The Treehouse Ep5: Tale as Old as Time

Discussion Guide

• Can you think of any other movies or fairy tales that remind you of Jesus? Cinderella is one, maybe Aladdin....
• What does it mean to be new on the inside?
• Can you think of any animals that transform? Talk about how butterflies and frogs don't just grow bigger, but go through significant changes. We experience that kind of transformation through salvation

Episode Transcript 

Over the last several weeks, my family has been watching a lot of Disney movies together. Three cheers for, Disney +! We've watched Toy Story, Cars, Sleeping Beauty, Lilo & Stitch, Tangled, and we have a list of more we want to watch. On that list is one of my very favorite movies, Beauty & the Beast. When I was six or seven years old the animated movie came out and it was one of the first movies I ever saw in a movie theater. But just a few years ago, the one of with real people came out and I saw it a bunch of times in the theater! Because as long as you have a babysitter, you can go to the movies as much as you want when you're a grown-up.

And I want to tell you that one of my favorite things about Beauty and the Beast is that it reminds me of Jesus. I know, you probably think that's crazy but once I tell you why, I think you'll agree with me. 

In the story of Beauty & the Beast, a prince is cursed and turned into a beast. He's cursed because he was selfish and unkind. An old woman had come to his castle to ask for shelter from a storm, and he laughed at her and turned her away. As is usually the case in fairy tales, the old woman was actually an enchantress and she turned him into a hideous beast. All of the castle servants were turned into objects-- a candlestick, a tea pot, a clock, for example. And they were doomed to stay this way forever unless the beast could learn to love and be loved in return before all the petals fell from an enchanted rose. 

So that's literally the first five minutes of the movie. And you want to know what else? That's also the first few chapters of the Bible. Stay with me here. I'm not crazy. 

When God created the world, it was perfect. It was beautiful and everything inside of it lived in perfect harmony. Adam and Eve weren't afraid of animals, animals weren't afraid of them, fruit and vegetables simply grew from the land because God created it to grow. Imagine how perfect it was. 

But then the serpent tricked Eve into doubting God's goodness and truthfulness, and she ate the fruit which was forbidden. The one thing that she was not allowed to eat. And then, she gave it to Adam and he ate it also. Sin entered God's perfect creation. And it was not perfect anymore. God had to punish Adam and Eve for disobeying him. He also had to cast them out of the garden. In fact, in Genesis 3, we read about the curses God placed on man, woman, and the snake. Unlike a fairytale, this story is completely true. And because Adam and Eve were cursed, we are all cursed too. Our desire to sin, our habit of sinning, has been passed on from parents to children and parents to children and parents to children all the way back to Adam and Eve. The curse--the consequence of sin--has been passed on too. 

No, we don't look like hideous beasts like in Beauty and the Beast. Not on the outside anyway. I've seen most of you kids, and you're all pretty cute actually! But the Bible tells us that God looks on the inside of a person and judges them there. He doesn't care if you have all  your teeth or if you're missing a few, he doesn't care if your hair is blonde or brown, if your eyes are blue or green. He cares about what your heart looks like. And our hearts are beastly. 

We all know that we can be selfish, mean, and rude sometimes. And sometimes we hurt someone's feelings and don't even feel bad about it....at least for a little while. We sometimes lie or cheat or take things that aren't ours. We can feel jealous and want what someone else has, or the attention that someone else gets. There are lots of things we do every day that show how beastly our hearts really are. Don't get me wrong--I know most of you who are listening and you're good kids. But the Bible does say that no one is good enough to get to heaven on their own. Without Jesus, our goodness just isn't enough. Because even if we're good most of the time, we all have sometimes when we can be just like beasts. 

In Beauty and the Beast, the prince must learn to love and be loved in return. You know, the whole only-an-act-of-true-love-can-save thing. We see this in a lot of fairy tales and Disney movies. And most of the time, when we think of true love with think of romance. You know, like boyfriends and girlfriends and weddings and kissing. If you're anything like my son, you're now making a yucky face. 

