The Simple Word for Kids

Let’s focus on goodness and faithfulness today! First we'll go back to the basics for a moment about what the fruit of the spirit even is. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, it’s not just a one-and-done deal. I mean, sure, we get the security of Heaven after death, right? But that doesn’t mean God leaves us hanging until then. He gives us the Holy Spirit, Who guides us every day. As we grow in God, we bear fruit from our faith in Him. The fruit is evidence that we have Jesus in our hearts. A healthy apple tree grows apples. A healthy orange tree grows oranges. A healthy Christian bears fruit. How do we stay healthy as a Christian? By studying God’s Word. The first fruit we’ll focus on is goodness. I mean, what is goodness, anyway, really? Is it following the rules, doing your homework, and trying to be perfect? Oh no. There’s no way to be perfect. There was only one perfect human being ever … Jesus! So go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief. Being a Christian doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.Goodness can go a long way to show God’s love. Now, does all of this goodness come from being perfect? No way. It comes from Jesus in our hearts. God is the perfect example of true goodness, and he teaches us goodness through his word. Now, what about faithfulness?Well, a simple way to describe faithfulness to God is, becoming more like him.Faithfulness means that we can always count on God.  We can trust his promises. Everything God promised in the Bible, he actually did. Because God is faithful. Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

We’re back with more learning on the fruit of the spirit … and today we’ll actually talk about TWO fruits, because they go so well together. Patience, and Kindness!Let’s go to our scripture, Galatians 5:22-23. Say it with me if you can remember!But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.Now, by now we have a pretty good understanding of what the fruit of the spirit actually means, right? If you were thinking, “the fruit of the spirit, is Godly attitudes and character qualities of people who have Jesus in their life.” Then congratulations! You’re exactly right! Patience and Kindness … why do you think they go hand-in-hand? Let’s first think about patience. What does patience mean to you? Let’s say you’re having a REALLY hard time waiting to go to your favorite park. Your mom said you guys will go in an hour … but … an hour is FOREVER!!! If you walked around the house complaining that you’re so reeeeady to go to the park, and why is it taking sooo looong?? And why can’t you just go NOOOOW? Does that sound like you’re being very patient? No. But what if you decided to keep yourself busy, and not complain? Does that sound like you’re being patient? YES! Now, what if your sister were playing with something you REALLY wanted. And you knew you needed to take turns, but you wanted it SO BAD, like, RIGHT NOW! You looked at your sister, and said, “Give that to me NOW!! I want it!” Does that sound very patient? Nope. But what if you saw your sister having fun with it, and kindly asked her, “Can I play with that when you’re finished?” Does that sound patient? Absolutely. See, THAT’S where patience and kindness go together SO well. When you’re patient, you’re also being kind. When you’re kind, you’re also being patient. Does that make sense? Check out Colossians 3:12-13: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”Did you notice that verse point out that we should be patient and forgiving to one another, AS THE LORD has forgiven us? Now, picture the Almighty God, powerful and wise. And picture him getting so impatient with you … so angry and irritated at you … and making you feel terrible just because he didn’t have any more patience. Well, you know what? That will never happen … You know why? Because God is ALWAYS patient. His patience doesn’t run out. He doesn’t give up on you, and he doesn’t throw a temper tantrum with you. EVER. Can I be completely honest here? If God were impatient, and threw temper tantrums because of his impatience … well, that doesn’t sound like a very kind God, does it? But we have got it MADE. Because the God we serve is a patient God. A Kind God. Merciful and forgiving. Even when we don’t deserve it.Let’s take a closer look at Kindness from Galatians 5. When I think of kindness, I think of someone treating other people with gentleness, and tenderness, and … well … patience. If you showed kindness to others, do you think that would be a good example to them of who God is? Because, isn’t GOD the best example of someone who is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, and kind?I mean, that’s the whole point of the idea of the “fruit of the spirit”, right? When we have the Holy Spirit dwelling, living, in us, we bear fruit of his influence in our lives! Then others can see who God is, through us!Special thanks to Terry and Judy Long, and Cindy Jones, for your support of The Simple Word. Thanks to Purple Planet for the music.Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Today's Fruit of the Spirit is Peace!Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."Peace is a tricky little fruit. Peace … is hard to keep. It’s constantly scurrying away at the first sign of anxiety and hardship. And that’s just when you need it the most! But I want to tell you about true peace … the peace that comes from having a relationship with Christ.When you have Jesus as Lord of your life, there is a kind of peace that is hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t know Jesus. It’s a deep kind of peace that makes you feel like, no matter what, everything is going to be OK. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”See? It’s an inner calm that comes with knowing that God is absolutely in control.Now, remember, Galatians 5 was originally written in Greek. The word “peace” here, in Greek, has a meaning of kind of, “Having it all together”. We talked about joy last week, that it’s something you’re able to keep no matter how hard things are. It’s the same thing with peace … no matter what chaos, scary things, painful things are going on around you, peace can ALWAYS be found in Christ. Always. It’s a special kind of peace that is sometimes even hard to understand. Phil 4:6-7, & 9 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”Did you catch that? God tells us, through Paul in Philippians here, to not be anxious about ANYTHING. I mean, if you think about it, worrying and being anxious can kind of seem like you don’t really trust God … that you don’t really trust in his Power, and his sovereignty. Praying, turning to God, and finding peace and wisdom in the Word is the best way to keep worrying and anxiety away. I really hope that every time you feel yourself worrying, or feeling anxious, you’ll immediately remember to pray to God, trust in Him, and study his Word.Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

