilets around the world.

It’s fun to learn about these differences!

And while our different countries, languages, and cultures are God’s plan and something to be celebrated, it’s not always easy. No, sometimes countries, or nations as they can be called, argue and fight. Sometimes they even go to war for their differences. Sometimes people even end up hating other people for their differences.

And this has been happening for a LONG time. Nations have been fighting and disagreeing over their differences basically ever since sin came in to the world. And wars continue even today. Lots and lots of kids grown up in countries that are at war with other countries. It’s almost like it’s a part of their everyday life to hear and see signs of war all around them.

And while it breaks God’s heart to see nations fight, I want you too remember something really important today. It won’t always be this way! How do I know that? Because of what it says in the Bible.

Psalms 86:9 says, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” 

Did you hear that? ALL the nations. All countries, as different as they are, will one day ALL come before the Lord and worship Him. They will all agree together over the fact that Jesus is Lord and bring glory to His name.

YES! That gives us hope today to know that even as different as we are and even tough we will fight and disagree with other countries, we will all be united and AGREE one day… in the name of Jesus. Knowing this and remembering this makes me realize that God’s kingdom is so much bigger than any country here on Earth. His kingdom will last forever and will have billions of people in it since the beginning of time and from every country that ever existed.

Revelation 7:9 and 10 is another great description of this. It’s were John is having this sneak-peak in to heaven and he describes what he sees. He says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Raise your hand if you’re ready to see that one day! I am!

Okay, let’s talk about some things. You can pause after each question to discuss. And don’t overthink it…the point is to get conversation flowing.

1.       What are some differences that you know of between where you live and another country?

2.       Why do countries or nations fight or go to war?

3.       What did those verses tell us about how it will be one day in heaven?

One last time before we sign off, let’s practice our verse together. You can repeat after me. “All the nations you have made - will come and worship before you, Lord; - they will bring glory to your name.” - Psalms 86:9

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

Y'all, Christian Parenting has been hitting it out of the park lately with their products. This month they are rolling out a devotional made just for kids called My Time with God. It’s geared for ages 6-12. And it’s a colorful and fun devotional to read scripture, engage in creative activities, deepen their prayer life, and learn the benefits of spending time with God every day! Go get today at CPGive.org

Today we talk about questions with Hudson (9) and Avery (6):

What’s special about the Bible?

When do you usually read your Bible?

Why do you like reading your Bible?

What is your favorite Bible story and why?

How does the Bible help us live the way God wants us to live?

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

If yall follow me on social media, you saw me post about the Noteworthy Prayer Cards last week. These little cards made my kids whole week when they found them in their lunch box at school!

Each card has an uplifting message, a Bible verse, a prayer, and a space for you to write your own note to your child! Simply tear off a page and place it in or on their backpack, lunch box, bathroom mirror, or pillow! Wherever they will find it!

Get creative! Remember, your kids are never too young or too old to hear how much you adore them.

For more information and to get your cards, head over to cpgive.org. That’s cpgive.org

Who loves a tongue twister? I know we do in our house. Have you ever tried the one that says…how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Here it is slowly….how much wood…could a woodchuck chuck…if a woodchuck…could chuck wood. One more time as fast as you can, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

So fun! If you didn’t get it this first time, I’m sure you will with practice.

Well, we are talking about tongue twisters today because I’ve been reading in the Bible, in the book of John lately, and I’ve realized that the very first verse or sentence of that book is like a tongue twister. Or better yet, a brain twister.

It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

It’s a brain twister because it’s a bit confusing on what’s being said here. It almost sounds like the disciple John who wrote this book is repeating Himself a few times. But he’s not. Let’s take each phrase and look at what he’s saying. First of all, he’s talking about Jesus who we can think of as “the word.” So when John says “in the beginning was the word,” what do you think that means? I’m going to give you a minute to pause here and talk about that together. When John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the word,” what does that mean?

PAUSE

If you said that it means that Jesus existed since the beginning of time, you’re right! Remember that “in the beginning” is the phrase that is used in Genesis which explains the whole creation of the world? John is letting us know that Jesus was there at that time! Jesus’ life didn’t just start when He was born on earth!

Okay, let’s add the next part of that verse: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…remember we can think of “the word” as another name for Jesus here so we’ve already said that Jesus existed before the world was created, but it also says “the word was with God.” This shows us that Jesus is in perfect fellowship with God. And this is a fancy way of saying that they were hanging out together and best friends. It shows us that they are 2 unique people! Which is sorta mindblowing given the next phrase. Let’s add it in…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The last phrase says “the Word was God.” So we shouldn’t think of Jesus and God as 2 separate people with different things they like and don’t like, but we should think of them as the same beucase this tells us that Jesus IS God. I told you this was a brain twister, right?! This is a concept called the Trinity, which we have a whole episode about if you want to learn more here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/backseat-bible-nuggets/id1573752728?i=1000531698203

But for now, let’s say the whole verse together. But this time I’ll pause so you can repeat after me: In the beginning was the Word….and the Word was with God…and the Word was God…John 1:1

Awesome job everyone! I encourage you to keep practicing this verse and keep thi