Did you know that only an act of true love can save us from the curse of sin? No, seriously. It's true. The truest love of all has nothing to do with boyfriends and girlfriends and kissing. That should make you feel better if you think all that mushy stuff is kinda gross. The truest love of all is from God. God actually is love. All the feelings of love that we have are because of him. Even the love you feel for your parents or a brother or sister or your puppy dog. God gave us hearts that can feel love, and brains that can choose to love someone even when they hurt your feelings or make you mad, and he gave us people and things to love. He did all of this because he is love itself. 

And because of that love, he had to do something to remove that curse. God had to make a way for us get rid of those beastly hearts and be able to really love him. Take a second and think about what God did for us. Do you have a guess? Go ahead and say it out loud. 

Did you say Jesus? If you did, you get a gold star and a thousand points. Don't get too excited, the points don't count for anything. 

Yes, Jesus! Do you remember learning this verse? John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

God loved us, all of us, anyone he has ever made including you and me. He loved us so much that he gave up Jesus. Jesus is God's only son and he loved him so very much. It wasn't easy for God to give us Jesus. And it wasn't easy for Jesus to take the punishment for our sins on the cross. But because they loved us so much they made that sacrifice so that we don't have to live with the curse of sin anymore. We can be whole and beautiful inside instead of beasts! 

An act of true love has saved us! 

So in Beauty and the Beast, spoiler alert, the beast learns to love and be loved and blah blah blah, and he transforms back into a person! But do you think he was the same selfish person inside? I don't think so! He looked the same on the outside as he was before--a handsome prince and all that fairytale stuff. But on the inside, he was a new person. He was a better person. Kind, loving, gentle, generous because he had learned to love. 

So when we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and take away our beastly hearts so we can live like him and love like he does, we are made into new creations! We look the same on the outside, but inside we are new. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (NIV) Or, another way of saying it is this: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT). 

At Bloom Baptist Church, the name of the class for kids in first, second, and third grades is "New Creations". This is why! Because of Jesus we can be made new inside. We can start a new life without a beastly  heart that is cursed. Yes, we'll still sin and need forgiveness from Jesus, but that curse has been broken! Isn't that so awesome??

And so  now you know why Beauty and the Beast reminds me of Jesus. A curse, true love, and a new life. It's pretty cool how we can find Jesus and the gospel in all sorts of place is we look for him, even in our favorite movies. 

The Treehouse Ep4: Rainbows

Discussion Questions:

• Talk about things that make you feel hopeful. Discuss the difference between simply hoping something good happens, and having hope in Jesus. 
• Make a rainbow to hang in your window this week. 

All around the world, people have started making beautiful rainbows. They're hanging them in windows, or drawing them with chalk out in the driveway, or sharing online for all the world to see. Rainbows are very pretty, but why are people doing this now? What does it mean?

It's a symbol of hope. Whenever someone sees a rainbow they are reminded there's hope.

We talked on our very first episode about the word "unsettled" and how we're all going through a confusing thing. By now, I'm sure you've heard about the coronavirus and you know that there are hard things people in charge are trying to figure out to keep us all safe. And sometimes it's hard. I'm sure it's hard for you to miss your friends, playing sports, going to dance classes, or whatever your favorite things are. I get it. It's hard for me too. I miss my friends and going to church.

But we have hope that this won't last forever. And I think it's really great that people, including lots of kids, are making rainbows to remind everyone that there's hope.

You want to know what's even better though? We have an even greater hope. We have hope that goes way beyond viruses and getting back to normal. We have hope that isn't just in doctors and scientists and other grown-ups figuring out what to do to keep us safe. We have hope in Jesus.

The very first time God ever put a rainbow in the sky was after Noah and his family got off the ark. It rained for forty days and forty nights. And they were stuck on the ark for a long time the rain stopped! Imagine how hard it was to be stuck on a boat for so long! Imagine all they were missing about fresh air, sunshine, and dry land. And I bet while they were waiting, Noah and his family held on tight to the hope that God had a plan and everything would be okay.

And he did. And God put a rainbow up in the sky as a symbol of his promise to never destroy the earth with water again. Whenever Noah saw a rainbow again, I bet he didn't remember the rain and the ark and feel afraid. I bet he remembered that he could trust God and have hope for the future.

