6 min listen
No Strings Attached
FromCountdown to Christmas with Zach - An Advent Podcast for Kids
ratings:
Length:
4 minutes
Released:
Jan 1, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Thank you for listening to the Countdown to Christmas with Zach podcast. We'd like to introduce you to our daily devotional Keys for Kids podcast, so for this first week of 2024 we're releasing those episodes on this feed too.
If you like them, you can subscribe to or follow the Keys for Kids podcast for free: https://keysforkids.net/kfkpodcast
No Strings Attached
“Grandma, in Bible times people had to sacrifice animals to God, didn’t they?” Jovie asked one day. “Why don’t we do that now?”
“When Jesus died for our sins, He was the perfect sacrifice. Animal sacrifices are no longer needed because Jesus’s sacrifice covers all our wrongs when we trust in Him.”
“Well, when people made a sacrifice, something had to be killed, right?” said Jovie. “But my memory verse talks about a living sacrifice. What does that mean?”
“To be a living sacrifice means to give your whole life to God.” Grandma picked up a small piece of yarn. “Pretend this yarn is my life. It’s my love, my family, my time, my actions—my everything. Here, I’ll give it to you.” Grandma held out one end of the yarn. Jovie took it, but Grandma kept hold of the other end. “There—my life is all yours now. I’m sacrificing it to you.” She tugged on the yarn a little as she spoke.
Jovie giggled. “Then why are you still holding on to it?”
“Good point,” said Grandma. “That’s like Christians when we say we’ve made our lives a living sacrifice to God, but then we leave strings attached to some areas. For example, we might not want God to have any say in how we spend our time or our money. Or perhaps we continue to put ourselves in situations where we’ll be tempted to do things that are wrong. It’s possible to hold something back in any number of areas.” Grandma dropped her end of the yarn. “Now tie that into a bow.”
“Okay,” said Jovie, but as she began to tie a bow, Grandma reached out and took hold of the yarn again, almost tugging it out of Jovie’s grasp. “Grandma! What are you doing?”
“That bow you’re making is too small,” said Grandma. She smiled at Jovie’s puzzled look. “Christians sometimes act the way I just did. When we don’t like the way things are going, we try to pull our lives back out of God’s hands. To be a living sacrifice, we need to remember that we belong to Jesus, who sacrificed His own life to save us, and trust Him to guide us in every part of our lives.”
“Even when things aren’t going the way we want, right?” Jovie nodded. “I think I get it.”
– Jean A. Burns
So how about you?
Are you listening to God as He guides you in every area of your life? Or are you still holding on to some strings and trying to control some areas yourself? Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so you could be saved from sin and spend eternity with Him. He cares about you and what’s going on in your life—every part of it. Trust Him to help you and guide you in every area of your life—no strings attached.
Key Verse
Romans 12:1 NIV "I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God."
Key Thought
Give your whole life to God
Further Reading
Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20
If you like them, you can subscribe to or follow the Keys for Kids podcast for free: https://keysforkids.net/kfkpodcast
No Strings Attached
“Grandma, in Bible times people had to sacrifice animals to God, didn’t they?” Jovie asked one day. “Why don’t we do that now?”
“When Jesus died for our sins, He was the perfect sacrifice. Animal sacrifices are no longer needed because Jesus’s sacrifice covers all our wrongs when we trust in Him.”
“Well, when people made a sacrifice, something had to be killed, right?” said Jovie. “But my memory verse talks about a living sacrifice. What does that mean?”
“To be a living sacrifice means to give your whole life to God.” Grandma picked up a small piece of yarn. “Pretend this yarn is my life. It’s my love, my family, my time, my actions—my everything. Here, I’ll give it to you.” Grandma held out one end of the yarn. Jovie took it, but Grandma kept hold of the other end. “There—my life is all yours now. I’m sacrificing it to you.” She tugged on the yarn a little as she spoke.
Jovie giggled. “Then why are you still holding on to it?”
“Good point,” said Grandma. “That’s like Christians when we say we’ve made our lives a living sacrifice to God, but then we leave strings attached to some areas. For example, we might not want God to have any say in how we spend our time or our money. Or perhaps we continue to put ourselves in situations where we’ll be tempted to do things that are wrong. It’s possible to hold something back in any number of areas.” Grandma dropped her end of the yarn. “Now tie that into a bow.”
“Okay,” said Jovie, but as she began to tie a bow, Grandma reached out and took hold of the yarn again, almost tugging it out of Jovie’s grasp. “Grandma! What are you doing?”
“That bow you’re making is too small,” said Grandma. She smiled at Jovie’s puzzled look. “Christians sometimes act the way I just did. When we don’t like the way things are going, we try to pull our lives back out of God’s hands. To be a living sacrifice, we need to remember that we belong to Jesus, who sacrificed His own life to save us, and trust Him to guide us in every part of our lives.”
“Even when things aren’t going the way we want, right?” Jovie nodded. “I think I get it.”
– Jean A. Burns
So how about you?
Are you listening to God as He guides you in every area of your life? Or are you still holding on to some strings and trying to control some areas yourself? Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so you could be saved from sin and spend eternity with Him. He cares about you and what’s going on in your life—every part of it. Trust Him to help you and guide you in every area of your life—no strings attached.
Key Verse
Romans 12:1 NIV "I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God."
Key Thought
Give your whole life to God
Further Reading
Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20
Released:
Jan 1, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (40)
Advent Day 02: One Small Word: Thank you for joining Keys for Kids Radio's Countdown to Christmas Advent Activity! Read the story below, answer the questions on the cards, and send us a voice message with your answers! Then you could hear yourself on Keys for Kids Radio as we talk through each day's story! Send In Your Answers One Small Word Daniel listened politely as his elderly neighbor chatted with him and his mom in the front yard. “You and my grandson Benjamin would get along so well together,” Mrs. Crane was saying. “He really enjoys skateboarding. And did I tell you that he plays basketball?” Daniel nodded. “And that he’s in my grade in school, and that he has a baseball card collection.” Mrs. Crane smiled and nodded. “I really hope the two of you get a chance to meet sometime.” After Mrs. Crane left, Daniel turned to his mom. “Mrs. Crane is always telling me about her grandson. I must know just about everything there is to know about him. He sounds like a nice guy, but I’m g by Countdown to Christmas with Zach - An Advent Podcast for Kids