Questions about God for Kids
No. God has always existed. That's a hard concept for us to understand, but
it's true. There is no time when God did not exist, no matter how far back you
go. In fact, here's a concept: God created time! So God lives outside of time
in eternity. Heaven is outside of time and space, so we can't drive there, not
even in an incredibly fast space ship.
The Bible says that God is the “Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the
end. I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the
Almighty One.” Hard to understand, right? But it tells of God's awesomeness, He
is the creator of everything and the cool thing is that He created you, too and
has a wonderful plan for your life!
What
does God look like?
That's a little hard to say. God is a Person, but he's also a spirit, so we
can't be completely sure what he will look like to us when we are with him in
heaven. But Jesus told the disciples: "If you have seen me, you have seen
the Father." So it's a safe bet that he will look a whole lot like Jesus
-- since Jesus is God, of course!
Yes, but not exactly! Remember that when Jesus was here on earth he wasn't in
what we call his "glorified state." The Bible tells us that Jesus
left his "glory" in heaven so that he could come to Earth to be like
us, to be a human being. But when we see Jesus in heaven, he will be "full
of glory".
We can't know exactly what Jesus will look like in heaven, but we can get a
pretty good idea from two passages in the New Testament. The first is when he
is with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. It says that
his face "shone like the sun" or put another way that “sunlight
poured from his face” and it says that his clothes were so bright and white
that Peter, James and John couldn't look at him. The second passage is in the
Book of Revelation, and it describes Jesus in a similar way. It says that he was
dressed in a long robe with a gold sash wrapped around his chest. And it says
that his hair was white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. And his
voice sounded like rushing waters. John was so overwhelmed that he fell on his
face. It was just too much to be in Jesus' presence. But Jesus said to him
"Don't be afraid." But we can understand why John was afraid.
Actually seeing God is no small thing to imagine!
How
can I grow as a Christian?
In the same way that a baby grows and matures, so a Christian needs to grow and
mature. There are four main things that a child of God needs to do in order to
grow spiritually.
1. Read the Bible
2. Pray
3. Meet with others Christians (have fellowship).
4. Tell others about Jesus (witness).
It's like a car that needs four pumped up tires to be able to drive well on a
road.
1. Read the Bible (In the Old Testament the Bible is referred to as The Law
of the Lord.)
Psalm 1:2,3 - But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and
night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each
season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
a) The Bible helps us to grow as Christians- just like milk helps a baby to
grow.
1 Peter 2:2 You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness
of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk.
b) The Bible is like a guidebook on how God wants us to live.
Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and
following its rules.
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against
you.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
c) The Bible is part of the spiritual armour that helps us to fight against the
attacks of the devil.
Ephesians 6:17 Take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
Matthew 4:10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the
Scriptures say...,
To help you read the Bible and discover all about your relationship with God,
1.Read your bible every day
2. Pray
Why should I pray?
a) Praying is talking to God.
When you love someone you want to talk to them. Prayer is a two-way
conversation that helps us to grow in our relationship with God. Through
prayer, we talk to God and He talks to us. You can talk to God about
everything, what's happening in your life, how you feel, what you need.
Philippians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
b) Jesus showed us that it was important to pray.
Luke 6:12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he
prayed to God all night.
c) When should I pray?
You can pray as often as you can, at any time, about anything and everything.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Never stop praying.
d)Where should I pray?
You can pray to God anywhere. Remember Jonah? He was in the belly of a great
fish when he prayed!
e) How should I pray?
Jesus taught us how to pray when he gave us the Lord's Prayer.
The letters of the word ACTS helps us to remember the different aspects of
prayer.
A - Adoration. Praise God and talk about the wonderful things He has done.
C - Confess. Confess your sin to God. Tell Him about the things you have done
(and those that you should not have done) as well as the things you haven't
done (and should have done). Talk to God about your wrong thoughts and wrong
attitudes as well.
T - Thanks. Thank God for forgiving you and for all His blessings.
S - Supplication. This word means 'to ask'. Ask God for what you, and other
people, need.
3. Fellowship
Meet with other Christians regularly - go to church or Sunday school. Perhaps
you could join a Bible club, youth group or go to a Christian camp.
Acts 2:42 They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the
apostle's teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer.
Acts 2:44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything
they had.
4. Witness
Tell others about how God loves them so much that he sent Jesus to die, so that
if they believe on him and accept him as Savior, they can be forgiven and have
eternal life.
John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal
life.
Mark 5:19 But Jesus said, "No, go home to your friends, and tell them what
wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been."