Let me tell you another cool story about rainbows. This one is in the book of Revelation at the very end of the Bible. Now remember, we call them Bible stories, but they're all true. And the book of Revelation tells us what is going to happen someday when Jesus returns to rule forever and always.

Revelation was written by Jesus's friend and disciple John long after Jesus returned to heaven. It was a vision God allowed him to have of both heaven and the future. John tells us that in heaven he saw this ...

"...there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne...." (Revelation 4:2-3)

Did you catch that? What surrounds the throne? A rainbow! And who do you think is sitting on the throne? Jesus, of course.

The throne of Jesus is surrounded by a rainbow. The symbol we look to as a reminder of God's promises and hope. And we know our very best hope is in Jesus.

Jesus came to Earth to save us from our sins. Our sins separate us from God. God can't be near sin. It's dirty and God is perfectly pure and clean. And sin also has to be punished. God can't just look the other way and pretend we don't do bad things. The Bible tells us that the punishment for sin is death. That's why Jesus's death on the cross is such a big deal. He was taking our punishment. And because he came back to life, he didn't stay dead, means that he defeated that punishment of death forever. We can live on heaven someday with God, and we can be friends with him now, if we admit that we're sinners and need help, and we ask Jesus to forgive us and be in charge of our lives. When we pray that, the dirtiness of our sin is taken away! We're clean inside and a new life begins. Sometime we'll talk about what it means to be a new creation.

For now, I want to focus on the hope we have in Jesus. Whenever you see a rainbow, I want you to not just have hope that things will someday get better. I want you to remember the promises of God himself, and that Jesus is sitting on his throne. We have hope now because Jesus is with us in hard things and in good things. He promised that we aren't alone. And we have hope because someday we can live with Jesus forever in heaven.

I want to wrap up today with this Bible verse. It's Romans 15:13, "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

This week you can make your own rainbow, and as you work on it, I want you to remember that verse. I'll read it one more time for you. "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Let's pray.

Dig Deep Ep01: The Gospel of Sheep

This week's lesson for the kids came from Luke 15. This may be my favorite chapter of the Bible, which is a little odd because my favorite book of the Bible is actually John. But I digress. There are actually three parables that Jesus tells in Luke 15--the parable to the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the prodigal son. Jesus tells each of these stories to drive the point home that God never gives up on us. With the kids, I focused on The Prodigal Son. I wanted to talk to them about God's love and ready forgiveness when we mess up. I wanted them to know that no matter how angry we get at them sometimes, God is always there for them. And that no mistake or bad choice is too big for God to forgive them and still love them.

But for us tall people, I want to zero in on the sheep. The story of the lost sheep in Luke 15 spoke to me very deeply when I was in college. I had made a string of poor decisions that left me pretty emotionally bankrupt when the bottom fell out. When I turned to come back to God, I found that He was ready and waiting for me, just like the father in the prodigal son. I further discovered that I was the one sheep that needed rescuing. Jesus came for me. Just as he does for all of us. The salvation won at Calvary is good for once and for all, but it was also personal and individual. The moment that sinks in is a powerful one.

This led me on a bit of a sheepy rabbit trail through Scripture. I often take one word and look up all the verses I can find on it. So, when you start following sheep through the Bible you find that there's a lot of imagery related to these woolly creatures. For example, this verse in Isaiah, "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." (Isaiah 40:11)

Available for download here. 

The first time I read this verse as a young twenty-something, it was the idea of Jesus holding me safe in his arms that spoke to me. I even created a screen name based on that--remember AIM and screen names?? But this verse, even fifteen years later, still speaks to me every time I read it. Especially in times like we're living in right now where the world feels upside down and uncertain. This time, I'm not living in the mess of my own bad choices, but I am living in a time full of messy emotions and circumstances out of my control. Yet there is safety and security in Jesus. Not the safety and security that looks like "health and wealth prosperity gospel." But the safety and security of knowing that eternity is settled. The safety and security of knowing that I not in this anxious time alone. The safety and security of knowing that I am chosen, wanted, loved, and held by the same Creator who holds the stars in place, and the Savior who died to set me free. Whew. Exhale for a minute and let that sink in.

