Jesus was well known by now for healing people. He had healed Peter’s mum who was in bed with a temperature, he had healed many blind people, and he was quite famous. In this episode we look at the time Jesus healed 10 people with leprosy and how important it is to be grateful to God for everything he has given us. Bible Verse: Luke 17:11-19 Gratitude is so important. I was shocked when I had my first baby that when he was learning to talk, many of the mums insisted their babies use their manners - please and thank you - when they couldn’t hardly even say anything. God isn’t worried about manners and doing right by societies rules. Being polite. He wants us to genuinely be grateful. It has been proven to change the way our brain works. You breathe without thinking about air going in and out. You walk without thinking about one leg moving forward and then the other one. You can feel how fortunate you are and appreciate good things that happen to you during the day without having to force your mind to think about it. This is called a habit. The average person thinks negatively 80% of the time and only 20% of their thoughts are positive. I spent last Saturday finding lego pieces for Banjo who is 6. There was one piece that took me ages and when I found it he exclaimed, “Finally!” I was expecting, “Thank you!” The same situation can have 2 different thoughts. Glass half full vs glass half empty. Get into the habit of being grateful. A good way to do this is to pray to God every night thanking him for at least 3 things that you’re grateful for that day. Writing them down helps even more too. Bible Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Who are we to thank? Who is the one who provides?  . Bible Verse: James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens.  Discussion Questions: Are you in the habit of thinking grateful thoughts or do you think ungrateful thoughts more naturally? What are you going to start doing that might help you have a more grateful heart? Who are we to be thankful to? Why is it important to remember who we are to be thankful to? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Have you had swimming lessons before? Is swimming something you enjoy doing? In Australia we swim a lot because it is hot here. There are over 10 million swimming pools wold wide with Australian’s building more domestic swimming pools (per capita) than any other country. Jesus didn't swim in this story,  although he could have if he had wanted to! Bible Verse: Matthew 14:22-32 Do we doubt? Doubting is the opposite of having faith. Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus and started walking on water. He started doubting when he looked away from Jesus. He looked at how strong the wind was and got scared and started sinking. But he called out to Jesus. Let's call out to Jesus when we need help. Jesus came to Peter, stretched out his arm and pulled him up. What about the other disciples? Did they have a go, too? It is better to give it a go than stay in the boat. The disciples saw Jesus feed 5000 men and then went on a boat, rowing hard against the wind all night, and then they saw Jesus walking on the water towards them as if he was walking on hard ground and they didn’t know who Jesus was. The men saw all this and believed, saying, "Jesus is the son of God!" Not everyone who saw the miracles of Jesus believed. The Pharisees saw many amazing miracles too, and yet they wanted to believe Jesus was sent from Satan. Judas saw all of these amazing things first hand, and still chose to reject Jesus as the saviour.  Who is Jesus? Jesus is God the Son. He was sent to earth by the Father to save us from our sins and these miracles prove that Jesus is not someone to ignore. We need to pay attention to these true stories and let them alter our lives. Discussion Questions: If you were one of the disciples, and saw Jesus feed 5000 men and then went on a boat, rowing hard against the wind all night, and then saw Jesus walking on the water towards you as if he was walking on hard ground, who would you think Jesus is? How does that effect your life? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Join Anna in this episode as she retells the story of one of the most amazing days in history - the day Jesus, with just 5 small loaves and 2 fish, fed 5000 men, not counting women and children, and had plenty of food left over as well! Jesus provided for the people that day, and he cares for them and their needs. He cares for you and your needs. He cares about all the things you care about. Bible Verse: John 6:1-15 Discussion Questions: What would you say to Jesus if you were Phillip and were asked about feeding the people? What is it that you need? Pray to God now and ask him for it. Do you think he will give it to you? Why/why not? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Join Anna as she discusses the bible passage about Jesus calming the storm. Jesus insists that his disciples put their faith in him. Discuss the episode together using the questions at the end, and as a family get you thinking and relating at a deeper level. There is always something to learn when Jesus performs a miracle and this story is no different! Bible Reading: Mark 4:35-41 What is faith? Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Do you have faith that the sun will come up in the morning? Easy! Do you have faith that you will have enough water to drink? In Australia - easy! Having faith can be easy, but it is hard when you can’t see it. Have you ever put your faith in something? Every day when you get in the car! When you sit on a chair that you have never sat on before, you are having faith that it will hold you up. Why? We have faith that the sun will come up every morning. What did Jesus want the disciples to have faith in? They have seen Jesus heal the paralytic man, what else can he do? Jesus is capable of anything. Luke 1:37 “Nothing is impossible for God!” Jesus is God but the disciples are still working that out. We know that Jesus is God so we can have faith that he is capable of anything. Discussion Questions: Imagine you were one of the disciples in the boat in the storm, what do you think you would be thinking and feeling? When you are feeling afraid, what is happening and how could having faith in Jesus make it better? Do you find it easy to have faith in Jesus? Why/why not? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Tune in to this episode to find out the basics about Satan, his demons and who is more powerful than them! In many stories and movies there is a goodie and a baddie. The main character is usually good and there is a villain who is a bully, mean and nasty and we always hope that the main character beats the villain by the end of the narrative. Good vs evil. It is like a big fight. A war. The bible has a similar story. The goodie is God. He is loving, kind, caring and all things pleasant. God’s side has the Father, the Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Angels and any humans who want to believe in Him. The baddie we meet very early on, Satan. Sometimes he is referred to as the Evil One, or Lucifer. He isn’t like the cartoons with a pitchfork, horn and a goatie. He is mean and nasty and wants everyone to join his side, and not follow God. On Satan’s side there is the devil, named Satan, and his group of evil spirits. Because their aim is to encourage people to follow them instead of God, they will try any trick to do it. Satan’s trick at the moment in Australia is to convince people that there is no such war going on at all. That there is no spiritual world. Many people do not believe in spirits. Spirits are real but we do not have to be scared if we trust in God. Bible Verse: James 4:7 Bible Verse: 1 John 4:4 He uses different tricks all around the world, in different areas and in different times, to achieve his goal. In Israel, when Jesus was alive, Satan got his evil spirits to take over different people’s bodies. Bible Verse: Mark 5:1-20 How did Jesus cast the evil spirits out of that man? Because God has more power than Satan. Bible Verse: Mark 3:22-25 We do not need to worry about Satan. We need to believe that he exists and that he is very bad but we don’t need to worry about him. God is stronger than Satan. God has a plan to win the war against Satan. If we believe in God and that Jesus has taken our sins away on the cross, then we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. This means that there is no way that the evil one can come in. Discussion Questions: How do you feel when you hear about Satan? As this is the first episode that has really addressed Satan specifically, I am sure you have heaps of questions. Share any questions that you might have. Pray to God together now, asking God to protect you against Satan. Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Tune in to find out how much power Jesus has - power over sickness! Yes, even Covid-19! Have you ever been sick? Have you had to go to hospital? If you were really ill, but didn’t know how to get better, wouldn’t you want to try everything? Some people do not like that Jesus has this power! They think he is an ordinary man. Jesus is God. He is proving this by performing miracles. God can forgive sins and people can’t. We can forgive other when they wrong us but not sins because they are things people do that wrong God. Jesus can forgive sins because he is God. Bible Reading: Mark 2:1-12 Why did Jesus tell the man that his sins were forgiven? He was clearly there to be healed? Jesus saw that the man’s biggest problem was his sins. Your biggest problem are your sins too. What do you worry about? People being mean to you at school, where you are going to sit in class, who you will play with? Your sins are a bigger problem than those things. Maybe you have even bigger problems than that - you might have cancer, you might be paralysed too, you might not have anywhere to live or maybe you have no food. Your sins are still your biggest problem. Discussion Questions: Why are our sins a bigger problem than not being able to walk, than cancer or any other disease? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Today’s episode is about fish. Do you like fishing? Jesus is teaching crowds at Lake Galilee. Jesus uses Simon’s boat as a stage for teaching. Then they row out to the deep water and catch fish. Then something amazing happens! Luke 5:1-11 “Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret,[a] teaching the people as they crowded around him to hear God’s message. 2 Near the shore he saw two boats left there by some fishermen who had gone to wash their nets. 3 Jesus got into the boat that belonged to Simon and asked him to row it out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down[b] in the boat to teach the crowd. 4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he told Simon, “Row the boat out into the deep water and let your nets down to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon answered, “we have worked hard all night long and have not caught a thing. But if you tell me to, I will let the nets down.” 6 They did it and caught so many fish that their nets began ripping apart. 7 Then they signalled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. The men came, and together they filled the two boats so full that they both began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this happen, he knelt down in front of Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t come near me! I am a sinner.” 9 Peter and everyone with him were completely surprised at all the fish they had caught. 10 His partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised too. Jesus told Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you will bring in people instead of fish.” 11 The men pulled their boats up on the shore. Then they left everything and went with Jesus.” Have you ever tried to tame an animal? Or teach your pet to do a trick? Jesus can tell all the fish to go to a certain area of a lake and they do! Why did Jesus help Simon, James and John? He proved who he is - someone who gets power from God. They weren’t exactly sure who he was at that point but were sure enough of Jesus that they left everything to follow Jesus. They dropped their nets on the beach and left everything. Following Jesus means being Jesus’ student. The disciples lived with Jesus and travelled with Jesus, listened to him teach the crowd and were also taught privately by Jesus. They left their families and their homes to be Jesus’ students. Discussion Questions: If you were fishing all day with a professional fisherman and caught nothing, and then a stranger who had never fished before came into the boat and told you how to catch more fish than you’d even seen before, what would you think? If Jesus asked you to follow him in the same way he asked Simon Peter, what would you do? How does Jesus want us to follow him in 2020?