To witness to your friends.
What
does God look like?
The Bible says that God is a Spirit, so it's hard to say what he looks like
exactly! We know that God is a person, because the Bible says that God made us
in His image, and we are people! Jesus said "If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father."
When
will the world end?
No one knows. Even Jesus doesn't know. He said that no one knows but the Father
in Heaven. So we can speculate, but anyone who says they know for sure is
kidding themselves. We shouldn't worry about when the world will end, but we
should get busy doing what God has told us to do in the meantime.
Why
didn't God just forgive everybody?
God did forgive everybody, but He doesn't force us to accept His forgiveness.
It's a free gift -- but the recipient of a gift still has to accept that gift.
We are only forgiven if we accept God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
How
do I become even closer to God than I am now?
By obeying Him. Every time we obey God and do His will, we become more like Him
and draw closer to Him. Prayer is another way of drawing closer to God. You can
become closer to God this very minute by praying to God!
If
Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, would people sin today?
No! That's what's so sad about the Fall. It affected every single person who
would ever live. It broke our relationship with God. But there's good news: God
sent Jesus to repair the broken relationship. Jesus broke the power of sin over
us, so if we accept Him into our hearts, we can overcome sin!
Why
doesn't God just zap all the bad people?
Because he loves them! God loves everyone, even people who don't love him back.
And God wants everyone to know He loves them so they can turn to Him -- and
stop behaving badly. God holds out hope for all of his children, especially
those we might think of as "bad".
How
is God always there?
God is "omnipresent." That means that He really can be everywhere at
once. He's not like us, who can only be in one place at a time. He can be
everywhere. So wherever we are, God is there, too. We never have to wonder if
God is with us. He is always with us!
How
was God created?
Everything in the universe -- including every angel and person and every planet
-- was created by God. But God Himself was not created. God existed before the
Creation. It's a deep mystery, but it's true! God has always existed.
Can
Christians hear God talking to them?
Jesus said "My sheep know my voice." But he didn't mean that we would
hear him with our ears! He meant we would recognize when He was communicating
with us. We probably won't hear an actual voice with our ears. But God does
communicate with those who have accepted Him into their hearts.
Does
God see everything we do?
Yes, absolutely. God is "omniscient", which means that He knows
everything in the whole universe. So God sees everything we do, both good and
bad.
Why
do I feel bad when I do something wrong?
God created every one of us in His image. So even though we are all sinners,
deep down inside we know what's right and what's wrong. That's what we call
having a "conscience."
Questions about The Trinity for Kids
The Trinity is the idea that God is three Persons in one. Actually it's more
than an idea -- it's a hugely important part of the Christian faith. It means
that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all at the same time. We say that He
is one God, in three Persons. We can pray to God as Father, or to Jesus as the
Son, or to the Holy Spirit. Of course, no matter Who we pray to, we're praying
to the same God.
How
can God be three persons and one person at the same time?
The best answer to this is that it's a Mystery! There are some things we can't
understand very well. But we know that they are true nonetheless. Many things
that are true can be difficult for us to understand. Just think about the idea
that God is infinite, or the idea that He created the whole universe out of
nothing! Both are true, but to really understand them is a tall order! The
doctrine of the Trinity is just like that.
A good way to imagine how the Trinity works is to consider how water can exist
in 3 forms. Water can be a liquid, water can be a solid (ice)and water can be a
gas (steam or vapor), but all three forms are still water.
Discover how you can know God
Questions about Heaven for Kids
It's hard to say exactly what it will be like, but one thing is super clear: it
will be heavenly! It will be glorious and wonderful! It will feel "just
right" in every possible way, and that's because it really will be
"just right" in every possible way. It's the place made by God for
us. We were never meant to be in a world with death and suffering and sadness.
We were meant to be with Him in paradise. That's what heaven is. It's the place
where we are restored to perfect fellowship with the Lord.
It's hard to say exactly who will be in heaven. But the Bible says that all
those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus will go to heaven. So if your friends
have turned to Jesus and made Him the Lord of their lives, then according to
the Bible they will certainly be in heaven!
Those of us who know that Jesus is the way to heaven should tell those who
don't know, because it's wonderful news! How can we keep such wonderful news to
ourselves? We can't and we shouldn't. It's the best news there is!
Yes, Jesus is the only way to heaven. But that's good news! Without God sending
Jesus to earth to die for us, there would be no way for us to get to heaven.
That's the good news of Jesus, that God made a way for everyone. And Jesus is
the way!