Now that I'm a parent, I have to say that the next part of the verse actually means even more to me. Let me read it to you again, "He gently leads those that have young." Jesus is gently leading us as we go through the journey-- not just of covid-19, not just of life, but also of parenthood. Notice that it specifically says "gently." Jesus isn't barking out commands. He's not berating us when we mess up. He's not shaming us when we are selfish or unstable or overbearing. Now, I don't want to paint Jesus as this snuggly teddy bear of a guy who doesn't take sin seriously. He isn't validating our toxic behaviors because he's sympathetic and a nice guy. No. We all have our moments and we all need grace to begin again and do better. Jesus holds us accountable to repenting and seeking his forgiveness. His leadership is always faithful, it's always wise, it's always what we need, and it's always for our good....and the good of our children.

We are not parenting alone. We need to know that. We need to believe that. We need to rest in that. When you're overwhelmed by this non-stop twenty-four-seven-no-break-from-the-kids-life that we're living, rest in Jesus. When you've lost it real bad on the kids and it's just past breakfast, remember that the risen Savior is ready to forgive you and give you His strength of spirit and patience to carry on. When it's late at night and you can't sleep because the news is scary, and your kids are worried, and you don't know how to soothe anyone's feelings because your nerves are raw....listen in the quiet for Jesus. He's gently leading those that have young.

So, no matter where you find yourself today, there's some gospel truth to hold onto. If you are the sheep separated from the fold and in need of rescuing, Jesus is on the move already. He never rests when one of his beloved is away from the safety of the flock. He never wearies of search and rescue missions.

If you are feeling anxious and afraid of the wolves howling at your door, remember that you are held safely in his arms. The Christian life doesn't mean that we are exempt from hardship and suffering. We know that all too well already. But settle deep within yourself the gospel-truth that Jesus endured hard things out of his deep, abiding love for us, and when we walk the road marked with suffering, we are not alone.

If you are a mama or papa sheep at a loss with your lambs, remember that Jesus is already ahead of you. He's gently leading you up rocky crags, and down into lush valleys, and to streams of life-giving water. There's nowhere you step that he hasn't already been. There's no danger ahead of you that he doesn't know about. And he's shepherding our young as we go along. I regularly pray for Jesus to fill in the gaps in my parenting. What I mean is that, the times when I really let my kids down or mess up or blow up, that God in his permanence and security would stand in stark contrast. That my kids can see God in the fabric of our lives, including and especially in the holes I make as an imperfect parent in need of a savior.

As you talk about Luke 15 with your kids this week, take time to make it personal. Remind them again that Jesus loves each one of them, that He is ready to forgive, and that we all are in need of that saving love and grace. It seems like a good way to prepare for Easter.

Let's pray.

Bloom Family Boxes

Click here to register your family 

We're excited to roll out a new ministry to help equip families to worship together at home. The Bible urges, even commands, parents to teach their children about the things of God.

"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." -- Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV

But sometimes it's hard to know how to start, where to begin, or if you're doing it "right". That's why we're designing these monthly kits to include everything you need to have meaningful family time growing in God's word together.

Each kit will have a central theme for the month. Items in the kit include:

• One lesson for each Sunday in the month, but you're able to do the lessons whenever it works best for your family. 
• Directions and supplies for one or two activities to do together. 
• A mini-poster of the memory verse of the month for you to display.
• A reward coupon for you to fill out with a reward of your choice, if you'd like to reward your child(ren) for their memory work. 
• Slips of paper to create and add onto a God is Good paper chain. Use these slips to write down where you see God at work and make note of your blessings. 
• Prayer Partner card with the name of another family participating in the boxes. Take time to pray for your partner family and be encouraged that another family is praying for you! 

If you're nervous about teaching your children the lessons, you can choose to listen to the Bloom Kids Treehouse podcast instead. Or for reinforcement of the lesson! Every Sunday a new episode will be released with the same lessons that are in your kits. Currently, the podcast is available to stream on Spotify but we're working on additional distribution. 

