Have you ever had to say goodbye to someone you loved, and knew that you weren’t going to see them again for a very long time? Did they leave something with you - a gift or a letter maybe - as something to remember them by? In today’s episode we are going to look at what Jesus left behind when he left the earth and went up to Heaven. It was the Holy Spirit, which is the most amazing and generous gift to us that we could ever ask for. But what is it? Well, it is actually not an it! It’s a HE. The Holy Spirit is actually God is spirit form - without a human body, free to live with any person who welcomes Him. Would you think having God living with you all the time would be awesome? I know I do! I have welcomed Him into my heart and not only am I now never alone, but I have the God of the universe looking after me every minute of every day! That Day the Holy Spirit came like tongues of fire is called The Day of Pentecost. Since then we have had the Holy Spirit living in us if we are Christians. Read along with me in Acts 2. Have you ever received a gift that you had never seen before? You have no idea what it does, how to use it and whether it will even be useful or fun, or maybe it will just be something that you don’t even want or need! You couldn’t be bothered to read the instructions and work out what it does and end up putting it on the shelf and never use it. But the person who gave it to you was so excited about it - all the features! They think you are absolutely going to love it because they have one too and they use it all the time! Imagine if you did that when you were given an iPad or a playstation. That would be crazy! I reckon the Holy Spirit can be a bit like that. He is an amazing gift from God, so incredibly valuable and useful, sent to us to look after us. Some people bother to get to know him. They take the time to work out what He is here for and what we can do in order to appreciate and utilise the gift and it is awesome!!! But other people who become Christians don’t fully understand what the Holy Spirit is, and they don’t bother trying to learn about it. They live their lives ignoring him and don’t get all the benefits of having the God of the Universe present in their lives. Discussion Questions: What do you think makes the Holy Spirit the best gift Jesus could ever have given us? What can you do to get to know the Holy Spirit? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

Jesus died and went to heaven but he is coming back in the same way he left - coming through the clouds! But when is this happening, how is it happening and WHY? There are a lot of prophecies that give us clues to all these answers, although we will not know all the details until the time comes. The second coming is the beginning of the end. Jesus will come back, those who have had their sins washed away will go to heaven and for those who don’t its going to be sad. It is good to know these details as it helps us to be prepared. Jesus wants us to be prepared for his Second Coming like house owner’s are prepared for a thief in the night. Matthew 24 has so many details about what Jesus’ Return will be like! No one will know when exactly, but there will be wars, famines and earthquakes. It will be like the times of Noah, when the people were living their lives normally before the flood, and then the rains came and surprised everyone. Jesus will bring Christians together from all over earth and bring them to Heaven. I know I'm going, are you? If you aren't sure if you are a Christian and want to know how to become a Christian, make sure you listen to the episode on Becoming A Christian. For any parents wanting some direction in how to help your kids get to know Jesus, I have created a document that you can download for free. In it, you will discover 7 things that you can implement today that you can do to help your kids get to know Jesus. You can find this document at: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com/helpyourkids Discussion Questions: Chat about what you think the end of the world is going to be like when Jesus comes back. Talk about whether you want Jesus to come back, giving your reasons for and against. Jesus could come back any moment. What do you need to do to get ready for his return? Give me Your Questions If you have any questions about anything that you hear on the podcast or want me to chat about something in particular, please let me know! Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

In this episode Anna talks about all of the things to do with Jesus leaving the earth and going back to Heaven. Jesus Ascension refers to Jesus going up to heaven and the definition of ‘ascend’ go up or climb OR rise or move up through the air.  What were Jesus’ last words here on earth and why were they so important? Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus' eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. 17 They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted. Jesus came to them and said: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” Read Acts 1:3-11 This awesome passage explains exactly how Jesus went to Heaven. Discussion Questions: How would you feel if you were one of the disciples watching Jesus float up into the sky? If you knew that you were going to die soon, what would be the last thing that you would say and to whom? Do you remember what Jesus’ last words were? Why would Jesus choose those things as his final words? Do you have any questions that you would like answered in an upcoming episode? Please ask away, contact details below! Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com Leave me a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/annaware/message

