Transcript
Speaker: The following podcast is a Jill dev Divine Media production.
Speaker: We're just normal kids learning about God's big story. Welcome to Normal Goes a Long Way. kids! Hello friends, it's Miss Hannah. Welcome back to the podcast where we explore God's big story together. We zoom in to the stories of God's people and zoom out to see how it all works together in God's big story of the Bible.
Speaker: Last week we asked you... How can you show love to God's people around you? You had some really good answers. Here's what you told us. If they were like alone, you could ask them if they wanted to play Play with someone who's lonely, sit by them at lunch if they're lonely. Helping them if like they drop books or something.
Speaker: I love hearing about how you guys are loving the people around you. You are letting God work through you and you're making a difference. Way to go, friends. Now, I'm recording this podcast at the beginning of summer vacation. so I'm thinking about a trip to the beach, maybe to play in the water or build some sand castles.
Speaker: Let's hear some fun facts. um It's time for some fun facts. hi my name's Drew and I'm 10 years old. Sandcastle building likely started in Japan or Hawaii.
Speaker: Wet sand works well for building sandcastles. The water molecules hold the grains of sand together. Kids love to build sandcastles for fun. There are also adults who build fancy sand sculptures and compete in contests.
Speaker: Now today's story includes God's people building something else. But before we jump we need our imagination caps for today's story. So lift your hands way up high in the sky, above your head.
Speaker: Grab your imagination cap. Put it on your head. And go back in time with me. Imagine my name is Nehemiah and I have something to show you.
Speaker: Ahem, okay, hello friends. I am Nehemiah and I'm glad you're here because today you're going to step into my story. That's right, we're going on an adventure.
Speaker: Welcome back, way back in time to ancient Jerusalem. Look around. Do you see the dust in the air, the stone buildings, the city gates?
Speaker: Yes, this is my city of Jerusalem. And I want to show you something amazing. So come on, come with me, follow me. I'll give you a tour of the wall that me and my people built, with God's help, of course.
Speaker: Now, okay, see, look at this wall. Before it was standing tall and strong like you see today, things were bad. Guys, the walls had broken down, the gates were burned, our city was wide open for enemies to come and attack us. So when I heard about that, even though I was living far away, i felt really sad.
Speaker: You see, I was living far away and working for a really powerful king. My job was to be his cup bearer, which means that I got to serve him drinks and keep his drinks safe. It was a pretty good gig.
Speaker: But when I heard about my city's walls broken down, it made me so sad. I asked if I could leave that job, leave the king and go help build the walls again.
Speaker: Now, that was a risky thing. Asking the king to leave my job could have been bad. He could have been really angry. He could have said no, or even worse, could have had me killed. But I prayed to God and I said, God, please help me.
Speaker: You wanna know what happened next? The king said, yes. He said, yes, you may go rebuild your city. But guys, here's the thing. He didn't just say yes to me. He even gave me supplies and letters and guards to keep me safe.
Speaker: That's all because God heard my prayer. Yeah, he heard my prayer. He answered it. Okay, so let's walk through this first gate. Ready? Let's walk together. Can you feel the stone under your feet? Okay, look to your left, look to your right.
Speaker: See these big, beautiful walls? Yeah, we built them together. Families like yours and mine, we worked side by side, stone by stone. Let me tell you, it was not easy.
Speaker: Because not only is building a wall just like hard work and it's hot out here, man, I'm sweating, aren't you? but But enemies were trying to stop us. In fact, well, first they laughed at us, really. They said, you'll never finish this big wall.
Speaker: Look at that wall. If a little fox walks on it, it'll fall over. They were taunting us and laughing at us. That didn't feel good, but I wasn't afraid because I prayed again.
Speaker: i said, God, some people hate us. Can you get rid of them? And then I picked up my tools and got back to work on the wall. Now, even though God hears every prayer, he doesn't always answer it the way we want him to.
