Hearing Jesus for Kids: Daily Bible Study for Kids

Have you ever been offered a shortcut that would have made something so much easier, but you knew deep down it would not have been fair? Today Jesus faces the ultimate test: forty days alone in the desert with no food, tempted three different times by the devil himself. What Jesus does in those forty days shows kids exactly how to stand strong when they are tested too.

What happened to Jesus in the wilderness?

Right after His baptism, Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was led into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days, eating nothing. By the end, He was very hungry, and that is when the devil showed up with three separate tests.

What were the three temptations, and how did Jesus respond?

The first test was about provision. The devil told Jesus, if You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus had the power to do it and was starving, but He answered with Scripture: man shall not live on bread alone. The second test was about power. The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered them all to Him if He would only bow down and worship him. Jesus answered again with Scripture: worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. The third test was about proof. The devil took Jesus to the highest point of the temple and told Him to throw Himself down, since Scripture promised angels would catch Him. Jesus answered, do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Why did Jesus answer with Scripture every time?

Every time Jesus was tempted, He answered with something He already knew in His heart from God's word. When you are in the middle of a test, that is not the time to go learn something new. It is the time to use what is already inside you, the same way you cannot stop in the middle of losing your balance on a bike to go read the instructions. Jesus had spent His whole life reading, learning, and understanding Scripture, so when the moment came, those words were already in His heart and mind.

What does this mean for kids facing their own temptations?

Getting tempted is not a sign that something is wrong with you. Even Jesus was tempted. What matters is what you do with it, and Jesus shows us the answer is almost always to go back to what God actually says. You do not have to fight temptation alone. You have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to help you, and you can pray and ask Jesus for help, because He knows exactly what it feels like to be tempted.

Talk about it as a family.

Why do you think it mattered that Jesus already knew Scripture in His heart before the tests came? What is one Bible verse you could learn this week to have ready for the next time you are tempted? Is there something you are tempted by right now where you could ask Jesus for help?

A prayer to pray together.

Jesus, thank You for showing us that the Word of God is a real weapon against the real enemy. Help us to know Your word so that when we need it, it comes up in our heart and mind. When we are tested, remind us that You have already faced this and made a way through, and that we can ask You for help. Thank You for sending us the Helper. Amen.

Coming up next.

Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, Jesus goes home to Nazareth and stands up in the synagogue to read from the prophet Isaiah, and what He says changes everything.

If God spoke out loud to you right now, what do you think He would say? Today we find out, because right before Jesus starts His ministry, the voice of God the Father speaks from heaven for everyone to hear. It is a moment that shows kids something every one of us needs to know: God's love does not have to be earned.

What happened when Jesus was baptized?

John had been baptizing crowds of people in the Jordan River, and Jesus came to be baptized too. While He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit came down on Him in the form of a dove. Then a voice spoke from heaven and said, You are My Son, whom I love, with You I am well pleased.

Why did Jesus get baptized if He never sinned?

Baptism is usually a sign that someone is turning away from sin and toward God, but Jesus never sinned, so He did not need that. Jesus was baptized to step into the story of His people, identifying Himself with the humans He came to rescue. By being baptized, He was saying, I am in this with you, fully present and fully human, right in the middle of things.

What does it mean that the Father was pleased with Jesus before His ministry even started?

At the moment of His baptism, Jesus had not healed anyone yet, taught any crowds, performed any miracles, or even called His disciples. And already the Father said, You are My Son, and I am pleased with you. That means the Father's love for Jesus was not based on what Jesus was about to do. It was based on who He was.

What does this mean for kids?

It is a little like a parent watching their child walk out on stage for a school play. The parent's face lights up, not because the child has already done something amazing, but simply because the child is theirs. That is a small picture of what happened at the Jordan River. God loves you the same way, not because of your performance and not because of anything you do, but because you are His. You do not have to earn God's love. It is a free gift.

Talk about it as a family.

What do you think it means that God's love comes before the work, not because of it? Have you ever felt like you needed to earn someone's approval? What would it look like to live knowing you are already loved by God?

A prayer to pray together.

