Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: He is with us.
Merry Christmas.
God is with us.
Merry Christmas.
[00:00:16] Speaker B: Welcome Back to the NextGen Advent podcast. I'm so excited that I have two friends here with me today who are gonna help us dig into this topic of blessed. And what does it even mean to be blessed? And what does this look like looking at the life of Abraham? And so I'd love for my guests to go ahead and introduce yourself. What's your first name?
[00:00:31] Speaker C: And I am Elias. And I'm in seventh grade.
[00:00:35] Speaker D: Bentley. And I'm in fourth.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: All right, so I'm just thankful for you guys joining me here today. And so when we think about Christmas, Bentley, what are you most excited about Christmas?
[00:00:45] Speaker D: That Jesus was, I mean, technically born on that day and that all the presents.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Yeah, right. Like, could you get any better than that? It's a good combo. You get a savior and you get Christmas presents all celebrated on the same day. Alex, how about you? What are you most excited about Christmas?
[00:01:03] Speaker C: I like going to my grandparents house and just spending time with them.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Yep. So they're just kind of that day and being together. And so, gentlemen, what is something at Christmastime that is always better to do with people than to do on your own?
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Just doing everything at Christmas, like opening presents or just like rejoicing in the Lord and eating food together just is better with people.
[00:01:26] Speaker B: Yeah. So pretty much like all the things. Ben, how about you? What do you think is better at Christmas time to do with other people than to do by yourself?
[00:01:33] Speaker D: Probably watching movies. I love watching Christmas movies.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?
[00:01:39] Speaker D: Home Alone.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Probably Home Alone. Oh, have you ever been to the Home Alone house in like, the Chicagoland area?
[00:01:44] Speaker D: No, but I want to see it.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: I know. Us either. I want to see it too. One of the things we're focusing on this entire Advent season is that God is with us. And so when you guys imagine that God is with you, how do you imagine that? What does it look like for you? Like, where do you imagine that he is and what is he thinking about you?
[00:02:00] Speaker C: I sort of imagine that he's like in a room with a bunch of TVs watching every single person and. But like, he's always paying attention to every single one.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Mm, yeah. Like he can kind of have like multiple input at one time, but yet he's like, attentive to every detail in each one of those. Yeah, I like that. Ben, how about you? Where do you imagine that Jesus is and what is he thinking about you?
[00:02:25] Speaker D: I think he's like, have you ever seen those things where There's a, like, devil on your shoulder and then an angel on the other. I think he's like the angel side, just whispering in your ear and then, you know.
[00:02:40] Speaker B: Yeah, so he's like, with you. He's near you and he's like, helping you think or trying to help you think through your choices or. Yeah. Kind of process through those things. Yep. Yep. Okay. I like it. All right, so we are celebrating that God is with us. So let's go ahead and dig into our passage. Our passage for today is Genesis chapter 12, verses one through nine. But we're going to go ahead and highlight verses two through three. Well, why don't you go ahead and read that for us?
[00:03:02] Speaker C: I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt. And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12, 2, 3.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: All right, so did you know that Abraham also was called Abram? Right. He worshiped other gods, false gods. Before God spoke to him. Abraham was literally an idol worshiper. He was just a guy living with his family. He had normal struggles and in no way had the outward appearance of a man who would one day be the father to an entire nation.
Then God spoke to Abraham, and his life was changed forever. Abraham didn't deserve it. He wasn't especially good or different. And the only significant thing that could be said about Abraham was the response he made to God. He acted in faith. God said, go. And Abraham went. Why did God do this thing for Abraham? The same reason he did it for Israel and continues to show us blessing. He is showing his perfect love and complete faithfulness to a world that doesn't deserve it. That is the grace of God. Through Abraham, God displayed that nothing is impossible for him. He can take an old married couple like Abraham and Sarah and give them a child. From this blessing would come God's promise of a nation.
From this nation would come God's promised Messiah. And the Messiah would bless all the peoples of the earth. Jesus was sent as a fulfillment of God's promise to save anyone who believes. So, gentlemen, let's think through this together. Abraham obeyed God when God called him. And in what areas of your life are you struggling to obey God?
[00:04:44] Speaker C: For me, I really struggle to obey God when I'm at home. And I know my sisters can know that too.
But I think for most people, the worst themselves are at their house where they're not like, with their Peers or anything.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Yeah. But, yeah, so kind of let your guard down, right? And you're kind of like, yeah, that's probably not exactly how God wants me to be. Like, acting. Yeah. All right, Bentley, how about you? Where area of your life do you feel like you struggle to obey God?
