[SPEAKER_00]: Christian parenting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Finding the perfect gift for the people you love most should feel joyful, not stressful, but between busy schedules and crowded stores, it's easy to lose the joy of giving.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's why Christian parenting created the 2025 Christmas Gift Guide.

[SPEAKER_00]: A one-stop collection of thoughtful faith-filled gifts for every stage and every age.

[SPEAKER_00]: Inside you'll find meaningful ideas for kids, parents, grandparents, and friends, all designed to point hearts back to the true reason for the season.

[SPEAKER_00]: Plus, we've included some of our very favorite Advent resources from family activities to devotionals just for kids, so you can keep Jesus at the center of Christmas.

[SPEAKER_00]: Best of all, it's completely free.

[SPEAKER_00]: Check out the guide today at ChristianParenteen.org forward slash Christmas and make this Christmas your most meaningful and least stressful yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hello and welcome to the True Seekers Podcast, a True Seeker is someone who wants to know the truth.

[SPEAKER_00]: They search for what's true and they won't rest until they find it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am a True Seeker and if you are to then you come to the right place where we will search for truth each week in the stories of the Bible.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well hello two seekers and welcome back to another episode of the podcast as we walk through the last days of Jesus' life before his death and resurrection.

[SPEAKER_00]: In our last episode we learned about the last supper and how Jesus gave an example of what was to come.

[SPEAKER_00]: He told the disciples that they were always to remember his death.

[SPEAKER_00]: Every time we eat the bread of communion, we remember his body that was broken for us, and every time we drink the juice of communion, we remember his blood that was shed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus knew his death was coming soon, and while Jesus was fully God, he was also fully man, which means he began to experience the pain and suffering of what he knew was to come.

[SPEAKER_00]: He knew it would not be easy, in fact he knew it would be painful.

[SPEAKER_00]: and yet Jesus was determined to follow his father's will.

[SPEAKER_00]: He would obey, no matter what, it cost him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus had just finished his meal with his disciples.

[SPEAKER_00]: They walked together to a garden called Gethsemane.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was a quiet place they knew and loved at the foot of the mound of olives.

[SPEAKER_00]: The garden of Gethsemane was a garden of olive trees.

[SPEAKER_00]: Did you know that olives grow on trees?

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever eaten an olive?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe you seen your mom or grandma cooking with olive oil?

[SPEAKER_00]: Olive oil comes from olives that have been crushed and pressed down so the oil can be drained from them.

[SPEAKER_00]: The name Gethsemani actually means all of press, so it is likely there was an all of press nearby, where they would crush and press the olives to make olive oil.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it was in this garden that Jesus and his disciples walked that night.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said to his disciples, stay here for a little while while I go and pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then he said to them, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stay here and keep watch with me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Going a little farther, Jesus fell on his face to the ground and prayed, my father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.

[SPEAKER_00]: yet not as I will, but as you will.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.

[SPEAKER_00]: Could not you men keep watch with me for one hour?

[SPEAKER_00]: he asked Peter, watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

[SPEAKER_00]: He went away a second time and prayed.

[SPEAKER_00]: My father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.

[SPEAKER_00]: When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: You see, Jesus was like those olives in the olive press.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was being pressed and crushed under the weight of the suffering, he would face.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus knew he would face physical death.

[SPEAKER_00]: But more than that, he knew he would face the weight of all the sins of all the world and this would cause him separation from God.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, his Heavenly Father, the one he loved, the agony of being separated from his Heavenly Father, caused him to sweat drops of blood.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Jesus, being an obedient son, would do what his Father had planned for him to do from the very beginning, from before time began.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus would submit to His Father's will and obey Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: When Jesus had finished praying, He returned to the disciples and said to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you still sleeping and resting?

[SPEAKER_00]: Look, the hour has come and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rise, let us go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Here comes my betrayer.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dear two seekers, what a powerful moment in the life of Jesus that the Bible shares with us.

[SPEAKER_00]: We get to see a moment when Jesus wrestled in prayer before his father in heaven.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever struggled when you prayed and you did not get an answer?

[SPEAKER_00]: Were you thought you didn't get an answer?

[SPEAKER_00]: Jesus was praying to his father and heaven that the cup of suffering he was about to endure would pass from him, that there might be another way.