Father, thank You that You loved Jesus before his ministry began, not because of what he did, but because of who he is. Help us to know that Your love for us works the same way. Help us to live from the place of knowing we are loved, not trying to earn Your love, because Your word says You have already given it. Thank You, Father. Amen.

Coming up next. Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, Jesus goes into the wilderness alone for forty days and is tested in three different ways.

Episode Reference: Luke 3:21-22

Have you ever been waiting for something so long that when it finally happens, it is almost hard to believe it is really here? For hundreds of years, God's people had been waiting for the promised rescuer. Today a wild, unexpected man shows up in the middle of nowhere with an urgent message: get ready, because Jesus is almost here.

Who was John, and why did he show up in the wilderness?

John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the baby whose birth we already heard about, and he grew up out in the wilderness instead of the city. God's people had not heard from a prophet in four hundred years, and John looked and sounded like one of the old prophets, wearing camel's hair and a leather belt and eating locusts and wild honey. When God's word came to him, he went out preaching to huge crowds along the Jordan River.

What was John's message?

John's message was simple, even if it was hard to hear: repent, because the one you have been waiting for is almost here. Repent means to turn around, to go in a different direction. John told the crowds that if they were doing wrong things or thinking the wrong way, it was time to stop, because Jesus was coming soon. He gave very practical examples: if you have two coats and someone has none, give one away, if you are a tax collector, stop cheating people, if you have power, do not use it to push people around.

Was John the Messiah?

People started wondering if John himself might be the one they had been waiting for, but John made it very clear that he was not. He told them someone far greater was coming, someone so much greater that John was not even worthy to untie his sandals. John baptized with water, but the one coming after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John was not the point. He was pointing the way to Jesus.

What does repentance mean for kids?

Repentance is like a spiritual U-turn. If you are riding your bike and realize you took a wrong turn, you have two choices: keep going and hope it works out, or stop and turn around and go back the right way. Most of us do not like to turn around, because it means admitting we got it wrong. But turning around is always possible, because of God's help. We do not have to pretend we are not going the wrong way. God already knows, and He wants to help us turn back toward Him.

Talk about it as a family.

What do you think makes it hard to turn around when you know you are going the wrong way? Is there something in your life right now where you know you have been heading in the wrong direction? What would it look like to ask God for help turning around?

A prayer to pray together.

God, thank You for sending people like John who told the truth and helped people get ready for Jesus. Help us to be honest with You about the places in our lives where we need to turn around. We thank You that we do not have to be perfect before we come to You, because You already knew that we could not be. Help us turn around when we need to, and remind us to ask You for help. Amen.

Coming up next. Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, the one John was talking about finally shows up at the river. That's Jesus.

Episode Reference: Luke 3:1-20

Faithful Every Day: Luke 2:41-52: Hearing Jesus for Kids

Have you ever felt like your parents just did not understand you? Today
we meet Jesus at twelve years old, and He says the very first words we ever
hear Him speak in the book of Luke. It is a story about growing up faithful in
the ordinary, everyday moments, even the ones nobody else is watching.

What happened when Jesus stayed behind in the temple?

Every year Mary and Joseph traveled about sixty five miles to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, usually with a big group of family and friends. One year, when Jesus was about twelve, they started the trip home assuming He was somewhere in the group. After traveling a whole day, they realized Jesus was not with them, so they went back to Jerusalem and searched for Him. They finally found Him in the temple, sitting with the teachers, listening and asking questions, and everyone who heard Him was amazed at how well He understood God.

What were the first words Jesus ever spoke in Luke's Gospel?

When Mary found Jesus, she said what any worried mother would say: Son, why have You done this? Your father and I have been searching everywhere for You. Jesus answered, Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I would be in My Father's house? He meant that the temple, God's house, was His Father's house. The Bible tells us that even then, Mary and Joseph did not fully understand what He meant, but Mary kept
these things stored up in her heart.

What happened after that day?

Jesus went back to Nazareth with His parents, and Luke tells us He
continued to grow and mature, gaining favor with both people and God. Eighteen more years passed before Jesus began His public ministry, eighteen years of living an ordinary life in a small town, working alongside His father Joseph as a carpenter. Even though Jesus knew He was the Son of God, He still spent nearly two decades where almost nobody outside His family knew who He really was.