[00:05:16] Speaker D: Probably anywhere, because I can't really see him. And that's a big struggle because, you know, I can't really see him. So it's hard to believe that he is there, but in real life, he is.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: So you find that sometimes it's hard to, like, obey him because you're like, I can't see you. So it's hard for me to believe that you're here and that you would actually, like, kind of impact, like, all these choices that I'm making.
What needs to happen for you to be obedient? Like, Abraham was right. So obviously, it's nice that God appeared to Abraham and was like, hey, go do this. But in your lives. And as our listeners are processing their own lives, our listeners are all thinking at home right now, like, yeah, so, like, what is the area of my life that I sometimes struggle to obey God? What do you need alike for you to be obedient like Abraham?
[00:05:59] Speaker C: Um, I think that I just need to read the Bible more often and, like, think about what I'm doing before I do it, and that, like, no matter where I am, if it's at home or school or church or anywhere, that I do my best to obey God and try to be like Him.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: So, like, being mindful or maybe even asking him to, like, give you his power to be able to do that. Right. And instead of, like, acting in your own power, but being able to be like, okay, Lord, I need your power to be able to. You obey. Bentley, how about you? What do you feel like needs to happen for you to be obedient? Like, Abraham was obedient.
[00:06:34] Speaker D: I need to, like, you know, read the Bible more and memorize more verses, because I don't really know a lot.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Okay. So, like, become more familiar kind of with, like, how God's expectations and, like, what that is and kind of just, like, process through that. And you're doing that. Right? Like, you're involved and, like, trying to understand who he is, what he has to say. And I think you have a pretty good understanding of what he wants for you. Right. And then kind of being convicted in that.
So was Abraham really a blessing to all people on earth? Like, he's called blessed. Was he really a blessing to all people on earth? And how is it possible that he was able to bless everyone.
[00:07:12] Speaker C: He wasn't always a complete blessing to everybody on earth because he, like, he's not perfect. He always sins, and every sin has a consequence. So you can't. God didn't say, like, you're perfect now. He just said, you will be a blessing to those.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Right. By, like, his act of obedience, Right. It didn't mean that he was superhuman or super special, right. I mean, we even see this when you get to Mary, right? And you're like, no, but I'm going to do something through your life, right? God chose to use Abraham. God choose to use Mary, and that's going to bless everyone who comes after you. And because Abraham is kind of the Father of Israel is what we see, right? He started this lineage.
Everything that God built his nation upon started with Abraham. And that even affects us today because now we get to be, as Gentiles, people who are not Jewish, part of the blessing and the inheritance of God's people. So I'd love for our listeners at home to spend some time listening for God's voice today, just praying and being able to say, okay, maybe I don't hear an audible noise. You can take some time to read over the passage that we talked about and hear what you've learned, but to ask God to speak to you from his truth, it's such a beautiful opportunity that we have when we are still before God and we listen, See where your mind goes and whether or not it will line up with His Word. Sometimes this feels uncomfortable at first, and that's okay. Take your time to begin to practice listening to God and how he speaks to you. And if what you hear is from the Holy Spirit, it's going to match up with God says the God of the universe wants you to have relationship with you. So take time to listen. Gentlemen, as you think through this, what is it? How. How do you hear God? How do you listen to God? How does he speak to you?
[00:08:49] Speaker C: For me, the way I listen to him is mainly, like, when I pray. I feel like he just, like, shows me that, like, what I need to do and.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. But how about you? How do you listen for, like, God? How do you hear God speak to you?
[00:09:08] Speaker D: Probably just when I, like, say something mean to someone, my heart just, like, gets, like, really sad and then I have to go apologize.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah. So he's, like, convicting you, right? He's, like, making your heart tender, right? And he's, like, moving you to action to, like, repair. Right? Whatever was, like, kind of wrong. Yeah. I love that. All right, so as we close our time today, I would love for one of you just to close in prayer that God would reveal his truth to us and that we would be able to listen and obey like Abraham did.
[00:09:36] Speaker D: Dear Jesus, I pray that we can have a good rest of our listener's day. And I pray that we can worship you every day. And I pray that we can be more like Abraham and you and Jesus, we love you and praise in your glorious name, in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Amen. All right, can you guys close our time today by wishing our listeners a Merry Christmas?
[00:10:01] Speaker C: Merry Christmas.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: All right. Merry Christmas. I'm so excited to be back with you again tomorrow.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: Star is shining, angels sing Our Savior born the hope he brings in a manger the king has come God with us. The Holy one.
Through the silence light breaks through A tiny child your promise true in the stillness heaven's near. God with us. We shall not fear he is with us.
Merry Christmas.
God is with us.
Merry Christmas.
He is with us.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: Merry Christmas.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Merry Christmas.
God is with us.
Merry Christmas.