We’re on Episode 3 on the fruit of the spirit! There are nine fruits in total that we’ll learn about. And the one we’ll talk about today is my personal favorite!Let’s read Galatians 5:22-23. And like I told you last time, I’m hoping that by the time we finish talking about the Fruit of the spirit, you’ll have these two verses memorized!But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.Ok, so we’ve talked about love and joy. Next we’ll talk about PEACE!Peace is a tricky little fruit. Peace … is hard to keep. It’s constantly scurrying away at the first sign of anxiety and hardship. And that’s just when you need it the most! But I want to tell you about true peace … the peace that comes from having a relationship with Christ.When you have Jesus as Lord of your life, there is a kind of peace that is hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t know Jesus. It’s a deep kind of peace that makes you feel like, no matter what, everything is going to be OK. In Romans, chapter 8 verse 28, you can find this bit of truth: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”See? It’s an inner calm that comes with knowing that God is absolutely in control.Now, remember, Galatians 5 was originally written in Greek. The word “peace” here, in Greek, has a meaning of kind of, “Having it all together”. We talked about joy last week, that it’s something you’re able to keep no matter how hard things are. It’s the same thing with peace … no matter what chaos, scary things, painful things are going on around you, peace can ALWAYS be found in Christ. Always. It’s a special kind of peace that is sometimes even hard to understand. Phil 4:6-7, and 9 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”Did you catch that? God tells us, through Paul in Philippians here, to not be anxious about ANYTHING. I mean, if you think about it, worrying and being anxious can kind of seem like you don’t really trust God … that you don’t really trust in his Power, and his sovereignty. Praying, turning to God, and finding peace and wisdom in the Word is the best way to keep worrying and anxiety away. I really hope that every time you feel yourself worrying, or feeling anxious, you’ll immediately remember to pray to God, trust in Him, and study his Word.Thanks for listening today! Next week we’ll actually talk about TWO fruits of the spirit, because they just go together really well. Thanks to Purple-Planet.com for the music!Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