What does this story teach kids about being faithful?

We might think that knowing who you are or what you are supposed to do means skipping straight to the big, important thing, but Jesus did not. He spent most of His life before ministry simply living ordinary days, growing up and being faithful in small things nobody else was watching. Those years were not wasted. They were the foundation for everything that came after. And even Jesus dealt with being misunderstood by His parents sometimes, which does not give us a reason to disrespect ours, but it is a normal part of growing up. In your own ordinary days, school, chores, even the moments you feel misunderstood, you can be faithful too, just like Jesus was.

Talk about it as a family.

Why do you think God designed it so Jesus spent eighteen quiet years
growing up before He started His public ministry? Have you ever felt
misunderstood by a parent, the way Jesus was that day in the temple? What would it look like for you to be faithful in your ordinary, everyday moments this week?

A prayer to pray together.

Jesus, thank You that You did not skip the ordinary years or the
ordinary days, that You grew up and were faithful, and that the quiet days were not wasted, even the days You were misunderstood. Help us to be faithful in the ordinary seasons of our lives, knowing that You see us and that You are with us, even when those days do not feel big or important. Thank You for reminding us that You see us. Amen.

Coming up next.

Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, we learn more about John and what happened in the wilderness.

God Hears Our Prayers: Luke 2:25-38: Hearing Jesus for Kids

Have you ever counted down the days until something exciting was about to
happen, like Christmas morning or your birthday? Waiting can feel so hard,
especially when you are excited. Now imagine waiting, not for days, but for
your whole life. That is exactly what two people in today's story did, and it
is why we are calling this episode God Hears Our Prayers.

When Jesus was a baby, Mary and Joseph brought Him to the temple in
Jerusalem, just like the law required for every firstborn son. Instead of
offering a lamb, they offered two doves, a small clue that lets us know they
did not have very much money. At the temple, they met two people who had been waiting on God their whole lives.

Who were Simeon and Anna?

Simeon was a man who loved the Lord, and the Holy Spirit was on him. God
had made Simeon a promise: he would not die before he saw the Messiah. The day Mary and Joseph carried Jesus into the temple, God's Spirit led Simeon there too. The moment Simeon held Jesus in his arms, he knew God had kept His promise. Anna was 84 years old. She had lost her husband many years before and spent as much time as she could in the temple. Anna was a prophet, someone who spoke for God to the people. When she saw Jesus, she gave thanks to God and began telling everyone who was waiting for Him that He had finally come.

What kept Simeon and Anna from giving up?

Simeon and Anna had both spent most of their lives waiting for something they could not yet see. What they were doing has a name: faithfulness. Faithfulness means believing God not only when it is easy, but also when it takes a long time or nothing seems to be happening. It is a little like planting a garden. You put a seed in the ground, and for a while, you cannot see anything happening at all. But a good gardener keeps watering it anyway. Simeon and Anna kept showing up and praying even when they had no idea when the answer would come, and because they kept showing up, they were there on exactly the right day.

Does God really hear our prayers, even when the answer takes a long time? Waiting can feel hard, and it can even feel like wasted time. But being faithful while you wait is never wasted. Even when nothing seems to be happening, even when you have prayed for something for a long time and have not seen the answer yet, God is not ignoring you. He sees every prayer. He sees every day you keep showing up, even when it is hard, and He wants you to keep showing up too.

Talk about it as a family.

What do you think kept Simeon and Anna from giving up while they waited?
Is there something you have been waiting for and praying about? What would it look like to keep showing up while you wait?

A prayer to pray together.

God, thank You for Simeon and Anna, who did not give up. Thank You
that being faithful and waiting is not wasted time, and that You see every
prayer and keep every promise. Help us keep showing up even when we cannot see what You are doing. Help us recognize You when You arrive in ways we did not expect. Amen.

Coming up next.

Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, we meet Jesus at twelve years old
and hear the very first words He ever speaks in Luke's Gospel.