This episode we continue on our journey exploring the key parts of Jesus' time here on earth and we finally reach the climax - Jesus' Resurrection! Our sins have been dealt with and Jesus got punished for them instead of you and me. Was that it? Is that all? No Way! Jesus died and took away our sins on the cross but he didn’t have to stay that way! Because he was sinless and because he was God, he was resurrected. This is a word that means to bring something that is dead back to life again. Jesus was dead but was brought back to life again, only this time it was not to live a normal life and die again at a ripe old age. This time Jesus was alive again but a bit magical. Not like magicians playing tricks but truly miraculous. In this episode join Anna as she reads through the bible passages that tell all about what happened over the 40 days after Jesus died. Read along at the following locations in the Gospels: Matthew 28:1-7 Luke 24:9-44 Acts 1:3 John 21:1-14 John 11:23-26 Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in him will never die? Really? Well, our bodies will die, but our spirits will not - we will get new, heavenly bodies and we will live forever, without dying! How awesome is that?! To listen to the episode on Eternal Life, head on over to THE GOSPEL STORY: Yellow Episode Discussion Questions: What are your thoughts about Jesus’ resurrection? Is there anything that you find hard to believe? What do you have to do to make sure you can be resurrected to heaven too? Is that something that you want? Is there anything that worries you or scares you? Contact… Facebook: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Instagram: @thewordonthestreetpodcast Website: thewordonthestreetpodcast.com

In this episode we delve right into the bible to find out exactly what happened on the day Jesus died, as written down by Jesus' disciples in the Gospels.  To hear all about WHY Jesus died, listen to the episode on THE GOSPEL STORY: Red from 30th March 2020. In this episode we hear the details written in the Scriptures by John, Luke and a little from Matthew. The story covers EVERYTHING and is a little longer than normal, but sooo comprehensive. I hope you enjoy! John 19:19 "Pilate ordered the charge against Jesus to be written on a board and put above the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” 20 The words were written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The place where Jesus was taken wasn’t far from the city, and many of the Jewish people read the charge against him. 21 So the chief priests went to Pilate and said, “Why did you write that he is King of the Jews? You should have written, ‘He claimed to be King of the Jews.’” 22 But Pilate told them, “What is written will not be changed!”" Luke 23:26-27 “As Jesus was being led away, some soldiers grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Simon. He was coming in from the fields, but they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd was following Jesus, and in the crowd a lot of women were crying and weeping for him. John 19:23 “After the soldiers had nailed Jesus to the cross, they divided up his clothes into four parts, one for each of them. But his outer garment was made from a single piece of cloth, and it did not have any seams. 24 The soldiers said to each other, “Let’s not rip it apart. We will gamble to see who gets it.” This happened so that the Scriptures would come true, which say, “They divided up my clothes and gambled  for my garments.” The soldiers then did what they had decided." Luke 23:32 “Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33 When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull,”[d] they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus. Dying on the cross was a common death in those days. What makes Jesus' death different? What makes is so amazing that it was written about by even non-believers? We talk about it lots because it was different in that: Jesus didn’t deserve it He is God’s son God deserted his only son on the cross He took our sins with him on the cross Discussion Questions: Do you have any questions? What are your thoughts about all this?

In this episode I want you to understand how Jesus chose his friends. He related to a lot of people and was pretty popular with many of them, because he was miraculous. But heaps of people didn’t like him, because he was popular but also because he was changing God’s laws a bit. We know that he IS God, and so could do that, but some of the people felt like he was disrespecting God. I can kind of relate a bit to that. If you were Jesus and had to choose some people to be your disciples, which kind of person would you choose? Someone who is funny and does crazy stuff to make you laugh? Would you choose the educated scholar who has been to university and spent years studying the bible? Would you choose a priest? Or a doctor? or someone else who has proven that they are educated? Or would you choose someone who is well loved by the community? Someone who is generous with their belonging, who gives to the poor and looks after those in need? What about someone with power? Someone who has lots of servants or soldiers to boss around? Or someone with lots of money? Jesus did not choose any of these types of people to become his disciples. He chose 12 men who would tour around Israel with him, listen to him teach and who would be trained by Jesus for approximately 3 years. We aren’t told the occupation of all of the disciples Jesus chose, but we do know that he chose at least 4 fishermen. We also know that he chose a tax collector (which was the career of a scam artist in those days, collecting money for the government and then collecting heaps extra for themselves!) He also chose zealot, which was the term used in those days to refer to a political activist. Here’s the story of Jesus asking Peter, Andrew, James and John to be his disciples from Matthew 4:18-22: “While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him. Jesus walked on until he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus asked them to come with him too. Right away they left the boat and their father and went with Jesus.” Jesus also spent a lot of time with people who were not popular! Matthew 9:10-17 says “Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. 11 Some Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?” Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.” Discussion Questions: Would you say you are more like a Pharisee or a tax collector? Why/Why not? What are the character traits that you look for in a friend? Are you a good friend and what can you do to be a better friend?

