Week37A Zacchaeus Finds a Friend

0:00Welcome to the Seed Pod for Beginners! I'm Miss Ashley and I'm so glad you are here with me today as we sync and learn about God through nature and the Bible! Evoning Father, please bless all the boys and girls you've joined us today. Plus to learn so much more about you in Come Close to Jesus, we pray in Jesus name. Amen! Today I want to say a special hello to Nehemiah and Simon and all the other boys and girls listening. This podcast is just for you, so I'm really glad you're here with us. Zac Yess was a wee little man, wasn't he? He was shorter than most grownups. In Jesus was coming, he did ALL he could, so he could see him too. Let's sing Zac Yess was a wee little man.

1:01Zac Yess was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sicklemore tree, or the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree. And he said, Zac Yess, you come down for I'm going to your house today! For I'm going to your house today! Do you ever notice squirrels jumping on the trees and scaring around? What are they doing? They're gathering food and storing it for later. God made the squirrels good workers! Sing, hurry hurry, furry squirrel! Hurry hurry little furry squirrel! Scurry scary little furry squirrel!

2:01God our whole lot hurts as you jump and run and run! Hurry hurry, hurry, scurry little furry squirrel! Hurry hurry little furry squirrel! Scurry scary little furry squirrel! Gather all the nuts as you jump and run and run! Hurry hurry, scurry, scurry little furry squirrel! We are going to play a guessing game! I'll give you hit. Then you guess what it is. Are you ready? I am a small animal that climbs trees really fast. I gather nuts and hide them. What am I? Squirrel! I'm a squirrel. Do you remember hearing about squirrels in our song? Next one. I have a long tail and big ears.

3:05I like to swing in the trees and eat bananas. What am I? It's a monkey. A monkey. Last one. I come out at night and sleep in the day. My tail has black and gray stripes. I look like I have a black mask around my eyes. What am I? Macoon! That's right. I'm a raccoon. These three animals spend lots of time in trees. Our story today is about a rich man who climbed into a tree. Having me father, I pray that you would help us to know more about you as we learn through our Bible story today in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, but he was keeping extra money for himself.

4:09When we take something that belongs to someone else, that's called stealing. Stealing causes so much sadness in our world. Zacchaeus knew it was wrong to steal. He started to feel sorry for stealing. One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus would be walking down the road near his home. Zacchaeus was excited. He wanted to see Jesus and to talk to him. Zacchaeus went to the road where Jesus was walking. But there were so many people that Zacchaeus couldn't even see their heads. He probably wouldn't find his tippy toes. Can you do that with me? Go up on your tip, tip toes. He might have jumped up and down, but still he couldn't see Jesus. Then Zacchaeus had an idea. He would climb up in a tree. Then he could see Jesus. Soon Jesus walked under the tree where Zacchaeus was sitting. Jesus stopped and he looked up.

5:10Zacchaeus, come down, Jesus said, I want to go to your house today. What a surprise. Zacchaeus was so happy. Jesus even knew his name. And Jesus wanted to come to his house and spend time with him. What do you think Zacchaeus did? Did he stain the tree? Now that's okay, I'll stay here. Of course not. Zacchaeus hurried down from the tree. Together they went to Zacchaeus' house. The people who were walking with Jesus were surprised that Jesus talked to Zacchaeus. They knew that Zacchaeus had been stealing money and they didn't like Zacchaeus. They didn't want Jesus to like him either. But Jesus loved Zacchaeus. He knew that Zacchaeus was sorry for stealing. Zacchaeus loved Jesus too and he made him a special meal. He invited him into his home. Would you like to invite Jesus into your home? Like Zacchaeus did? I would.

6:12When you read Bible stories and pray, it is the same as inviting Jesus into your house. When you help daddy and mommy and when you're kind to your brothers or sisters, it is the same as inviting Jesus to visit your home. Let's invite Jesus into our homes every day. It's memory first time. Our memory verse today is John 829. I always do those things that please him. What kind of things please Jesus? I'll share some ideas with you. Some things that please Jesus are kindness, sharing, telling the truth, listening quickly to your parents and being helpful. Let's think of these things that please Jesus when we say the verse. I always do those things that please him.

7:12John 829. Now let's say it together. I always do. I always do. Those things that please him. John 829. Let's fold our hands and you can repeat after me. Thank you Jesus for loving us so much. For loving us so much. Please visit our home today. Please visit our home today. We choose to belong to you. We choose to belong to you. Please keep us safe. Please keep us safe. And Jesus name. And Jesus name. Amen. Amen. The Bible Study Material used in today's devotional podcast was used with permission from my Bible first. If you'd like your own copy, go to mybibofers.org. To download today's coloring picture and for more programs like these, check out the description

8:16box below and visit our website startingwithJesus.com.