Miracles are supernatural events that occur because of God’s power. If you haven't listened to it already, I recommend you check out this episode on Jesus' miracles from May 2020 as an introduction to this series on miracles! Jesus performed miracles to show that he had the power of God. Today’s episode tells the story about the first miracle. Jesus has already been baptised by John and he has chosen some disciples but he hasn’t shown who he is and what he can do. Bible Reading: John 2:1-12 How much wine did Jesus make? 6 stone jars. Apparently each stone jar could fit 80L of liquid or 20-30 gallons. That is so much that I couldn’t even hold it! Jesus didn’t just make a little bit of wine - he made a crazy amount. Why would he make so much? Maybe to prove that this wasn’t just a little bit in the water jars that was forgotten about. Maybe to show that he can. Maybe so that people would start talking about him? Have you ever been embarrassed? I have never felt more embarrassed than when I swam the 50m freestyle race doing breaststroke. Jesus saved this couple from embarrassment. He cares about our feelings even if they’re silly, like my swimming race. As a mum, I think lots of things my kids get upset about are silly, but it means a lot to my kids so I make it mean something to me because I love them. My daughter Lucy cares a lot about her hair and getting it just right but I think it looks great however it is done but I try to care because I know it is important to her. God cares about us and our feelings, our embarrassments, because he loves us. Discussion Questions: Have you ever felt embarrassed? Share your most embarrassing story. How do you think Jesus turned the water into wine? If you had known Jesus when he was a boy and had thought he was just a regular guy and then saw him do this miracle, what do you think you’d be thinking? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

How did I come to know Jesus? This episode is a personal one! The story about how someone becomes a Christian is called a testimony and today I am going to share mine with you. Some people’s testimony’s involve a dramatic change - one day they do not believe in God and then something drastic happens in their life and they just have to believe in God. Other people come to know Jesus gradually, slowly putting their trust in him bit by bit until they look back to some time in the past and remember that they used to not believe in God at all but now they are very strong in their faith. That is the case for me. There wasn’t a date I could give you where I prayed a prayer to become a Christian, but a series of events that built up my faith over time. In this episode I am going to tell you about some of those events that shaped what I believe today. Bible Verse: Philippians 1:27 My life is not like a pizza, divided up into segments like sport, church, school etc.  The whole of my life is defined by me being a Christian.  Tune in to hear the whole story! Discussion Questions: If you are sitting in the car with a Christian adult - a parent or grandparent I am guessing, ask them the same question that I just answered: Ask them - how did you come to know Jesus? For the kids - Share an experience or 2 that you think has helped you get to know Jesus. How much do you know Jesus? A little bit or a lot? And are you keen to get to know him more? Chat about how you will do it. Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Listen first to the episode “Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?” God didn’t want us to be his toys, but his friend. God doesn’t MAKE bad things happen but he does let them happen. God could stop it. He has the power to do anything. Bible Verse: Luke 1:37 “Nothing is impossible for God!” God has power over sicknesses. But God chooses not to do some things. eg God chooses not to sin. He chooses not to hate people when they hate him. People were wondering similar things in Jesus’ time regarding why people were born with ailments. It was generally assumed in society at the time that it was sin that caused certain people to have bad things happen to them in their lives. Bible Verse: John 9:1-12 So many people in life think that it is about having a fun time and doing things that make you laugh; being happy. This is not true. Life is about getting your enjoyment from God no matter what the circumstances. (Listen to this episode on What Is The Meaning Of Life? from last week if you haven't already!) God says that many bad things will happen in life. Expect it. In the world you will have tribulation (troubles). Bible Verse: John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” This is a sad verse and a happy one. We will have troubles but it will end up good in the end. God wrote the beginning and the end of the world. Do you ever sneak to the last few pages of a book to find out how it ends? I’ve read the back of the book and it all works out in the end! Discussion Questions: Why do you think God let Covid-19 happen? If you knew someone who was doubting that God is a loving and kind God because of all the horrible things that have been happening this year, what is one thing you might say to them that would encourage them to keep on having faith in God? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