When Jesus taught the crowds he often told them stories about every day life. These stories had a deeper, heavenly, spiritual meaning and are called Parables. This episode is a great introduction to what parables are and why Jesus used them in his teaching. And hundreds of year before Jesus was even born, Matthew remembers that a prophet wrote about parables: Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories. 35 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet[b] had said, “I will use stories  to speak my message and to explain things  that have been hidden since the creation  of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35 And it came true! Jesus did use stories to explain his messages and he had a very good reason for it too! Jesus told parables so that those with the right heart could hear and understand but those with the wrong heart - those who don’t like to hear new things - would not understand and might leave Jesus alone. We know this because Jesus’ disciples actually asked why Jesus often used stories to speak to the people. Jesus’ reply was written down in the bible in Matthew 13:13-17 "Jesus said, “I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, “These people will listen and listen,  but never understand. They will look and look,  but never see. All of them have  stubborn minds! Their ears are stopped up,  and their eyes are covered. They cannot see or hear  or understand. If they could, they would turn to me,  and I would heal them.” 16 But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.” If you want to understand Jesus’ parables, you can ask God to give you a brain for understanding! We are also super blessed to be living in a time where we actually have the answers! Sometimes Jesus would tell the crowds the stories and even the disciples were confused. They knew that Jesus would explain the parable to them later, so they wait until they are in safe company and ask for an explanation. These explanations were written down for us so that we don’t have to guess what each story is about! It is like having a maths text book with the answers in the back and you’re allowed to look! How awesome is that!? Later on in the year I will create some episodes for you - telling you some more of Jesus’ parables and what message Jesus wanted us to get from them! Discussion Questions: If you were listening to Jesus tell the parables 2000 years ago, do you think that you would have understood what he was talking about? How do you think the people who didn’t understand the parables felt? What would you do if you were there and didn’t understand the parables? Pray and ask God for an open mind that can understand the parables and Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus was a teacher. 2000 years ago they didn’t have schools like we have, or even universities or churches. It was all very different. I love learning how to do new things by watching Youtube videos and by listening to podcasts. That’s how I learnt how to make this podcast! In Jesus’ day, there was no Youtube or podcasts. There were no TVs or radios or even electricity or microphones. People would stand up on street corners and speak what they wanted to teach in a really loud voice, and if you were walking past and thought that what they were saying was interesting then you’d stop and listen. I have hung out with some indigenous christians and they do something similar. The Christians will meet together in a park with chairs and microphones and will speak really loudly about Jesus. They hope that some of the people in the nearby homes might hear the gospel and come out and ask if they can become Christians. Anyway, Jesus had been doing lots of miracles and so everyone was talking about Jesus. He was big news! So not only did sick people want to come and be healed, but other people wanted to come and see sick people being healed. Even though there was no tv or newspapers, the news spread quickly and soon crowds began following Jesus wherever he went. Not just people from the town he was in, but people from the nearby towns as well! He thought going out of town, into the desert and lonely places would be better - more space and only those who were really keen would come out to hear him. There were no microphones back then either so I am not sure how the thousands and thousands of people could hear him, but they must have! “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 If I lived back then when Jesus was alive and wanted to teach these things people would probably have laughed at me. They definitely wouldn’t have believed me. They might have even taken me to jail because I was saying things that weren’t the same as what God had taught Moses. That would be saying that their hero Moses was wrong. But because Jesus was teaching these different teachings - the man who did all the miracles - the people listened. Many found themselves understanding, agreeing and wanting to follow Jesus. Not all of them though. Some of the people listening realised that Jesus was changing the laws Moses had given them and they didn’t like that. They didn’t recognise Jesus as being the Messiah even though all the clues from the prophets were there. Those people did not like that Jesus was popular and they plotted to get rid of Jesus. Jesus knew what was happening and had to be very careful with what he did and what he said. Sometimes these people would ask Jesus a question, hoping to trick him into saying something that might mean they could take him to jail, but Jesus was not tricked. He spoke very carefully and often asked them questions in return, stumping them at their own game. Jesus taught so many things and the disciples (plus others!) wrote it down even though writing was really hard back then, because they thought this stuff was important. Since then the letters and writings had been written and rewritten so they wouldn’t perish, and later they were translated into our own language so we can read it. To have these books about Jesus - the gospels - to have access to any time we like is such an amazing blessing. Discussion Questions: Do you like learning new things? Why/why not? Talk together about how you like learning - do you like watching YouTube like I do, or reading books or do you like people explaining things to you? Mum/Dad, what is one thing you have learned from Jesus’ teaching that really struck you as being really memorable and why?