Those of us who know that Jesus is the way to heaven should tell those who
don't know, because it's wonderful news! How can we keep such wonderful news to
ourselves? We can't and we shouldn't. It's the best news there is!
When
my pet dies, will it go to heaven?
Does your pet go to church? Ha ha... Just kidding! The serious answer to this
question is that we don't really know. The Bible doesn't tell us that animals
will be in heaven, but it doesn't say that they won't be either. So we have to
say we don't know.
But one thing we do know: we can trust God with the details. He loves us more
than we can imagine, so we can trust him with the answer, even if we can't know
the answer right now. Trusting God is always the way to go.
When
we die and go to heaven, do we get angels' wings?
No. You hear this idea sometimes, but it's simply not in the Bible. According
to Scripture, we will get new bodies when we die, but we won't become like
angels. So we won't get wings.
Remember what Jesus was like after he rose from the grave? We'll be something
like that. He was in human form, and he didn't have any wings. Neither will we.
Will
all my friends go to heaven?
According to the Bible, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will
be saved. So there's no reason for any of your friends to miss out on going to
heaven. If any of your friends aren't sure if they're going, tell them the Good
News: Jesus died for their sins and He wants to welcome them into heaven, too!
Where
does God live?
God
lives in Heaven. But Heaven is not a place in this universe, so we can't fly
there in a spaceship. Heaven is outside our universe, in eternity. And that's
where God lives!
Why
doesn't God take us to heaven as soon as we get saved?
Because God's plan to redeem the world includes us! Once we accept Jesus and
become part of His Church, it's our job to do His work here on Earth. It's our
job to show God's love to others and to tell them about Him and the good news
of Jesus. If we went straight to heaven, we wouldn't be able to do that
important work.
How
long is eternity?
This is a very difficult concept to explain, but eternity isn't just a very
long time. Eternity is actually beyond time! It's a place where there is no
time. That might be hard to understand, but it's true. Eternity is forever, but
it won't feel like forever, it will feel just right. That's because God created
us to live in eternity.
Can
we get into heaven by being good?
Except for Jesus himself, no human being can be good enough to get into heaven!
The only way to get into heaven is by trusting in the Lord Jesus. He alone was
sinless, and by His death on the Cross, he purchased our redemption. So
trusting in Him is the only way to heaven.
Can
we get into heaven by being good?
Except for Jesus himself, no human being can be good enough to get into heaven!
The only way to get into heaven is by trusting in the Lord Jesus. He alone was
sinless, and by His death on the Cross, he purchased our redemption. So
trusting in Him is the only way to heaven.
Will
I go to heaven when I die?
If you've accepted Jesus into your heart, and have made Him the Lord of your
life, yes -- you will go to heaven! But remember, God wants everyone to accept
Jesus, because He wants all of us to be with Him in heaven. He loves everyone,
and doesn't want anyone to be left out.
Is
Jesus the only way to heaven?
Yes, Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus said, "No one comes to the
Father, but through me." Because of Adam and Eve disobeying God in the
Garden of Eden, we are all sinners. We all were separated from the love of God,
and from a life with Him in heaven. But in His mercy, God made a way for us all
to get to heaven. And Jesus is the way. He invites everyone to accept Him, and
to spend eternity in Heaven with Him.
Questions about Hell for Kids
It's not fair to say that God sends people to hell. He wants to send us to
heaven. That's why he sent Jesus to earth, to die in our place and make a way
for us to have eternal life with him in heaven. But here's the catch: he can't
force us to accept Jesus.
God made us in His image, and lets us choose to make whatever decisions we'd
like to make. Somehow he even allows us the freedom to reject that offer of
grace. So it's very sad to think about, but for some mysterious reason some
people turn away from God's free offer of heaven. To be out of God's presence
is to be in hell. It breaks God's heart that some people don't accept his offer
of heaven, and He does everything he can to help us to accept it. But he won't
force us.
Hell is so awful it's impossible for us to imagine. It's a place that God
created not for us, but for what the Bible calls "the devil and his
angels." That means the angels that joined Satan's rebellion against God.
They are fallen angels, and we call them demons. So Hell is a place made for
Satan and his demons. It's a place completely out of the presence of God. It's
a place where there is nothing good -- it's a place of death and evil and total
despair. Nothing could be more horrible, and nothing could make God sadder than
that any human being should ever go there. We're not supposed to go there.
Jesus came to save us from that fate, and Jesus longs to take us with him to
the place God did create for us: heaven.
God doesn't want to send anyone to hell! But the only way we can get to heaven
is by accepting Jesus' offer of forgiveness for our sins. Everyone is a sinner!