 Please register by April 24 to receive the kit for May. As this is our first month, kits may arrive after the first Sunday of the month but we will do our best! 

Register  your family for the Bloom Family Box at this link by clicking here.   

Comment below with any questions! 

Sprouts Ep 02: A Little Boy's Lunch

Lesson Extenders

• Talk about how it feels to share what you have. Have your children imagine what it would be like to share with Jesus and see a miracle. Think about what that looks like for us now. What can we give Jesus? (our time, the things we're good at, our obedience). 
• Start making a list of blessings. In this episode of The Treehouse I told the kids to start looking for God Sightings.  A God Sighting is whenever you see God at work around you. So, I want you to start looking for God in your life. What good things are happening? What blessings have you or your family received? What can we praise God for right now today? I encouraged families to start a paper chain made up of God Sightings and hang it up where you see it every day. 

Below is the written lesson I more or less followed in the video. 

Hey Sprouts! Last week we talked about how important children are to Jesus.

In fact, one of Jesus's most famous miracles included a kid. It's a story about a little boy and his lunch. What's your favorite thing to have for lunch? Is it fish and bread?? That's not my favorite lunch! I like pizza! 

Let me tell you the whole story. One day Jesus and his friends, the twelve disciples, were way out by the Sea of Galilee. An enormous crowd of people followed Jesus. They wanted him to heal and help all the people who needed him. Jesus realized that the people were going to get hungry! The disciples didn't know what to do. One of them, Philip, said that even if they could go buy food it would cost way too much money. Jesus told them to see if anyone in the crowd had any food at all. And jesus's friend Andrew found a little boy with five small loaves of bread and two small fish. This was his lunch! 

How do you think the boy felt when Andew asked him to share his lunch? Do you think maybe it helped him feel better about sharing his food when he found out it was with Jesus? 

Jesus took those five small loaves of bread and those two tiny fish, and he told the disciples to tell all of the people to sit down. There were over 5,000 people there! Five-thousand is a big number! So after everyone was settled down for lunch, Jesus thanked God for the bread and fish. 

Then he started tearing the bread and giving it to his friends to pass out. He started tearing up the fish for them to pass out too. And even though there were all those thousands of people there, they had enough food. There was enough food for everyone to eat until they were full! And there was also twelve baskets of fish and bread leftover! That's a whole lot of fish and bread. 

We can't do that. We can't tear up one slice of pizza and make enough to feed our whole families! Jesus did this miracle, this impossible thing, because God gave him the power to do it. Isn't that so cool?? Isn't it really cool how this little boy was willing to share what he had and Jesus was able to feed thousands of people? Everyone saw a miracle that day! I bet that little boy remembered it all his life and told everyone he ever met all about it. 

We can tell everyone we meet about Jesus too. You can tell someone this story I just told you! And if you want to know more, ask someone to read it to you. The whole story can be found in John 6:1-13. 

And remember, children are important to Jesus! 

The Treehouse Ep03: Confetti and Streamers (A Lesson from the Prodigal Son)

This episode is available to stream on Spotfiy. Other platforms available soon. 

Discussion Guide

• In the transcript below you find directions to build a paper chain with God Sightings and praises written on the links. This is a simple but meaningful activity for kids to work on as they identify when they see God at work. Tie in this lesson by naming God's love and forgiveness as two of your praises. 
• Most of us, including kids, know the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" by heart. Talk about the words in the song in relation to this parable. What does it mean to be lost and found? 
• In Luke 15 Jesus tells two other (shorter) parables about lost things being found. Pick one or both to read with your kids. Ask them about a time when something they really cared about was lost and they looked for it really hard. 
• On Monday April 6, a podcast for parents/guardians/other adults begins through BKT. It's called "Dig Deep". This podcast will be once or twice a month, and connects to the children's lesson. This first episode uses the parable of the lost sheep as well as Isaiah 41:10. It's called 'The Gospel of Sheep'. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to BKT so you don't miss this podcast or any other episodes. 
• We've also launched a series for the 6 and under crowd called "Sprout's Bible Seeds". These episodes are around 5 minutes- just enough time for a Bible story and the takeaway of what it means. If you have little ones, buy yourself 5 or 6 minutes of relative quiet with this podcast! Look for episodes labelled "Sprouts". 

