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EPISODE 125: Kid Q&A

Date: 08/24/2022

Questions from kids

Awhile back we did a family service and it was started by saying how important children are and how they are part of the congregation. Since that is true, shouldn’t we do family services more frequently? My kids had a blast and we decided to do it more frequently as a family but it would be nice if more kids were around as well.

    1. The service being referred to was back in early July at our County Road 9 Campus (North Main Campus did a family service as well).
    2. Kids also sang in the services on Mother’s Day at both of our campuses.
    3. May do more of these in the future. I think we’ve got some planned for next year already on the calendar.
    4. For parents, I’d encourage you to bring your kids into the worship services early on. If you want them to go to Kidway as well, stay for two services and serve in the second service while your kids are in Kidway.
      1. Back in June of 2020 Becca Green wrote a great article on Worshiping as a Family in “Big Church” that can be found in the Gateway News section of our website too. 
      2. Here is a link for the show notes: https://www.gatewayepc.org/gateway-news/2020/6/18/worshipping-as-a-family-in-big-church?rq=Family
    5. I think the biggest connection for the kids was that they were familiar with the songs we sang during the service because they sing them in Kidway regularly. A way to help familiarize you and your kids with the songs we sing is on Spotify.

    Why did God wait until Abraham was near 100 years old to give him a son? – Cohen (age 8)

    1. Great question Cohen. Probably a better question than my answer.
    2. We don’t know exactly why God waited for Abraham to be so old. Though it definitely makes it a miracle and shows us that Abraham having a son was all part of God’s plan. It was also a test of Abraham’s faith: Did he really believe that God could give him a son in old age?

      Was sin around before the earth was made? – Haily (age 9)

      1. Sin wasn’t around until Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden. 
      2. Satan had rebelled against God, but there’s nothing in the Bible that calls what Satan did sin. Only what Adam and Eve — and all of us humans have done — is called sin.

        Did Paul ever see Caesar after the shipwreck? – Cora (age 10)

        1. The Bible doesn’t tell us.
        2. But church history suggests that Paul did stand trial before the emperor and was eventually killed because of his faith in Jesus.

          I know God has been around forever, but how long did he wait to create the Earth? – Claire (age 10)

          1. These kids ask some great questions. I wonder how many of these they asked their parents first and they were like, “Send that one into pastor Josh.”
          2. Claire, we don’t know how long God waited to create the Earth because — get ready for your mind to be blown — because time wasn’t created either.
            1. Time is part of God’s creation. And that means that for eternity — everything prior to God saying “Let there be light” — there wasn’t time. 
            2. So we don’t really have a way to measure how long God waited other than to say he waited an eternity or forever — which sounds really weird.

            Claire’s got another question: Why don’t we live as old as people in the Old Testament? // Why did people live longer in the olden days? – Grady (age 8)

            1. We do live as old as some people in the Old Testament. But there’s definitely some who lived way longer than what’s normal today.
            2. In Genesis, after the list of people who lived for hundreds and hundreds of years, there’s the account of the wickedness on earth and then there’s the flood and Noah and the ark. In the midst of this section of Scripture, we read, “’Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” (Genesis 6:3 NLT)
            3. No more than 120 years — which — is what we see today and throughout the rest of history.

              Why do people say Jesus hung on the cross in the middle of his hand, wouldn’t the nails tear through his hand? – Claire (age 11; a different Claire)

              1. You’re right. The nails would’ve torn through his hands if you’re thinking about the palms of his hands. 
              2. Most likely the nails went through his wrists where the bones would’ve held the nails in place. 
              3. There’s not really a distinction in the New Testament between a person’s hands (meaning their palms) and their wrists. In Acts 12:7, Peter has his hands chained up while in prison. An angel touches him and the chains fall off his wrists. The word translated as “wrists” is also the word translated as “hands” when Jesus is crucified.

                What happens to our pets when they die? – Mrs. Renee’s 1st graders

                1. Scripture doesn’t specifically tell us. There are some things we can piece together from Scripture, but there’s no clarity regarding our pets after they die like there is for humans.
                2. A helpful book is Randy Alcorn’s Heaven for Kids. This is a kid’s version of his book on Heaven which I think is the best book on the topic. If you’re a kid listening (or a parent or grandparent), get a copy of Heaven for Kids and begin reading the book with your children to talk about the wonderful subject of eternity with God.