So everyone needs to ask God's forgiveness. And it's our job as Chrstians to
tell those who don't know about this. It's God's free gift of salvation and
it's open to everyone!
According to the Bible, everyone is a sinner, so everyone should end up in
hell. But God doesn't want anyone to end up in hell. That's why he sent Jesus
to die on the Cross, so that everyone could be saved. If we accept God's free
gift of salvation through Jesus, we can spend eternity in heaven, just as God
intended! Have you accepted God's gift of salvation by asking Jesus into your
heart?
We shouldn't swear, but if you ever do, you should repent and ask God's
forgiveness. If you are genuinely sorry, God will forgive you! Remember that
Jesus died on the Cross, so whoever turns to him and asks his forgiveness can
go to heaven. So if you sin, repent and ask God's forgiveness. God wants all of
us to be with him in heaven!
Questions about The Holy Spirit for Kids
The Holy Spirit is God -- just as God the Father is God, and just as Jesus is
God. Our Christian belief about the Trinity is that God is three Persons: the
Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the
Trinity.
The Holy Spirit helps us in many ways such as being our teacher, helping us
know when we are doing wrong, guiding us and helping us to know the truth and
giving us the power to live the Christian life and to tell others about Jesus.
The Bible talks about the Holy Spirit from its opening pages, in Genesis 1:2,
the Bible says that the Holy Spirit was present and actively involved with
creation. “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Most people aren't aware that the Holy Spirit is mentioned at the beginning of
the Bible, but the Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of creation and the
Holy Spirit is still around (and will always be around) to help us live a
victorious Christian life.
Questions about Jesus for Kids
Because that was part of God's plan for redeeming the whole world. According to
Scripture, Jesus would return to heaven and then send the Holy Spirit down to
earth. That way every single person on earth who asked Jesus into his heart
could be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Those of us who are filled by the Holy Spirit are the Church, and God's plan is
for us to bring God and his message to the whole world. It's an amazing plan!
Jesus left the earth so that he could make it possible for all of us -- you and
me -- to do the work that he started when he was here with us. Work such as
sharing God's love with others, helping widows and orphans and healing the
sick.
John 3:16 tells us that “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal
life.”
We are all sinners and because of our sin, our relationship with God is broken.
We deserve to be punished for our sin, but God allowed Jesus to take the
punishment and to be hurt so that our relationship with Him can be restored.
God allowed Jesus to be hurt because He loves us so much and wants us to live
with Him forever.
Jesus said, “But I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world
will know that I love the Father.” (John 14:31) In John 14:6 we read that Jesus
said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father
except through me.” Jesus knew it was the only way. Jesus willingly suffered
and died so that we may have eternal life.
Discover what Jesus did for you
The Bible doesn't say. Tradition says there were three, but the Bible just says
that wise men visited Jesus. It doesn't give a number. So we can't know how
many there were exactly. There may have been more than three.
No. Jesus was Mary's first-born, but after Jesus, Mary had several other
children. According to Matthew 13, Jesus had four brothers and several sisters.
By asking him to be Lord of your life. When you "invite Jesus into your
heart" what you are really doing is saying that now he is the Lord of your
life! You trust him with everything and will obey Him and live for Him. And He
is always with you.
Why
was Jesus born in a stable?
Joseph and Mary couldn't find a room in an inn, so they had to go into a stable
just to get shelter for the night -- and that's when Jesus was born. But God
allowed this to happen to show us that Jesus came into the world in a humble
condition. Imagine: the God of the universe became a human being in a stable
among lowly farm animals. It's pretty amazing! God's ways are not our ways!
Because he loves us and wants us to be with him in heaven forever. If we make
him the Lord of our life then we will follow him with our whole hearts and when
we die, we will go to be with him in heaven forever!
Discover how to follow Jesus
No. Jesus was a Jew, so we know that every year at Passover he ate lamb. So
eating meat isn't a sin, because Jesus was perfect and sinless. We also know
that Jesus ate fish. The Bible doesn't say that he ate vegetables, but it's a
safe bet that he ate them too! Sorry to be the one to tell you!
God sent Jesus to earth so that he would go to the Cross and die in our place.
Because of what Jesus did on the Cross, our sins can be forgiven and we can go
to be with the Lord forever in heaven. So what happened to Jesus was all part
of God's plan to save us. We should be full of gratitude to Jesus for what he
did for us.
Jesus really was a human being, just like you! It was no act. Jesus really
became a full-fledged human being while He was with us here on earth. When he
suffered on the Cross, He was really suffering. And when He died, He really
died. It was all just as if it had happened to any of us.
Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. Since then we
haven't been able to see Him the way the disciples saw Him during His time on
earth. But guess what? After Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy
Spirit to be with us! So Jesus didn't leave us alone. We still have Him with us
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. And because we are all sinners,
we all deserve death. But God loves us so much that He decided to send Jesus to
die in our place. And Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to go. So He
suffered and died willingly, just to make it possible for us to live forever,
and to be with Him in heaven forever.
Jesus was God in human form, so we know that he lived a completely sinless
life. So we know that He didn't do anything sinful as a little kid. He may have
spilled milk by mistake, just as any little kid would do -- but He didn't ever
actually sin.
Jesus died, but three days after his death he was resurrected! That means God
brought Him back to life! He's eternal God, and lives forever! And because
Jesus died and came back to life, when we accept Him into our hearts, we will
be resurrected after we die, too! So because of Jesus, we will have life after
death, too!
We don't know! But we do know that He did walk on water, because the Bible
tells us He did. Jesus did many miracles, and all of them are beyond our
comprehension. That's what makes them miracles!
Yes, absolutely. Jesus is God. In fact, He is the Second Person of the Trinity.
He came to Earth and became a human being, but He has always existed, just as
God the Father has always existed.
Discover what Jesus did for you
Questions about The Bible for Kids
For many reasons! But the most important one is that the Bible is God's Word.
It's His message directly to us! It tells us Who God is and what He thinks and
what His will is for us! Imagine that! Many people around the world have no
access to Bibles and they will travel miles and miles just to hear a few words
from it. Those of us who have Bibles have a great privilege. We can read God's
word any time and should make the daily habit of spending time reading the
Bible and thinking about the Bible. And we can find out more and more about Who
God is every time we read the Bible. God wants us to know Him intimately, and
every time we read the Bible, we get to know Him better and better. What could
be more important than that?
Discover God's plan for your life
Another name for the Bible is 'God's word.' God loves us and the Bible is one
way He communicates with us. When we read the Bible we learn more about God,
who He is and what he does for us.
The Bible is kind of like a guidebook that helps you live a good life.
Psalm 119:9 - How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and
following its rules.
Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against
you.
Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
The Bible can also help you grow as a Christian.
1 Peter 2:2 - You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the
fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for
milk.
The Bible is also a part of the spiritual armor that can help you to fight
against the attacks of the devil.
Ephesians 6:17 - Take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
Good stuff to know, whether a kid or an adult, don't you think?
Absolutely not. For Christians, the Old Testament is as important as the New
Testament. Together the Old and New Testaments make up the whole Bible, the
Word of God.
Discover what the Bible says about eternal life
God wants us to be filled with His Word. When we memorize Scripture, that's
just what happens. We can't always look things up in the Bible, but if we
memorize verses, we have them handy whenever we want! Besides, memorizing
things is fun! The more you memorize, the more fun it is! How many Bible verses
do you think you can memorize in a week, a month, a year? Try it!
A parable is a made-up story that helps us understand something. Jesus told
many parables to get his points across. The people in the parables didn't
actually exist, but the stories can help us to understand important truths. Can
you remember any parables?
God wrote the Bible -- but He used people to do it. He inspired them and they
wrote what God wanted them to write. So you could say that people and God wrote
the Bible together, but every word in the Bible was inspired by God.
Absolutely! But God inspired them as they wrote -- so we really have to say
that God wrote the Bible through people. Every word in the Bible is inspired by
God.
The Bible is God's Word to His people. It's really a book of books. There are
sixty-six books in all, and they were written by many authors over a period of
about 1500 years! But all of the authors were inspired by God as they wrote.
He's the real author.
The Bible doesn't mention television or ice hockey or bananas or kangaroos
either. There are many things that aren't mentioned in the Bible, but that
doesn't mean they don't exist or didn't exist at one time.
“Penta” is the Greek word for “five”. The Pentateuch is the name for the first
five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
The Bible says that God created us in His image. But some people just don't
believe what the Bible says. They believe that a long, long time ago, our
ancestors were monkeys! Aren't you glad you believe what the Bible says?!
The Bible is God's word to us. It tells us everything we need to know about God
and about how he wants us to behave. Without the Bible, we would be totally
lost and in the dark. But the Bible is a "lamp unto our feet" --
shining God's light and showing us the right way to go! So we are not in the
dark. Thank God for the Bible!