Episode Transcript
Once there was a father who had two sons. The older son worked very hard for the father and did everything he was asked to do. The younger son wanted to leave home and experience the world. He asked his dad to give him his inheritance. An inheritance is money that you get when someone who loves you passes away and has money left. So even though his father was still very much alive, the younger son asked for his inheritance and he left home.

He spent his money wildly. He bought lots and lots of stuff, and had big parties for his friends. Before long, he had no money left. He had spent all of it but none of it was worth very much. He had to find a job to make more money. The only place where he could work was for a pig farmer, feeding pigs. This was the worst of all bad jobs. It was a job no one wanted. People looked down on him, made fun of him, wouldn't speak to him, or hang out with him. It was a job that made him feel very alone.

And dirty. The farmer didn't feed him or give him clothes. All he could do was eat with the pigs. Have you ever smelled pigs? Can you imagine what it would be like to eat with them?

So finally one day, the son was thinking. He was remembering his father. And he remembered how kind and generous his dad was to the people who worked for him. After awhile, he decided to walk back home, apologize, and ask his father to let him work for him. He realized how disrespectful, how selfish, how rude, and how wasteful he had been. He felt terrible deep, deep down inside. Guilty, ashamed, and embarrassed, the son turned back home.

Eventually after walking a long time, he could see his father's house way out in the distance. He began to walk a little faster, rehearsing the speech he prepared. He knew his father would probably be angry with him. He wanted to be ready with his apology and his request to work for his dad.

But then, suddenly, he noticed someone coming towards him. Squinting his eyes,  he looked closer. The person was running towards him. Before he knew it, the son realized that his father was running out to meet him. The son's heart jumped into his throat. He felt nervous, worried, and so deeply guilty about what he had done.

His father threw his arms around him, hugging him tight. He kissed his son's face, tears running down his face. Before the son could waste another moment, he blurted out the apology he had practiced.

"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

But remember the older son? The one who stayed at home and worked hard. He was out in the fields, working as he always did, and he heard the party for his brother. The brother who had taken their dad's money and gone off and wasted it. The brother who didn't stay at home and do his fair share at work. And he felt angry and jealous. He refused to go in and celebrate his brother's return. He didn't see any reason to be happy.

Their father went out to beg his oldest son to come in and celebrate with them. The older son replied angrily, "I've worked for you all these years, never disobeying you, and you've never given me any parties! Your other son wasted everything like a spoiled brat, and yet you give him the biggest party I've ever seen. It's just not fair."

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

This story I just told you is one of the most famous stories Jesus ever told. It's called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. There are some big ol' church words in that name, so let me explain. A parable is what we call a story that teaches you something spiritual. It's what all of the stories Jesus told were called--because ever story he told taught us something very important about God! So this is a story with a lesson about the Prodigal Son. The word Prodigal means wasteful. The son went out and wasted all that money on parties and junk. So, all together, this is the a story with a lesson about a wasteful son. And what do you think that lesson is?

Not to waste money? Hmm, maybe. Not to ask your parents for money? Not really. Not to eat pig slop?? Okay, you definitely don't want to do that but that's not actually the point of the story.

The point Jesus was making came in at the very, very end of it. Let me read that part to you again. It's taken straight out of the Bible. Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

The big fat juicy wonderful part of this story is that the father was overjoyed his son returned. The father never ever stopped loving his son, even if he was selfish and hurtful. The father never ever stopped wanting his son to come home and be with him again. The father never gave up on his son. No matter what.

Guys! This is huge! Because when Jesus told this story he was talking about how much God loves us. How much he loves you and how much he loves me and all of us.

The son was not perfect. He made a lot of bad choices, didn't he? He probably really hurt his dad's feelings when he asked for the money in the first place. Then, he went out and wasted it on a bunch of junk and parties. That wasn't wise at all. No, the son was rude and selfish and foolish. But the father still loved him. He forgave him and celebrated his return.

