Jesus Saves #1 Jesus Shines

0:00Welcome to the Faith in Families podcast. I'm Ed, this is Jam. Ed, one of our listeners, Harry Coleridge, emailed us to say he listens to the podcast as he goes to sleep. That's how a lot of listeners listen, Jam, the how we family get cross with us for finishing with a song. Just as Joshua is drifting off to sleep, he wants to jump up out of bed and dance. Oh, I'm so sorry. Anyway, there are those who are also on their way to swimming in the car. Or having breakfast or dinner together, Jam. Whoever you are with, we hope you enjoy this new series on Mark's Gospel. If you've not listened to the first series in Mark, go back into the podcast stream and jolly well listen to those, but don't worry. You can start right here if you want. It's just that you're joining us halfway through the story and Jesus is just going up and

1:04to, you know, just not now, Ed spoilers. Anyway, it's going to be fine because wherever you are, whoever you are, wherever you've been, whatever you've done, you can follow Jesus. And we're all about him on this podcast. So Ed, kick us off with a whip around question. Jam, what's the last time you were given a command to obey the kind where you just had to do it. You had no choice. Oh goodness. Oh, the other day I was driving along and suddenly my car beeped at me. It sensed very cleverly that the car ahead of me was slowing down. And so it then just goes, BEEW, which means slow down. A bay immediately right now or there's going to be something very expensive happening that you don't want to be a part of. What about you, Ed? I once jumped out of a plane strapped to an instructor and he said, whatever you do, keep your hands in front of you. Don't touch me as I need to pull the parachute open. Oh my goodness, Jam. I listened. I would definitely listen when I'm about to jump out of a plane

2:07to whoever knows how to jump out of a plane. So what's the last time you were given a command to a bay? Some commands just have to be obeyed and I would argue the command we're hearing today is the one we should obey more than any other. But first, Jam, please promise me you have some fun facts.

3:08Of course I have fun facts, Ed and these are about clouds which may look light and fluffy but would you believe that they are heavy because they're made of water droplets. An average fluffy, white, cumulus cloud weighs the same as a jumbo jet. That's about 500 tons of cloud, which makes you wonder how clouds stay up in the air at all. But you could equally ask that question of a jumbo jet, which is how does that stay up in the air? Do you ever get that, Ed? Well, you get on a plane or you see a plane go overhead and you think, I don't understand why that is continuing to be in the sky. No word of a lie, not enough people are asking that question. It's an engineering miracle and we all need to understand how it's possible. It's incredible. Now the thing is you are likely to fly through a cloud at some point in a plane and that's because NASA's Earth Observatory estimates that at any given time around two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered in cloud.

4:12But cloud cover is measured in octaves, which means eighths of a sky. So a reading of zero octaves would mean that there isn't a cloud in the sky. Now, Ed, have you ever heard of a cloud suck? What do you think that could be? Well, it sounds like some form of entertainment you can do out the window of the plane. It sounds like trying to eat candy floss with a straw, doesn't it? Yes, not that, not as fun as that. Imagine being pulled up into a giant thunderstorm by wind until you are higher than Mount Everest, almost as high as a passenger jet, which are okay because they're heavy. What if you were a paraglider? Now, there's a sport where a person sits in a harness beneath a large fabric wing and they use currents of air to glide through the sky, but they don't have an engine. Now in 2007, champion Polish-born paraglider called Eva, I can't pronounce her surname, was caught by a powerful force called cloud suck, which is when there's a strong

5:18upward wind inside the cloud in the huge thunderstorm, which grabs the paraglider, carries it up and up and up and there's no way out. Eva was lifted up six miles into the air, 10 kilometers to where the air was minus 50 degrees. The air was so thin she passed out from lack of oxygen. She started to slowly descend, an hour later she woke up, covered in ice and somehow steered her paraglider, still with ice on it, safely back to the earth after the most terrifying three and a half hours of her life, although she was only conscious for two and a half of those hours, which I guess is what makes her so frightening, isn't it? So, gem, beware of cloud suck is I think what I'm hearing today. Amazing things happen when you end up going into the clouds and in our Bible story today, a cloud descends onto a mountain and the people who were there hear something amazing.

6:23Should we listen to that part of the Bible now, Ed? Let's listen. Our reading is from Mark 9 verses 2 to 10. Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. While these followers watched, Jesus was changed. His clothes became shining white, whiter than any person could make them. Then two men appeared, talking with Jesus. The men were Moses and Elijah. Peter said to Jesus, Teacher, it is good that we are here. We will put three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Peter did not know what to say because he and the others were so frightened. Then a cloud came and covered them. A voice came from the cloud. The voice said, This is my son and I love him. Obey him. Then Peter, James and John looked around but they

7:24saw only Jesus there alone with them. As Jesus and his followers were walking back down the mountain, he commanded them, Don't tell anyone about the things you saw on the mountain. Wait till the Son of Man rises from death. Then you may tell. So the followers obeyed Jesus and said nothing about what they had seen. But they discussed what Jesus meant about rising from death. I love climbing hills a lot more than my family do. It is always hard work. I take a lot of snacks. We have to have rest stops on the way and I have to promise a big slice of cake at the end. The reason I go to that much trouble is the view at the top is always amazing. You can see for miles. It is always worth the hard work of climbing. Today we are hearing about a mountain climbing adventure that Jesus took some of his followers on and what they saw at the top was far more

8:28incredible than any view. Peter, James and John were Jesus' closest friends. They knew lots about him although he looked like an ordinary man. They had seen Jesus do impossible things. He a man who couldn't walk, stop a storm with words and even forgive sins. But they hadn't yet seen who Jesus really was. Up the mountain they saw him differently. If you have a collected football stickers or Pokemon cards it's great when you get a really special one, a brilliant player or a rare card with great powers. You know these are good cards because they are shiny. In fact they are called shinies. Up the mountain that day the disciples saw Jesus shine with glory. He became shiny with a brightness and brilliance that only God has.