Speaker: And sometimes he doesn't answer right away. So God didn't just get rid of those people that were making trouble. In fact, it kind of got worse from there. The enemies, instead of just making fun of us, they planned an attack.
Speaker: But God had a plan. God always has a plan, you guys. And some people overheard this enemy's secret talk and they came running to warn me.
Speaker: So I heard about their plan to attack us and I had a plan of my own. So I told the people, don't be afraid of your enemies. Remember, God is great and God is powerful and God wants us to rebuild this wall.
Speaker: He'll be with us. So some of us held tools in one hand to rebuild this wall and swords in the other to defend ourselves. So at the same time, we had to stand guard and build this wall and we had to take turns even watching at night.
Speaker: But we didn't stop. I knew God was with me and this was the plan he wanted us to do. So but kept on building. Okay, follow me along to this part of the wall. Watch your step over there.
Speaker: So the enemies did not give up. Instead, they tried tricking us next. So they sent messengers to me to leave the wall. Come meet us, they said. better I knew better. knew that they were just trying to trick me. And so I thought to myself, no, I'm doing good work. I'm doing God's work. I can't stop now.
Speaker: They even tried to make me weak, but I had already prayed and asked God to make my hands stronger. And God answered that prayer. Okay, this trick is kind of crazy. They even paid a priest, yes, a priest, to try and trick me into hiding in the temple.
Speaker: But I trusted God more than anyone else. I knew that this big important job of building the wall was the work God wanted me to do. And so, oh wait, let's stop right here. Do you see this part of the wall?
Speaker: It's kind of my favorite. My family worked on this part and it's beautiful. Look how strong it is. Every stone is a reminder how God was with us through this really hard time.
Speaker: Every stone reminds me that his power worked through us, he protected us, and we were able to work together to build this big wall to protect our city again. And you guys, how long do you think it would take us to build this?
Speaker: Just look around. See how high these walls are? See how strong and sturdy they look? You want to take a guess? It was just 52 days. I'm pretty proud of that. The wall was finished in just 52 days because God made it happen.
Speaker: People said it couldn't be done. And in fact, some of the people around here doubted, but God can do amazing things. And here's the thing, you guys, I'm not a builder, I'm not a soldier, I'm not a construction worker. I'm just someone that prayed to God a lot and I trusted him and I trusted his plan. I didn't give up and his power worked through me because here's what I know to be true.
Speaker: God was on my side and God's on your side too. In fact, you should say that with me, okay? Say, God's on my side. That's right.
Speaker: Okay, so we've walked the wall, you've seen my story, but I've got a question for you. Are you willing to listen to God and obey him too? It's hard sometimes.
Speaker: Remember, there were people making fun of me, trying to trick me, trying to stop me. And bet at times the people working around with me felt discouraged or scared. But remember, you can trust God to just keep going.
Speaker: You can pray to him for strength. You can trust that he's right with you. And that's what I did. you can do it too. So let's get to the point.
Speaker: Nehemiah knew God was on his side. God is on my side too. God is on your side because God loves you with a great big love.
Speaker: It's never stopping, never giving up, never ending, bigger than you can imagine. Never forget it. Oh yeah, we can take these imagination caps off now.
Speaker: Okay, it's Ms. Hannah back. Thanks for going on that little journey with me, friends. And before we end today's episode, I want to share that we're taking a little bit of a break. We're going to be on summer break after this episode. We've gone through the Old Testament of the Bible.
Speaker: And when we get back from our break, we're going to dive into the New Testament. So... I've got one more question for you. Maybe you could talk about it this summer after you've caught up on all the episodes.
Speaker: What have you learned? Did you learn anything new about God? Did you hear something from the Bible you've never heard before? Did you talk about the Bible with your family for the first time?
Speaker: Did you enjoy discussing these questions? Did you follow along with the sermons? Tell us one thing that you learned or that you enjoyed about listening to this podcast together.
Speaker: but who would love to hear what you've learned. if it has blessed you and your family as we learn more about God and who walk with him together. Friends, have a wonderful summer break. We'll catch you later.