In today's episode Anna tackles the biggest question of all - What Is The Meaning of Life? This question springs from other questions: Why Did God Make People? What is God’s purpose for us being here? What is the purpose of life? What is the Meaning Of Life? Why Did your parents want kids? Why Did I want kids? People are different from all the rest of God’s creation because we have been made in God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 “God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.” What is God’s image like? This verse says that God’s image is just like us. I think that refers to our spiritual nature rather than our earthly bodies. We have a higher level of thinking. An old quote about the meaning of life is this: “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” CS LEWIS TO GLORIFY means to acknowledge and reveal the majesty and splendour of God by your actions. We can do that by praising him or by living in a way that is pleasing to him. Enjoying is a word that comes from JOY or Happy or Content and is enjoying something is to take delight or pleasure in it.  So our reason for being here on earth is to take delight and pleasure and happiness in God. A very pleasant instruction to do! Bible Verses about glorifying God by enjoying Him forever: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4) Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. (Psalm 32:11) Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright. (Psalm 33:1) Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. (Psalm 67:4) Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. (Psalm 100:1–2) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) If we remember these things and glorify God by enjoying him, then we will be content. Discussion Questions: Parents: why did you have kids Think about people you know. What do you think they would say if you asked them “What is the meaning of life?” Because of the more complicated language used in this episode I want you to discuss the meaning of the quote - The purpose of life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. What do you think this means? What is one thing you could start doing today that can help you enjoy God? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Today’s question is Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? This is something that many people struggle with and if you can’t get your head around it now that’s fine - some things become clearer over time and when we get to Heaven we will understand everything. I found this verse today that I think is helpful to keep in mind when learning about things that we struggle to understand: 1 Corinthians 13:12: “Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see him face to face. We don’t know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understands us.” We will understand why God does things the way he does as we dig deeper and deeper into our learning about Him and as we read and learn more and more about what he has already done here on earth. Huge questions that many people cannot understand and then often stop trusting in God Some people think: God can’t be a caring God to let someone I love go through cancer God can’t be a caring God to stop people from going to Heaven when they die God can’t be a loving God to allow famines and starvation on the earth Why do bad things happen? Sin. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. God planned earth to be full of all things good. In the first episode titled GREEN I talk about how perfect God’s creation was - there was nothing wrong with it at all - it was GOOD! What happened? Adam and Eve ate the fruit and that was the beginning of sin. Every single person got sin because they were born from someone sinful - just like you get your genes from your parents, you get sin from your parents. This sin is called “original sin.” Q. Why does God Let Bad Things Happen? This question leads to many other questions: Why Did he allow sin to enter the world? Why did God put the tree in the garden in the first place? Why was the snake/Satan allowed to enter into the garden? It was God’s way of giving Adam and Eve a choice to obey him or not. God doesn’t want to control us - he wants us to be able to choose whether we obey Him or not, because loving him would not be real if he forced us to do it. Harry Potter Fans may remember Tom Riddle’s mum forcing a man to love her. It isn’t real if it’s forced. But we know now, that God will not let anyone into Heaven. If somebody keeps saying in their lives that Jesus is not real, that he is made up or is just a regular man that someone made stories up about, they will not be allowed to enter into eternal life. This is because they have not had their sins removed from them through having faith in Jesus. Everyone has a chance but some people waste their chance. Discussion Questions: Do you like playing imaginative games alone or do you prefer to spend time with other people who have their own opinions and thoughts? Why do you think God doesn’t want to control you? How do you feel about being able to have choices in life rather than being controlled? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message