9:34Jesus was white like the summer sun when you look straight at it. It burns your eyes. You can't keep looking at it. You have to turn away. You have to be your hand up in front of you. They saw Jesus as he really is. Glorious. God himself. Did a disciples didn't know what to think and then a cloud covered them. When a cloud covers you you know something's happening. And on that mountain God spoke. This is my son and I love him. Obey him. God spoke to them to make sure we don't miss this. It's a command for them and us. Jesus is the one you've waited for. He is the main event. He is the one to worship above all others. Listen to him and obey him. Up the mountain Jesus shone. On the mountain God spoke. Down the mountain the disciples obeyed.

10:44If you saw Jesus shining in glory what difference would it make? Perhaps you just don't want to read your Bible. But Jesus says this is the best thing we can do. Maybe you don't want to help mum with the dishes. But Jesus says this is the right thing to do. It could be that your friend is telling you to lie. But Jesus says this is wrong. If we remember who Jesus is, glorious son of God, we will find it easier to listen to him and obey him because he is the shiny one. God commands us to obey Jesus. Will you? Up the mountain Jesus shines. On the mountain God speaks. Down the mountain we obey. Let me pray. Will you pray with me?

11:48Thank you Father God in heaven for sending your son into the world so that we could know him. Help us to understand how amazing and good he is so that we are ready to listen to him and follow him. Amen. Amen. Ed's got questions. Under 5's what did the disciples see on the mountain? 5's to 7's what did the disciples hear on the mountain? Over 8's how do we now answer the question who is Jesus? Over 11's if obeying Jesus feels boring how does seeing him shine change that? You can have a chat about that now in which case press pause but we are going to carry on. I'm Jessica Seeker and this is the second season of the Seeking Jesus podcast with me.

12:54Jessica Seeker celebrity podcaster and investigator journalist seeking the answer to the ultimate question that perhaps can never truly be answered. Who even is Jesus? The son of God. What? He's the son of God. But is he Abbey? Yes. Is he really? Yes. When you become an award winning journalist like me, Abbey, you'll learn to be a little more careful about which voices you listen to. There was literally a voice from heaven saying, this is my son whom I love, listen to him. I mean that voice could have been anyone. It was exactly the same voice as the one we heard on the very first episode of this podcast. Remember when Jesus was being baptized, remind me and the heavens opened and the spirit came down like a dove and you'd sent me off to get a blueberry muffin. Ah yes, I remember the blueberry

13:54muffin or at least not getting one. Oh is there any chance you could. We're halfway up a mountain. There's not going to be a muffin stand anywhere around here. Well some of us believe in miracles. You don't. You know my two golden rules. Expect muffins, not miracles and be careful who you listen to. As a journalist and celebrity podcaster, I have learned to be very careful before I do believe in miracles and I must listen to Jesus because God commands it. But I really don't think we're going to get a muffin here. And so the quest for blueberry muffins continues. What? No, we're seeking Jesus not blueberry muffins. We mustn't get sidetracked. We need to keep following Jesus and obeying Him. And so the quest continues. We go on seeking Jesus which is always why the Seeking Jesus podcast or with Jessica's Seeker is called the Seeking Jesus podcast. Until next time,

14:55Abbey, seriously, I need a blueberry muffin. We need to remember who Jesus really is. He is the shiny one, the son of God and Michael Tinker's got a song about that. Jesus is the hero when you come top of your class. Jesus is the hero when you're always coming last. Because Jesus is the king of every story. He's the biggest and the best. He's the king of every story. And can you find your rest when you die then grows again.

16:03And when's up to his throne. He finished every story and made us all his own. Jesus is the hero when you climb the highest tree. Jesus is the hero when you fall and cut your knee. Jesus is the hero when you love your mom and dad. Jesus is the hero even when you make the mind. Because he's the king of every story. He's the biggest and the best. He's the king of every story. And can you find your rest when you die then grows again. And when's up to his throne. He finished every story and made us all his own.

17:14We're in the second half of Mark because we have just put out our second series in Mark's gospel. This podcast just sits beautifully with the new series. Good news from Mark, Jesus saves. Like all of our series you got a faith in kids.org and you'll find them all free to download. You teach them in your church. You send your parents home to listen to them on the journey. You know the system. It works beautifully and we love hearing from you. Podcast at faith in kids.org. Send us a message. Keep going. And there are plenty more podcasts to come in this series. Can't wait to be with you next time. Until then, Cheerio. Bye bye. Under fives, what did the disciples see on the mountain? Fives to sevens. What did the disciples hear on the mountain? Over eights. How do we now answer the question? Who is Jesus?

18:16Over 11s. If obeying Jesus feels boring, how does seeing him shine change that? Hello, Ed here. James here too. I am. Hello. And we just want to let you know that the faith in families podcast will be taking a break over the summer. And did you know that there are already 143 episodes of the faith in families podcast, the next one will make it 144, which we all know is 12 times 12. And the next one is a little special because it will drop on the 28th of August, which looks ahead to the start of a new season of life when the summer has finished. And then there'll be a second series on Mark's Gospel. So why not check out the first series of Mark's Gospel to get you into

19:18the mood. And that's where we meet Jessica Seeker. I'm Jessica Seeker. And this is the Seeking Jesus podcast with me, Jessica Seeker. Or you could go back to any episode and we just won't know. It'll be Gem and I doing what we do yapping on about Donkeys, Pork Pies, Weird Animals and all the usual stuff like living wholeheartedly for Jesus. So, speech here then. Bye bye.