This is the last episode of The Word On The Street Podcast for the year. We have over 4o episodes!!! And some news for next year… The Word On The Street Podcast is joining Eternity Podcast Network!  I am really excited to be working with Eternity News! I can’t wait to bring you more shows in the new year. What is your favourite way of celebrating Christmas? My favourite way to celebrate is the amazing feast with my family. We also like going to carols in the park, looking at fairy lights, decorating the house with gorgeous decorations, doing lots of craft. My kids would say their absolute favourite part are the presents. Gifts are a huge part of Christmas. Do you like giving or receiving the most? QUICK QUESTIONS: What is the best gift you have ever been given? What is the best gift you have ever given anyone? Who gave Jesus gifts when he was born? Would you have been happy with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh? In our family my kids don’t have a lot of money and so they give presents to their siblings on their birthdays or at Christmas from things that they already have. It could be a toy, or some food they’ve made or a voucher for them to give me a massage. It is hard to give presents to people when you don’t have much money. We can be generous with things other than our money. I can be generous with my time, and I can spend it (spend!) doing all kinds of things - things for myself - watch TV - or things for other people (cook something special, do some chores, say something nice to someone or play the game that they want to play. Bible Passage: 1 Kings 17:8-16 How was this woman generous to Elijah? She gave her last bit of food to him, even if that meant starving herself. Sometimes it is really hard to give. I have bought presents for people that my kids have wanted to keep. It was really hard for them to give them away. How hard would it be to give your last bit of food away! Imagine giving away all of your favourite toys. Would you do it? Being generous is sometimes easy. It is easy if we have plenty and what we give is only a small amount. Sharni has about 100 Beanie Boos. To give away one that she doesn’t really like is fairly easy for her. She has only 1x keyboard that she plays every day. This is much harder for her to give away. Bible Passage: Mark 12:41-44 You don’t have to be rich or have a lot to be generous. Jesus is saying that it isn’t the amount that you give that is important. He is saying that anyone can be generous, even poor widows. And even kids. Discussion Questions: Do you find it hard or easy to give things away? Why/why not? Think of something that you have that someone really loves. Do you think that you could give that away? Discuss your thoughts together.

People celebrate all kinds of things for different reasons and in different ways, but most of the time, people celebrate with people they love. In this episode Anna dives into looking at what Jesus says about loving others while we celebrate - while we feast and dine together. Guess what am I celebrating: I’m putting up fairy lights on my roof I’m looking for eggs in the garden I am blowing out candles on a cake I am eating a delicious feast When I turned 12, I organised my birthday party in the Easter holidays and invited 12 friends but and only 2 of my friends could come. It was really hard not to take it personally. I cried. I was devastated. I felt like no one liked me, I had no friends, I was not popular (this was really important to me). I rescheduled it and everyone could come, but the feeling was horrible. I will never forget feeling like I was left out like that. Luke 14:12-14 “When you give a dinner or a banquet, don’t invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbours. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.” Inviting people to a celebration, dinner or banquet who are not going to give something back, something like love, good company, presents, entertainment?! That’s crazy! Unheard of! But amazingly loving! Do you know anyone who is poor, crippled, lame or blind? Jesus is listing people in his day who didn’t have any friends. Who is it today who has no friends? People who are bossy, mean, annoying? Can we invite them to our parties? It is much easier to stay where we feel comfortable - with people we get along with, people who are fun, easy to chat with, people who aren’t strange or different from us. There was once a little girl in Kindergarten who was turning 5 and she was allowed 5 friends to celebrate with her. She thought of 4 girls and there was space for one more. There was a boy in her class who was often absent, wore an older style uniform that was different to everyone else’s uniform and was always sad and alone at school, so she invited him. He didn’t come, but she wanted him to feel included. Who was that girl? Yep, that was me. Why would Jesus ask us to include different kinds of people in our celebrations?  John 13:34-35 “But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Including people who are lonely and who don’t have many friends is a really beautiful way to show them love in the way Jesus has commanded us to. Discussion Questions: Is there someone you know who does not like Christmas? Why don’t they like it? What is something loving that you could do for them this Christmas so that they might not feel so sad at Christma? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Jesus showed his power over nature by calming the storm while he was on the boat, by feeding 5000 people, by helping fishermen catch a ridiculous amount of fish and by walking on water. He showed his power over Satan by casting out demons. He showed his power of sickness by healing people. In this episode you will find out that his power doesn’t stop there! He has even more power than that.  Think of a good friend - Someone you enjoy being with, someone whom you’re really familiar with? You go to their house, you know their family, you have spent a lot of time with them? Imagine they get sick, really sick. What would you do? Would you: take them to the hospital Pray for them Make them stay in bed All of the above? Did you choose D) all of the above? Say you tried to all of those things but the doctor that you needed at the hospital was on away and didn’t get back in time and your friend ends up dying. How would you feel? Sad? Angry? Disappointed? I think I would feel really angry at the doctor for being away. Bible Reading: John 11:1-48 Jesus has power over death. Jesus cares about us very deeply. He cried for his friends.  Jesus can raise people back to life again on earth. Why doesn’t he raise everyone to life again? Why do we have to die at all? Why can’t we all die when we are old and ready to pass on? Jesus can raise everyone to life again but not here on this sinful earth where Satan is wreaking havoc. In verse Jesus spoke to Martha and said, “I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die. And everyone who lives because of faith in me will never really die. Do you believe this?” Discussion Questions: Mary and Martha saw that their brother was sick and they sent a message to Jesus to let him know. When something bad happens what is it that you do first? How do you feel, knowing that God, who has so much power that He can bring people back to life again, love YOU, cares about YOU and can take YOU to his Father’s House? Are you going to go to The Father’s House? How will you get there? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

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?