In today’s episode we are going to be looking at Jesus’ miracles. Why did he do them and what did he do? Being a human meant that he would’ve needed to go to the toilet, he ate and slept like any other human, but he actually didn’t have to. He could’ve chosen to create all his meals out of thin air, he could’ve magicked a flying carpet to transport him around and he could’ve prevented himself from dying - forever! Remember John 1:2, which says that  “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Jesus is above the laws of science. He created science! And while Jesus was on the earth he did some amazing things! Being one of Jesus’ disciples must’ve been amazing. Every day they were witnessing incredible events like this! And any time one of them would get a sniffle or a sore throat they’d probably go and ask Jesus to heal them and he would! Why would Jesus do these miracles? It was another way that Jesus showed the people who he was. Only the creator of the world could do the things that Jesus was doing. If Jesus had said “I am the messiah. I am God’s son.” If Jesus had said that he would have gotten arrested. So he had to show them that it was true. He showed the people that he was God’s son by performing miracles. The miracles also meant that the people gave Jesus respect. They listened to his teachings and were curious, asking themselves questions like - Who is this man? Where did he get his power from? How does what he say fit in with what God has said in the past? Should we believe what he says and follow him? There is another reason why Jesus did these miraculous things - to fulfil another prophecy about him. Long before this time, the prophet Isaiah in 35:3-6 said, "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” We don’t see many miracles these days. Often we use science to try and work out a reason why it wasn’t a miracle. I think that God doesn’t need to use miracles. Jesus used them to let everyone know that he was God. What do we need them for now? When I was a kid I was taught that Jesus could do amazing miracles. I was also taught that if you ask, seek and knock the door will be opened to you, meaning if you ask for something from God then he will answer your prayers. But you have to have faith the size of a mustard seed… so one night before bed I prayed for a packet of Minties, which were the best chewy mint lollies in the world in the 90s. I believed with all my heart and when I woke up in the morning I ran to my shelf where I fully expected the lollies to be, and to my disappointment, they were not there! I was devastated! I didn’t understand! Did God not hear me? Of course he did, he’s God. “Why didn’t you answer my prayer?” I prayed, over and over. I didn’t understand straight away, and it was a long time before I understood, but there has to be a good reason for God to do things. We may not always know the reason, but he is God and he is perfect and has the best reasons for doing everything he does. All Jesus’ miracles were spectacular and were done to show the people, and us today even, that He really is God. He is powerful, he is awesome and he is God. Discussion Questions: If you were there and saw Jesus doing some of the miracles, what would you think about him? If you could ask Jesus to perform a miracle today what would it be? Pray for your miracle, you never know, he may want to say yes and give you what you want.

We are beginning a new series today on Jesus and a heads up - I try and explain the Virgin Birth! I use the term 'mating' instead of saying 'sex' and speak in very general terms. I want you to know this because there may be questions about the birds and the bees, although I can imagine that many children will find my explanation sufficient. I do hope I haven't thrown anyone in the deep end but this is one part of the story of Jesus' birth that I just couldn't skip over! After looking at the gospel over the previous episodes I am sure that you have realised that I think Jesus is pretty awesome. He is the most important part of what Christians believe and is what differentiates us from other religions. Jesus is so awesome and he did so many things while he was here on this earth and the bible has 4 whole books dedicated to all the things he did and said, and so with this series, my hope is to give you an overview. What I hope we can chat about together will be to really discover who he is and what he came for. I’ll tell you stories about his miracles, things he did with the disciples, I will share stories about his teaching, his parables and about what life was like when he lived, because it was over 2000 years ago and the world was very different back then. We are going to start today by looking at his arrival, which was certainly spectacular! We celebrate Jesus’ arrival at Christmas every year, and you might know lots about the nativity story already, but let me tell it again. I don’t think even parents get sick of hearing this! This story is taken from the beginning chapters of both Matthew’s gospel and Luke’s. Jesus was born in Bethlehem after travelling for 4-5 days to get there to be counted. He had some fantastic visitors while he was there - shepherds and wise men, and was given expensive but unusual gifts for a baby.  Angels communicated with Mary, Joseph and the wise men and saved Jesus from coming to harm from the jealous King Herod. After they were counted, Joseph, Mary and little baby Jesus didn’t end up going home to Nazareth for quite some time. They travelled to Egypt, leaving sneakily in the middle of the night, and they stayed there until it was safe and the jealous King Herod passed away. There was no newspaper or internet to find out news in those days, but there were angels! An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that they could go home because King Herod was dead and no longer a threat. So finally the little family got to go back home to Nazareth to live. Discussion Questions: What do you think the job of an angel is? Are they around anymore? Do they like earth? Do they eat, drink and sleep? There was one big boss in this whole story, in control of every single thing that happened. Who do you think that was? So if God was in control, why would he have worked out the story to be like this - with Jesus being born in a manger and visitors not being family members but wise men and shepherds?