Transcript
Speaker: following podcast is a Jill dev Divine Media production. We're just normal kids learning about God's big story. Welcome to Normal Goes a Long Way.
Speaker: For kids! Hello, hello, families. We love that you are listening in to hear the next part of God's big story. I'm Miss April, and today we are going to learn about a time when God's people got into a big fight and split into two.
Speaker: Last week, Miss Hannah asked, If God offered to give you anything you wanted, what would you ask for Here's what you told us. To walk on water and to see into the future. I would ask him for another Bible because I don't have one.
Speaker: An Iron Man suit. I would ask him to forgive my sins. Invisibility. Candy. I would ask him for a swimming pool. Hearing your answers makes us so happy.
Speaker: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Today, we'll hear from an awesome kid with some super fun facts about presidents. It's time for some fun facts.
Speaker: My name is Nora and I'm 10 years old. George Washington was our first president. Abraham Lincoln was our tallest president. John Tyler had the most children out of all our presidents.
Speaker: He had 15 kids. The leader of our country is called the president. It's a really important job. The president makes important decisions for the people.
Speaker: Today we are going to talk about a time when God's people were led by a king. It too was a really, really important job. Some of these kings were great and some of these kings were truly terrible.
Speaker: Let's start with a king who was both. For many years, Solomon ruled as a wise and good king. He was famous for being the wisest man on earth.
Speaker: This means that he was smart about the way he lived, choosing to do things God's way. But unfortunately, he started acting in ways that were not wise. Solomon stopped listening to God and started worshiping statues made of wood and stone.
Speaker: He forgot that he was supposed to be a king who led people to love God. He was supposed to help people and make their lives better. Instead, he made the people poor and ignored their sadness.
Speaker: God was angry with Solomon. God had commanded Solomon to obey his rules, but Solomon did not. God wanted Solomon to be a man full of love and light and honor, but Solomon was selfish.
Speaker: God told Solomon, you can be absolutely sure that I will tear the kingdom away from you. Wow. When King Solomon died, God's people experienced a time of great pain and darkness.
Speaker: Solomon's son, Rehoboam, became king. He did not listen to God either. He forced the people to work hard and pay lots of money to live in the land.
Speaker: The people were tired and angry. Finally, a group of people decided to leave and start a new country. God's wonderful kingdom was split in two. One country was called Israel and the other Judah.
Speaker: There was lots of fighting between these two countries. Sometimes the countries were ruled by good kings who loved God, but often these countries were ruled by kings who ignored God completely and brought much pain and sadness to God's people.
Speaker: One good king was King Asa, and he ruled Judah. His grandfather had been an evil king, and Asa knew that he didn't want to be that kind of king.
Speaker: He decided to learn from his grandfather's mistakes and rule in a totally different way. Asa loved and worshiped God. He got rid of the wood and stone statues that people were worshiping.
Speaker: He led the people to love God again. Just as Asa tried to bring goodness to the people, there was a King Ahab who ruled Israel and he was determined to do the most evil.
Speaker: He and his wife Jezebel worked together to lead the people to worship a fake God called Baal. So many terrible things happened under their leadership and God's people were lost and sad.
Speaker: Kings who listened to God and followed God brought wonderful blessing to the people. Under their leadership, the people were happier and healthier. Kings who turned away from God caused the people to be sad, frustrated, hurting.
Speaker: So let's get to the point. I can learn from my mistakes. God will never stop loving me. Sometimes don't live life God's way. Just like a bad king, we do what we want and that often leads to disappointment and sadness and bad things for the people around us.
Speaker: The wonderful thing is that God gives us many chances to learn from our mistakes and turn back to him. Today with your family, answer this question.
Speaker: How do you feel when you are forgiven for a mistake? Make sure to tell us what your family talked about so we can feature you in an upcoming episode. Record a voice memo and send it in a text to 636-280-5433.
Speaker: We can't wait to hear from you. Don't forget, loves you don't forget god loves you with a great big