The Bible is God's Word. And it's written for each of us. Without it, we are
truly lost. But by reading and studying the Bible we learn about God, and can
learn how to live the way God wants us to live. Reading and studying the Bible
makes it possible for us to get closer to God, and become more like Him every
day.
"Thou shalt not lie" is one of the Ten Commandments, so it's never
okay to tell a lie. The Bible calls the Devil a liar. In fact, it calls him
"the father of lies." So telling the truth is very important to God,
and telling a lie is never okay.
"God wrote the Bible. But He used people to do it! In fact, about forty
people wrote the Bible over a period of around fifteen centuries! That's a lot
of people over a very long period of time! But all of those people were
inspired by God Himself, so every word in the Bible comes from God to us.
"God put parents in authority over children. Part of their job is to
protect children from harm. Many tv programs have things in them which can do
great harm when we watch them, and parents use their wisdom to keep their
children from harm.
"Thou shalt not steal" is one of the Ten Commandments, so we know
it's deeply important to God. To take what is not ours is like stealing from
God Himself. To take what is not yours is always a sin.
A "tithe" is an old-fashioned word for a "tenth". So
tithing refers to the biblical idea that we should give ten percent of
everything to God. By giving ten percent to God, we acknowledge that everything
we have belongs to Him.
Honoring our fathers and mothers is one of the Ten Commandments, so it's deeply
important to God. God has put our parents in authority over us -- so to disobey
them is to disobey God Himself.
Many people make fun of things out of sheer ignorance and simply have no idea
what they are talking about. So don't get upset. But if an opportunity presents
itself, you can tell them that the Bible is the most wonderful book in the
world, and you can offer to share what you know about it.
No. But the Bible says that the "love of money is the root of all kinds of
evil." Desiring money can be a terrible temptation, but money can also be
a great blessing. The question is how we use the money the Lord has given us.
All money is to be used for God's purposes, and not our own.
Questions about Faith for Kids
According to the Bible (Hebrews 11:1), faith is "being sure of what we
hope for and certain of what we do not see." In other words, faith is
knowing what God has said is true, and therefore trusting God with our whole
heart, soul, and mind. So faith is not just something we have in our heads. If
we truly know that what God has said is true, then we will believe it with our
whole being. And we will behave accordingly! We can't fool God by saying we
believe something in our heads, but not behave in a way that shows we really
and truly believe it. Faith in God reveals itself in how we live our lives.
Discover how to have faith in God
Why yes it does, in fact in Hebrews 11:6 it says “And it is impossible to
please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God
exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Seems like faith is a
pretty big expectation from God and he commends those who seek him. Read the
rest of Hebrews 11 and you'll find a veritable 'Who's Who' of people whose
faith pleased God.
Discover how to have faith in God
Daniel might have had some fear -- who wouldn't? -- but he also had plenty of
faith in the Lord. He knew God was with him. So even though the lions might
have been somewhat frightening, Daniel knew He could trust God. He knew God
would protect him, and of course, God did protect him. You can't go wrong
trusting in God. He'll never let you down.
We don't know. But we do know that those of us who are Christians should tell
others about Jesus. That way they can accept him and become Christians, too!
Whether someone accepts Jesus is between them and God. But it's our
responsibility to tell people about Him. So what are you waiting for?
Because God told him to! Doing what God says to do is the only wise thing to do,
even if everyone else is making fun of you for doing it. People sometimes don't
know what's right, but God always does, and if we listen to Him we can't go
wrong! And once the rains started to fall, you can bet that Noah was awfully
glad he listened to God!
Discover how to have faith like Noah
David was very good at using a shepherd's sling. After all, he was a shepherd!
David could throw a stone with lightning speed, which is how he killed Goliath.
But more importantly, David didn't rely on his own abilities. He put his trust
and hope in God, and God gave him the victory.
Discover how to have faith in God
Because he knew that it was really God who had told him to do it. Abraham knew
he could trust God totally. He wasn't afraid of doing what God asked him to do.
He knew that obeying God always ends up working out. And of course in Abraham
and Isaac's case it did work out.
Discover how to have faith in God
Questions about The Devil for Kids
The devil, also called Satan, is God's principal enemy. He used to be the
archangel Lucifer, but he rebelled against God. The Bible tells us that Lucifer
was the most amazing angel God had created. But somehow pride led him to
believe that he was equal with God! So he decided he didn't want to obey God
anymore. In fact, he didn't want to obey anyone besides himself! So he rebelled
against God. When he did that, God cast him out of heaven forever and ever.
Satan took a third of the angels with him. They became demons. So Satan is a
fallen angel, dedicated to fighting against God.