This is precisely what God does with you and me. The biggest celebration of all is every time someone asks Jesus to be their savior. The Bible tells us that even the angels celebrate that. There's a big party in heaven every time! But even after you ask Jesus to be your savior and become a Christian, you still sin. You still make bad choices. You can still be mean, or selfish, or rude, or foolish. We all do. Even the best, most goodest, most Christian person you know still sins and messes up. Does God give up on us then? Does he pack up all the balloons and streamers, tells the angels to go home, and say, "guess that one didn't really mean it?" NO! He doesn't.

God still loves you. God will always love you. He will always want to forgive you of your bad choices and mistakes, and welcome you home again. And I think there's always some confetti and steamers whenever a Christian admits that they've sinned and comes to God for forgiveness and love. There's a church word for that, it's "repent". And it literally means "to turn away from". Remember how the son turned away from his smelly, foolish life? He literally turned back toward home? That's what we do every time we admit that we've sinner and ask God for his forgiveness.

Now, there's just one more thing I want to mention. The older brother. He was kinda mean, wasn't he? He wasn't happy about his brother's return! He didn't want to forgive him. He was pretty stinkin' mad. Well, guys, here's the hard thing about life....sometimes we do things that are bad and hurt people's feelings, and they don't want to forgive us. Sometimes they just want to stay mad. But does that change the fact that God forgives us? No. Nothing changes God's love and willingness to forgive us. And what we need to do when someone stays mad at us is pray for them. Let God work on their heart, just like the father went out to talk to his angry son.

I hope this story gives you some encouragement. I know it makes me feel better to know that even when I do stupid things, when I hurt the feelings of the people in my family, or when I make someone mad, that God will forgive me. And that God will help all of us forgive and love each other like He loves us.

Questions and Answers

I'm going to change our Question and Answers time to God Sightings! Do you remember learning about God Sightings in VBS? A God Sighting is whenever you see God at work around you. So, I want you to start looking for God in your life. What good things are happening? What blessings have you or your family received? What can we praise God for right now today? Send me your voice clips with your God Sightings.

And here's a challenge for you. Find some paper--construction paper is best, but literally anything will work as long as it's blank on one side and you can write on it. Now, cut it into strips. Have a grown-up help you if you're on the younger side and need some help to be safe. All this week, I want you and your family to start writing down your God Sightings and praises on these slips of paper. Then turn it into a paper chain by stapling each slip into a loop, one after another. If you can, hang your chain somewhere were you will see if often. Remind everyone in your family to participate!

And don't forget to send me voice clips with your God Sightings!

The Last Word

Now it's time for the last word and to wrap up. Our verse for this week is Luke 15:32, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:24 

 abAs inkout this verse throughout your week, make sure to thank God for his love and forgiveness. Remember that no matter what, God loves you. Let's pray.

Available to download here. 

Sprouts Ep01: Children Are Important to Jesus

This episode is available to stream on Spotify.

It will be available on most other major platforms soon. 

Lesson Extenders

If you'd like to extend the lesson from today's episode here are a few ideas to help you get started. Please pick and choose which suggestions will work best for your children, and don't feel like you have to do it all.  In my experience, little ones are usually full of questions if you give them time and space to think of them. Follow their lead as their brains try to make connections and cement what they've heard. The best gospel conversations I've had with my own kids are just from following their rabbit trails.

1. I got the name for this lesson from a Beginners Bible song from all way back in my own childhood. This music is available on Spotify (and I think Amazon Music, but don't hold me to it). Listen to this song with your kids to help the message really stick that children are important to Jesus. 
2. The blog, Nicole's Coloring Pages, has several coloring pages that can be used for this lesson as well as Palm Sunday and Easter. If your child likes to color, consider printing off to keep their hands busy while they listen to the podcast. It may even help them retain more of what they're hearing. 
3. Talk with your children about people who love them like Jesus does (Pastor Mike or other church staff, a Sunday School teacher, maybe a relative or a neighbor). Work with your child to make a card or write a simple note to mail that person to thank them. 
4. Use some imaginative play to help children think about what it would've been like to sit and talk with Jesus. Ask what they would've told Jesus, talk about how they would feel afterwards. Then, tie this back into prayer and remind your child that they really can talk to Jesus whenever they want to. 

