SeedPod Kids

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Starting with Jesus

Katie Chitwood

SeedPod Kids April 2023

A Rebellious Son Part 1

A Rebellious Son Part 2

A Rebellious Son Part 4

A Rebellious Son Part 5

A Rebellious Son Part 6

Joash, the Boy King Part 1

Joash, the Boy King Part 2

Joash, the Boy King Part 3

Joash, the Boy King Part 4

Joash, the Boy King Part 5

Joash, the Boy King Part 6

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 1

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 2

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 3

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 4

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 5

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 6

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 1

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 2

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 3

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 4

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 5

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 6

God’s Special Messengers Part 1

God’s Special Messengers Part 2

A Rebellious Son Part 3

God’s Special Messengers Part 3

God’s Special Messengers Part 4

God’s Special Messengers Part 5

God’s Special Messengers Part 6

Missionary Prisoners Part 1

Missionary Prisoners Part 2

Missionary Prisoners Part 3

Missionary Prisoners Part 4

Missionary Prisoners Part 5

Missionary Prisoners Part 6

Hello friends, welcome to the Seed Pod for Kids. Thank you for joining me today as we spend time with our friend Jesus. Spending time with Jesus is the best way to start your day. Let's begin our time together praising Him. The word rejoice is said 187 times in the Bible, 145 of those are in the Old Testament alone. God wants us to rejoice. He wants us to glory in His salvation. He wants us to be happy and praise Him for all He has done for us. So this week, why not talk as a family about the blessings that God has given you and write them down and rejoice together over how God is working in your life. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, give thanks and sing. Praise Him who reigns on high. The Lord whom we adore. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. One God forevermore. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, give thanks and sing. Hey you boys and girls. I'm glad that you're back with me today as we study the story about a special prophet that God gave a message to, but the prophet didn't obey. In fact, he thought that if he ran away, if he hid in the bottom of a ship, then he would be safe. Do you think he'll be safe? Well, we're going to find out in just a minute, but first let's pray. Dear Lord, please lead us as we study from your word. We are so happy to be able to spend this time with you, that you just have worked everything out. Please lead us today in Jesus' name. Amen. Jonah was trying to do something impossible. Have you ever tried to do something impossible? I have tried to lift things that are way too heavy. I can't even make them budge. It's impossible. Well, Jonah was trying to do something like that. He thought that he had found a way to get out of going to Nineveh. He didn't want to go to Nineveh. Those people were wicked and they wouldn't listen to him anyway. Now he was starting a long boat trip in the opposite direction. God told him to go one way and he went the other way. Yeah, it was not a good thing or a good plan. But the Bible tells us that he went down into the boat and he fell asleep. He was sound asleep at the bottom of the ship when someone shook him awake. Let's go to Jonah chapter 1 verses 4 through 6. Here we go. Let's see where and what this is. So Jonah is in the Old Testament. It's in all the little books of the Old Testament like Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Those are the last few books of the Old Testament. If you get to Matthew, Mark, Luke, you've gone too far. So we have Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah. Oh man, I am having a hard time finding this. There! If you are having a hard time too, you can always ask an adult to help you. But we are going to be in Jonah chapter 1 verse 4. It's right before Micah. So you have Jonah, Micah, Nahum. Jonah chapter 1. We are going to read verses 4, 5, and 6. Here is what it says. He was laying down and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him and said to him, What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God. Perhaps your God will consider us so that we may not perish. Who sent the storm? The Lord did. Do you think when the Lord sends a storm, it's a little tiny storm or something kind of pathetic? Little waves? Little bit of a wind? No! It was a great big storm. There was a great wind, a mighty tempest. The ship was about to be broken up. That's pretty crazy. Then the mariners, that's the sailors, the people who took care of the ship. They were afraid and every man cried out to his God. Wow! And so what did they try to do to help them get through this storm? Well, they said, we must be too heavy. We're too low in the water. So let's throw out a bunch of stuff, all of our cargo and let's lighten the load. So maybe we'll ride higher on the waves and we won't be in as much danger. So that's what they were doing. They're throwing everything overboard. They're just trying to save their lives. And Jonah, where was he in all of this? He was at the bottom of the ship. And you know what? He had gone to sleep. Hmm. Even though that ship was tossing all over. I don't know how he stayed in his bunk. Because they have said that when storms are really bad at sea, people can be thrown out of their bunks. But somehow he was sleeping there. And the captain came to him and said, what do you mean you sleeper? Arise, call on your God. Perhaps your God will consider us so that we may not perish. He's trying everything he can to be saved. And Jonah knew at once what was happening. I don't know if he just had this feeling or if God kind of impressed upon him. Hey, I'm sure he was feeling guilty. When you've done something wrong, do you ever feel guilty? Yeah, I have. Really guilty. In fact, I felt so icky and so awful. I knew I just needed to confess right away so that then I would feel better. And you know what? As soon as I confessed, I felt so much better. And that's how Jonah was feeling. He was just feeling so bad. He was obeying Satan. He knew that God shouldn't answer his prayer. And actually, God didn't. When the sailors cast lots, whose name did they draw? And then what happened next? We're going to read the next five verses from 7 to 12. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Six verses. All six verses. So starting at verse 7, let's read through verse 12. And they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us. So they cast lots. And the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, Please tell us, for whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you? So he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us? For the sea was growing more tempestuous. The men are so afraid, and Jonah says, You know what? Just throw me overboard. Just get it over with. Throw me in the sea. Everyone knew why the storm was happening, but nobody wanted to throw Jonah into the sea. And finally, finally, they're like, Okay, we're all going to drown unless we throw him in, so let's throw him overboard. Look at verses 14, 15, and 16. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done it as it pleased you. So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Isn't that amazing? The sea ceased from its raging. As soon as Jonah was thrown in, the sea just calmed right down and settled down. Jonah must have been sure that he would drown. But you know what, boys and girls? Even though Jonah made this mistake, even though he had been running from God, did God still love him? Yes, he did. And God had plans for him. He sent a large fish to swallow Jonah and take him back to the shore that he had just left. Look at verse 17. How long was Jonah in the belly of that fish? Three days and three nights is what the Bible says. Jonah was learning about consequences, wasn't he? He must have had all kinds of feelings down there in the dark, slimy stomach of the big fish. You can't see anything because you're in the fish's stomach. There's no light. You can only feel around. It must have stunk horribly. Some people might wonder, well, how did he breathe? You know what? God's the one that put him there. God's the one that had that fish all ready for him. So we don't know how, but I know that God is big enough and powerful enough to make it happen. And if he needed Jonah alive, he could keep Jonah alive for those three days and three nights. What was going to happen? Can you imagine him there in the fish? What am I going to do? Oh, I should have never, never run from God. Do you think he prayed? I'm sure he prayed. Did God hear him? Yes, he did. Three days later, Jonah was back on land getting cleaned up and now he was ready to obey. Let's read Jonah 2, verse 10 and then read Jonah 3, verses 1-3. So 2, verse 10. I have to turn my page here. 2, verse 10. And then read chapter 3, verses 1, 2 and 3. Now that great city and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. Do you think that Jonah obeyed this time? Yeah, he did. He was like, I've learned my lesson. I'm going to follow God. I would much rather go and talk to those heathen people than to be stuck inside a fish or maybe something even worse this time. You know, boys and girls, something that stands out to me in this story is the heathen sailors. They learned about God. In fact, the Bible says in Jonah, chapter 1, verse 16, that they worshiped God. Isn't that wonderful? Because of Jonah's experience and because of what happened, the men feared the Lord and worshiped God. They offered a sacrifice to him. Isn't that incredible? Even when Jonah made a mistake, even when he wasn't the best missionary, he wasn't telling everybody about God, those circumstances led to the heathen sailors learning about God and worshiping him. Boys and girls, can we hide from God? No. He knows right where we are and how did God show that he still loved Jonah? Did he prepare that fish? Did he take care of him the three days and three nights? Yeah, he did. And he gave him his job to do again. He didn't give up. He said, Here, I want you to go. And Jonah went. We're going to find out what happened next time. Dear Lord, help us to be faithful to you. When you ask us to do something, help us to obey right away. Help us to listen to your still, small voice. In Jesus' name, amen. The Lord is one suffering and abundance in mercy Numbers 14, 18 The Lord is one suffering and abundance in mercy Forgiving and equity and transgression The Lord is one suffering and abundance in mercy Numbers 14, 18 Have you wanted to see behind-the-scenes of our podcast, watch fun nature lessons, and hear some of our previous episodes like Missionary Monday or Bible Q&A? Then check out our SeedPod Kids YouTube channel. Just head over to YouTube, search SeedPod Kids, like, subscribe, and share with your friends. Make sure your parents know what you're doing and that they approve. That's SeedPod Kids on YouTube. If you have enjoyed this program and would like to find others like it, go to startingwithjesus.com The materials for this devotional podcast are used by permission from My Bible First. Visit their website at mybiblefirst.org to get your own copy. For more information about this episode, check out the description box below.

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SeedPod Kids April 2023

God’s Special Messengers Part 5

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Other Teachings in Series

A Rebellious Son Part 1

A Rebellious Son Part 2

A Rebellious Son Part 4

A Rebellious Son Part 5

A Rebellious Son Part 6

Joash, the Boy King Part 1

Joash, the Boy King Part 2

Joash, the Boy King Part 3

Joash, the Boy King Part 4

Joash, the Boy King Part 5

Joash, the Boy King Part 6

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 1

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 2

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 3

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 4

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 5

Hezekiah, the Praying King Part 6

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 1

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 2

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 3

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 4

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 5

Treasure Found in the Temple Part 6

God’s Special Messengers Part 1

God’s Special Messengers Part 2

A Rebellious Son Part 3

God’s Special Messengers Part 3

God’s Special Messengers Part 4

God’s Special Messengers Part 5

God’s Special Messengers Part 6

Missionary Prisoners Part 1

Missionary Prisoners Part 2

Missionary Prisoners Part 3

Missionary Prisoners Part 4

Missionary Prisoners Part 5

Missionary Prisoners Part 6

Sound Doctrine