Absolutely not! Not even close. God is all-powerful. He created the entire
universe and everything in it. Satan (the devil), on the other hand, was
created! Of course he wasn't created by God as Satan, but before he rebelled
and became wholly evil, he was an angel, whom God had created. So there's no
comparison between God and the devil, really.
The devil is incredibly less powerful than God. Satan cannot create anything at
all. He can only twist and destroy what God has created, just as he twisted and
destroyed himself by rebelling against God. You can see how powerless Satan is
compared to God when you think about how easy it is to destroy something, but
how difficult it is to create something. Destruction is always easier than
creation, and Satan always destroys and never creates.
No! The Devil is opposed to God, but he isn't even close to being as powerful
as God. God created the whole universe and everything in it. The Devil never
created even one single thing. The devil cannot defeat God, and we already know
how the story will end. Jesus will return and the devil will be defeated once
and for all.
Questions about Prayer for Kids
Absolutely! Some people think God is too busy to listen to small prayers -- but
that's just not true! God is so big and so amazing that He is never too busy!
Ever! Every single thing that is on our hearts is important to Him, and so He
listens to every one of our prayers, big and small. So turn to God whenever you
have a need, a question or just want someone to talk to; He'll always be there
for you!
Discover a relationship with God
Praying is talking to God, plain and simple. When you love someone you want to
talk to them. Prayer is a two-way conversation that helps us to grow in our
relationship with God. Through prayer, we talk to God and He talks to us. You
can talk to God about everything, what's happening in your life, how you feel,
what you need.
Philippians 4:6 says “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about
everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
Discover a relationship with God
Prayer is when we talk to God. We can talk to Him about something small or
something big. We can talk to him in a way that's quiet and private or we can
talk to him with thousands of other people. But whenever we talk to God, we are
praying. And God hears our prayers! It's an amazing concept! You can do it
right this minute!
Discover a relationship with God
No! God wants us to talk to him about whatever is on our hearts -- and what
matters most is that we are being honest when we talk to him. If we pray a
short prayer from the heart, it's worth much more than a long prayer that's
trying to impress God or other people.
Discover a relationship with God
You don't have to speak formally when you talk to God. Remember, He's your
heavenly father and he loves you. So yes, you are speaking to the King of the
Universe, but you are also speaking to the one Jesus called "Abba" --
which means "Daddy."
Discover a relationship with God
Not everyone kneels when they pray, but the reason some people do is to show an
attitude of humility before God. We can approach God boldly -- because He is
our heavenly Father -- but we must also approach Him with humility. And
kneeling shows that we are approaching him with humility and reverence.
Yes, we can pray anytime of the day or night. God is always listening, and is
never too busy for us. He wants to talk with us all the time, and he cares
about whatever we concerns us. We can even pray silently. God can hear silent
prayers, too!
Absolutely. God loves us, so He is never too busy for us. And He is interested
in anything that is of concern to us, whether it's a big thing or a little
thing. So we can pray to Him about anything at all.
Prayer is the most wonderful privilege imaginable! We would be crazy not to
pray! God loves us deeply and cares about everything that concerns us, so
praying to Him is a way of talking to Him and asking for His help. God is
infinitely powerful, and He answers our prayers! Imagine that we are able to
talk to the God of the universe! And that He wants us to talk to Him! It's
really an exciting idea.
Questions about Death and Suffering for Kids
In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they allowed death to come into the
world. God never wanted that to happen! That's why he told Adam and Eve not to
eat of the fruit of that Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But Satan
deceived Adam and Eve, and they ate it. Ever since then, death has been a part
of our world, along with suffering and evil and sadness. That's the bad news.
But there's good news! Because God didn't leave the situation that way! He had
a plan to defeat death, and of course Jesus is the main part of that plan. So
through Jesus we can defeat death! If we believe in Him, we will live forever,
just as God intended all along. So even if we die physically -- which we will
-- God raises us up from the dead, just as Jesus rose from the dead. As I said,
that's Good News. The best news there is!
The Bible says that all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be
saved. So if you have asked him into your heart and make him the Lord of your
life, then you will be with him in heaven. Remember the thief on the cross next
to Jesus? He was a sinner, but just before he died, he said to Jesus:
"Remember me when you come into your kingdom!" And Jesus answered:
"I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." So going to
heaven has nothing to do with whether we deserve it, because none of us
deserves it. But if we cry out to Jesus and ask him to help us, he will. Only
Jesus opens the door for us to go to heaven, and if we ask him to save us and
to forgive our sins, and really mean it, He will do it and heaven is ours!