Episode Transcript 
Children are important to Jesus. Did you know that? I'm going to say it again just to let it sink in really deep. I want this truth to sink into you like a seed planted really deep in the dirt. Children are important to Jesus.

How do I know? The Bible tells me that! The Bible actually has lots of stories where God used kids to do some important things. We're going to talk about lots of those stories in the weeks to come. Today I'm going to tell you a story about Jesus and children.

Jesus spent a lot of time in big groups of people. People who needed healed from sickness or a problem like not being able to walk. People who asked him questions and he had to teach them about God. People who just wanted to be near him. And one day, some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could bless them.

A blessing means to ask God to be kind and generous to someone, or to protect them from bad things. It's asking God to show somebody how much he loves them! A blessing sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Would you like a blessing like this from Jesus? I would.

But the problem was that Jesus's friends--the disciples--they didn't think that Jesus had time to waste on children. Now, I'm sure these were nice guys but they didn't want a bunch of little kids bugging Jesus. He was important! He had things to do! Places to go! People to heal! Lessons to teach! He didn't have time to listen to a kid tell him a knock-knock joke, or show Jesus where she scraped her knee.

Do you think that the disciples were right? Do you think Jesus was too busy for kids?

You wanna know something? Jesus actually got angry with his friends for telling the children Jesus was too busy for them. It made him mad! He wanted to talk to those kids. He wanted to let them climb on his lap and tell him jokes and show him their ouchies. Jesus deeply loved those kids, just like he did the grown-ups he healed and helped.

This is what He said, "Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)

Jesus actually told all the grown-ups that they needed to be more like the children! You kids are pretty amazing people. You ask lots of questions. You don't think you know everything there is to know about God. You're curious. And just about every kid I know is really generous with hugs and forgiveness and friendship and happiness. All of those things are important. And sometimes grown-ups aren't very good at those things anymore.

So the parents brought their children to Jesus. No one stopped them anymore. And the Bible says that "he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them." (Mark 10:16). Try to imagine Jesus for a minute. Just make a picture of him in your mind. And now imagine what it would be like to have him hold you in his lap, or to give you a big, strong hug, or to put his hand on your head and pray for you? Do you think you would feel happy? Loved? Maybe brave?

Children are still important to Jesus. You can talk to Jesus anytime you want to. We call it praying, but it's just talking to Jesus like he's your friend, or your dad, or your favorite uncle. You can talk to him about anything at all.

We're going to talk more about Jesus next week! We'll talk about a miracle Jesus did with a little boy's lunch. And on a bonus episode, we'll talk about about Easter--it's the most important thing you need to know about Jesus.

This week I want you to think about two things. One, think about someone who takes time to listen to you and show you how important you are to them. Pray and thank God for that person! And two, think about this Bible verse: Mark 10:14...Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! I want you to think about those two things so you will always remember that children are important to Jesus. Now I'm going to pray for us.

Available to download here. 

Parent Resources: Anxiety in Children

Hi parents!

Below are some links and downloads that can help you if your child is struggling with anxiety right now. Let me start by saying--anxiety doesn't always look like anxiety. It can look like anger. It can be restlessness. It can even be hyperactivity.

The following resources were provided to us through the children's ministry publisher Orange.

Preschool Anxiety Guide
Elementary Anxiety Guide

This blog post is also from Orange and gives a succinct step-by-step guide to helping your kiddos process what's going on specifically with Covid-19.

The website Raising Girls and Boys is a wealth of resource for children's mental health. Children's counselor and author Sissy Goff has been recording podcasts, writing Instagram posts, and getting helpful content out into the world any which way she can since the quarantine began. Search her name in whatever podcast platform you use to find podcasts where she's been a guest. Follow her in IG for some daily advice and inspiration. And browse this site!

And last but not least, here is a whole collection of Scripture to help us all as we live through this experience. Here's one I'm holding onto today: Cast all your cares [anxiety] upon Him because He cares for you.--1 Peter 5:7

If I find additional resources that are particularly helpful along these lines, I'll be sure to share them. And if YOU have a resource, please share it in the comments.