I told you three weeks ago that we would be talking about the Fruit of the Spirit, and I ended up telling you all about Naaman the leper, and Jonah and the Big Fish. Well, here we are, FINALLY talking about the Fruit of the Spirit. Our scripture is in Galatians, and just like The Armor of God, the author is Paul. Our scripture today is Galatians 5:22-23.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.Now, first of all, I want to tell you what the “fruit of the Spirit” even means. What “spirit”, and why does it have fruit?The “Spirit” is the Holy Spirit, which is one of the trinity. The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One and the same! We all know that God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus, to reach sinners. To die for them. God the Holy Spirit dwells, or lives, within us, when we accept Jesus as our Savior. The Holy Spirit guides us every day, comforts us, nurtures us, and helps us. The Holy Spirit will allow us to feel conviction when we have sinned. Think about this … if someone were to point to a tree and ask you, “What kind of tree is that?” It’s likely you may not be sure … unless you took a closer look and realized the tree is full of apples! “Well, that’s an apple tree, of course!” Or, if you ever came across a tall tree with clusters of bananas hanging down, you would know right away that it’s a banana tree! See, you can know a tree, by its fruit!There are actually nine fruits of the spirit … But let’s just focus on one today … LOVE.Now, the language we speak is English. And in the English language, there is only one word for love: LOVE! So, you could say, “I just LOVE this kind of cereal!” You could also say, “I just LOVE my brother!” The same word is used to describe your appreciation for your favorite kind of cereal, and to describe your affection for your sibling. In Greek, which is the original language for Galatians 5, there are four different kinds of love. There’s EROS, which is romantic love, like between husband and wife. There’s STORGE (storj), which is family love, like the love of a mother for her children, or the love for a brother or sister. There’s PHILIA, which describes friendship. And then there’s AGAPE. This is the most powerful kind of love … it’s the love God has for us. It’s the love Christ-like love. It’s also a love that is something a person CHOOSES … it’s not a feeling, or emotion. It’s a kind of love that shows respect, devotion, commitment, that results in a willingness to sacrifice for someone. The ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross is a powerful example of AGAPE. Here in Galatians 5, the word LOVE used, is AGAPE. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” That’s an example of AGAPE.Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is the ultimate example of AGAPE. The last example I have for you is John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” See? It’s a love of CHOICE, and devotion.Special thanks to Terry and Judy Long, and Cindy Jones, for your support of The Simple Word.If you like what you hear and you’d like to support the podcast, as well, the best thing you can do is share it with a friend, or leave a positive review!Thanks to Purple-Planet.com for the music!Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Here's another gross story of the Bible for you! It involves guts, and big, stinky fish. We’re going to talk about Jonah and the big fish.First we’ll talk about how Jonah ended up getting swallowed by a great fish to begin with, and then we’ll explore what it may have been like. After that, we’ll talk about what Jonah ended up doing about it. Check out Jonah 1 and 2:1-10So, here we have Jonah. He was a prophet. God called Jonah to be a missionary to another nation to deliver the message God had for them. First of all, it wasn’t a pleasant message … and Nineveh wasn’t a good place. It was a huge city that was very powerful, probably the largest city in the world at that time. It was known for how evil it was, and how cruel the people could be. Imagine how afraid Jonah felt being told to go to Nineveh. He obviously underestimated God and His mighty plan. So, instead, he found a ship heading the complete opposite way to Tarshish, which was actually a very wealthy city during that time. Apparently, Jonah thought he could run away from God.Is it possible for us to run away from God? No. We can certainly try to run away, but God is always with us. Always. He’ll never leave us, even if we try to run from Him.Well, God caused a huge storm. Not just any storm. God “hurled” a great wind upon the sea, which indicates its severity. If God can create entire galaxies with just words, imagine the kind of storm produced when God hurls something in your direction! These experienced sailors, who had been through many storms, were so afraid of this one, they began praying throwing things overboard to lighten the load, and they began praying to their gods for deliverance. Did their gods help them? No. Because they weren’t the True God. Here’s another thing … if the captain of the ship comes looking for you, it must be pretty serious. Well, the captain of this ship came looking for Jonah, and found him deep in the ship, asleep! The captain told him to pray to his god, whatever god it was, hoping that maybe his god would rescue them. Oh, the captain had no idea who he was dealing with. Desperate for answers, the sailors decided to cast lots, which is like rolling a type of dice, to get direction for what to do. God controlled the lots indicate Jonah. That’s when he confessed to them what he had done. As the storm worsened, Jonah told them to throw him overboard to save themselves. Listen to this – the heathen sailors were more concerned for Jonah than Jonah was for the thousands and thousands of people in Nineveh. The sailors tried everything BUT throwing Jonah overboard. In the end, that’s exactly what they did, but not before praying to God, and respectfully, humbly asking God to spare his life. The moment Jonah was thrown overboard, the storm went away.God sent a big fish to swallow him up! He sat in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Now, let’s take a minute to think about what that would be like.Imagine how bad it smelled! Imagine how dark it was! Imagine how slimy it was! Jonah also didn’t have any water to drink … so how did he get water? I don’t even want to think about it. Jonah started praying from inside the fish. He praised God for His mighty power, he acknowledged God’s sovereignty, and finally submitted to God’s commands.What happened after that? Probably the grossest part of all … God spoke to the fish, and the fish vomited! Out came a soggy Jonah, right onto dry land. GROSS!So, Jonah went on to deliver God’s unpleasant message to the city of Nineveh, which was that they would all be destroyed in a great disaster if they didn’t turn away from their sin and turn to God. The people of Nineveh repented … including the King!Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Well, I’ve got a gross one for you today. It’s about a man named Naaman, in 2 Kings 5:1-14.Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria. He was a considered to be a great man in that day, and highly favored by the king. Not only was he highly favored by the king, who was named Ben-hadad, but he was also blessed by the King of Kings (God), who gave him many military victories over their enemies. What does it mean to be “favored?” (answer you’re looking for: privileged, liked more than others, preferred, given special treatment). Naaman was also wealthy and a courageous warrior.But Naaman had a problem. A big, painful problem. He had leprosy. Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes sores all over the body.Leprosy is still an active disease now, most of the cases being in Africa and Asia. Leprosy, nowadays, has a cure, but in ancient times, lepers were outcasts. So, imagine how desperate Naaman felt, being a man of prestige, coming down with leprosy!During one of Syrian’s raids, they kidnapped a little Israelite girl, and she became the servant of Naaman’s wife. One day, the young girl told Naaman’s wife about a prophet named Elisha who lived in Samaria. The girl said that Elisha could cure him of leprosy! Naaman went to King Ben-hadad and told him what the girl had said, and the king not only granted him permission to go find Elisha, but also wrote a letter to the king of Israel.So, the king of Israel, whose name was Jehoram, read the letter and thought Syrian King Ben-hadad expected HIM to heal Naaman! He ripped his clothes, and was basically saying, “What in the world? Does Ben-hadad think I’m God? I’m certain he is picking a fight with me.” If this were true, that would likely mean the beginning of war, and Jehoram obviously didn’t want that. Elisha heard about this, and advised that the king send Naaman to himself. When Naaman arrived at the door of Elisha’s house, he expected to be greeted by Elisha himself. After all, Naaman was a very important person. Imagine his disappointment when he was greeted by a messenger, instead! What an insult. The servant told him of Elisha’s specific instructions to wash in the Jordan River seven times, and then he would be “clean”. First of all, Naaman was angry because Elisha didn’t even bother to greet him in person, and didn’t consider that Elisha may have had his own reasons for doing so. Secondly, he had a preconcieved idea of how this would all go down … that Elisha woul d wave his hand like a magic wand and cure him in a magical show of glory. Thirdly, how dare Elisha suggest he wash in the Jordan River, which was an Israeli river, instead of the Abana or Pharpar rivers, which were in Damascus, a place familiar to himself. A place that honored his false gods. In all his rage, he turned and left. Naaman’s servants spoke wisdom to him and convinced him to do as the prophet Elisha instructed. Naaman listened, humbled himself, and followed God’s instructions given by Elisha. When he dipped himself seven times in the Jordan River, God granted him healing! His flesh was made well, “like a little child”. From that day forward, Naaman declared the God of Israel to be the true God, and renounced the gods he’d previously worshiped. Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