Discover how to get to Heaven
All of the bad things that happen in the world -- including wars -- are because
of what Christians call the Fall. That's when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the
Garden of Eden, by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil. When they did that all of creation became broken. That one act of
disobedience allowed sin and death and evil and suffering into the world.
Of course God never wanted that to happen! That's why he warned Adam and Eve
not to eat of the fruit of that tree. But once they disobeyed, the whole world
became broken, and we've been dealing with it ever since. Wars are one example.
But remember, that's why God sent Jesus to Earth, to undo the damage that Adam
and Eve did -- to begin the process of redeeming our broken world! One reason
that Jesus is called the Prince of Peace is that in His Kingdom, there is no
war.
No. Human beings never become angels. Angels are heavenly beings, and we are
terrestrial beings. When we go to heaven, we'll still be human beings, not
angels.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, everything got messed
up. That's what we call the Fall. Not only were human beings affected, but the
whole of creation was affected. So there is evil and pain and suffering in the
world. It's not part of God's plan, but through Jesus, everything is being
redeemed. When Jesus returns and creates a new heaven and a new earth, animals
and people will no longer suffer.
All of the bad things that happen in the world -- including death -- are
because of what Christians call the Fall. That's when Adam and Eve disobeyed
God in the Garden of Eden, by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil. When they did that all of creation became broken. That one act
of disobedience allowed sin and death and evil and suffering into the world.
Of course God never wanted that to happen! That's why he warned Adam and Eve
not to eat of the fruit of that tree. But once they disobeyed, the whole world
became broken, and we've been dealing with it ever since. People dying -- and
especially people dying young -- are one example. But remember, that's why God
sent Jesus to Earth, to undo the damage that Adam and Eve did -- to begin the
process of redeeming our broken world! God says that when we accept Jesus, we
will all live forever with Him in Heaven.
Questions about Angels for Kids
The word "angel" is just a Greek word that means
"messenger" -- so angels are God's messengers. The Bible says that
God created heavenly beings and terrestrial beings. We are terrestrial beings
and angels are heavenly beings. Even though we can't see them, angels play a
big part in life as noted in the Bible where angels are mentioned well over 200
times! Angels can be both good and bad and there are different types of angels
such as archangels, cherubim and seraphim. Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer are
probably 3 of the most well known angels from the Bible.
God made them! The word "angel" is the Greek word for
"messenger", so angels are God's messengers. The Bible says in
Colossians 1:16-17 that ““For by Him all things were created, both in the
heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.”
Angels are normally associated with being invisible, but they can also take on
the appearance of men. In Hebrews 13:2 it says “Don't forget to show
hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels
without realizing it!” So be on guard, you never know when you might be
entertaining angels, pretty cool, huh?
Questions about Love for Kids
Yes. That's what Jesus commands us to do! But that doesn't mean we have to feel
lovey-dovey toward them. According to the Bible, love has to do with how we
act, not how we feel. So God commands us to behave in a way that treats others
the way we would want them to treat us -- even if we don't feel like it.
So if someone in your school is really getting on your nerves, you're not
expected to feel mushy lovey-dovey feelings for them! But you are expected to
treat them in a way that exhibits the love of God for them.
Discover God's love for you
Love is a big deal! Jesus shared his views on love and it's recorded in the
book of Matthew (22:37-39) where he said “You must love the LORD your God with
all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and
greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as
yourself.” Living for God is pretty straightforward and Jesus summed up how you
should live your life everyday – loving God and loving others. Some people find
it hard to love others, in fact, you might have someone in your life that is
'hard to love'. But if you know Jesus as your Savior, you can turn to Him and
ask Him to help you love that person, trust Jesus to do it and He will see you
through it! Remember that Jesus' perfect love will cast out all fear; that's
Good News!
Discover God's love for you
According to the Bible, love is not a feeling, it's an action. So loving our
enemies doesn't mean that we feel lovey-dovey toward them. It means that we
treat them as human beings who are made in the image of God. Jesus commands us
to love our enemies, to treat them fairly, just as we would want to be treated
fairly.
Discover God's love for you
No person has natural feelings of love for an enemy. So loving our enemies is
extremely difficult. In fact, without God's supernatural help, it's quite
impossible. But God gives us the power to do what's right even when we don't
feel like it.
Discover God's love for you
God is our heavenly Father, and we are all His children. So just as parents
love their children, God loves all of us, and even more so. We are the only
creatures in the whole universe created in God's image, so we are uniquely
important to Him.