In Ephesians 6, Paul refers to the Word as the Sword of the Spirit. There are a couple of reasons that make a sword an accurate representation of the Word. There's also one unexpected element to arming ourselves, according to scripture... Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

The Helmet of Salvation keeps our heads protected from the attacks of evil. In order to understand the Helmet of Salvation, however, we need to understand salvation itself. Straight from Ephesians 6, ICB. Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Paul in Ephesians uses a shield as an example of faith. The funny thing is, a Roman soldier used his shield as both protection, AND a weapon. Listen to see how we can use this same concept in our everyday lives, trusting God every single day.Eph. 6:11-16Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Ephesians 6 talks about a piece of armor being the Shoes of the Good News of Peace. What does that even mean? In this episode we'll talk about what Paul meant by Shoes of Good News of Peace, and how confidently a soldier can fight when he has peace in the fact that the battle has already been won.Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

Ephesians 6:11-14 talks about the armor of God, and in this episode we talk about the breastplate of right living, or breastplate of righteousness. We'll talk about what Roman soldiers typically wore to protect their chest, and why Paul talks about a breastplate as being a piece of spiritual armor we need to always put on.Music by Purple-Planet.com. Thank you!Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

The first few episodes are focused on the Armor of God, found in Ephesians 6:1-17. In this first episode, we'll find out why we should even have to put on armor at all. Does this mean we are in a battle? Who are we fighting? And which piece of armor should we put on first?Each of these questions are answered, as well as a hint for what's coming in Episode 2.Thank you to Purple-Planet.com for the music!Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/thesimpleword)

We don't often think about righteousness, or right living, as being a form of protection, but according to Ephesians 6:14, it is an essential part of the Armor of God. Find out exactly how it protects you in this episode.

Paul in Ephesians talks about putting on the Belt of Truth. But what exactly does that mean? How is truth anything like a belt?Based on Ephesians 6:14a

In this first episode, we'll get started digging deep on the Armor of God, on piece at a time. But first we need to know WHY we should even have to wear armor? Wearing armor indicates we're in a battle ... so, what armor should we wear? Who are we fighting? And why?Based on Ephesians 6:10-18