[SPEAKER_00]: But even though Jesus prayed for the suffering to be taken from him, he was still willing to do the will of his father.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that was his answer.

[SPEAKER_00]: God did not take away his suffering.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was God's will for Jesus to suffer on our [SPEAKER_00]: that was the only way for us to be saved from our sins was for Jesus to take the punishment of death that was meant for us in our place.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am so grateful he did.

[SPEAKER_00]: I cannot imagine the suffering Jesus experienced, but he did it because it was what the Father had commanded him to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: and Jesus was an obedient son.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can follow in Jesus example by coming to our Heavenly Father when we are walking through hard times of pressing and crushing and suffering.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it feels like God is silent or like He does not hear us but we can trust that if we are His children, He does hear us and sometimes the answer is no.

[SPEAKER_00]: And when the answer to our prayers is no, we have to trust is because God has the best possible plan in place.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we have to trust his timing and his perfect will.

[SPEAKER_00]: That does not mean we should stop praying.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, we should never stop talking to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is our Father, and He loves us so much, He wants us to come to Him any time, and share our concerns and our requests with Him, but we always have to remember that it's important that we submit to His will first, that we obey Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: May our hearts always desire what He wants.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can always pray, Father, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, in my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you'd like to read today's story in your Bible, you can find it in Matthew, chapter 26, verses 36 through 46.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let me pray with you before we go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dear Jesus, I am so grateful that you chose to surrender your will to the will of your heavenly Father.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you had not done that, we would be lost.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even though you walked through unimaginable suffering, you knew that it was the will of your father.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that in the end, it was the best plan, because it meant salvation for those who would call on your name.

[SPEAKER_00]: We call on your name today, Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: We say thank you for being obedient to the father so that we might be saved.

[SPEAKER_00]: Help us to obey and submit to the will of our Heavenly Father, just as you did, in Jesus' name, Amen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, friends, it is time for me to read some reviews that you have left, and I have found some reviews and comments over on Spotify that I did not see until now.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am not usually on Spotify.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't see a lot of the comments or things that come in over there, but I was able to get in the other day and see some comments that were left that I want to give shoutouts to.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I apologize that some months have gone by, but hopefully you are still here and still listening.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this one comes from Willow Salon, it says we've been listening to your podcast for years now, and we are always so encouraged by what you say.

[SPEAKER_00]: Every morning we snuggle before school and read the Bible and listen to your podcast and pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: My kids love it and I also love listening to it even as an adult.

[SPEAKER_00]: From Lockelin, I like your podcast, it's very helpful every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: We listen to it before school and it really helps me believe more in God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lachlan.

[SPEAKER_00]: And from Finley, I love your podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: It helps me to tell my friends more about God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that is awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you Finley, Lachlan, and mom for listening and for leaving those comments.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is from Hadley.

[SPEAKER_00]: She says, Hi, I'm Hadley.

[SPEAKER_00]: Can I have a shout out?

[SPEAKER_00]: I am 10.

[SPEAKER_00]: And my favorite is the Wise King, and I loved this praying in the Bible episode, and I love all of the other shoutouts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Hadley, it is fun to hear all the shoutouts, but you get a special shoutout now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I hope you're listening, and I hope that you get this in here this, Hadley, thank you so much for listening and for your comment that you left over on Spotify.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this comment comes from high.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am tenly, I am nine, and I live in Tela Cheapy.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this has taught me things I never knew.

[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite episode is when Jesus feeds 5,000 people.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your time making the podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you, Tennley, for leaving that message.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this message comes from Elizabeth.

[SPEAKER_00]: She says, my name is Elizabeth, and I'm eight years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: I like to the story about Lazarus.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we like listening to it every morning when we wake up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well thank you Elizabeth.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is from Anna Sophia.

[SPEAKER_00]: She says hi.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Anna Sophia and I'm six from Chicago and I love to hear your podcast and I like the episode how Jesus friend was brought back to life.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well thank you Anna Sophia from Chicago.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is from Boas.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says I'm Boas and I love your podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well thank you Boas.

[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, let's see what else we have.

[SPEAKER_00]: This one says, hi, my name is Liam and I am 10 years old and I love your story so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep making more and have a great day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you, Liam and you have a great day too.

[SPEAKER_00]: This one says, hi, my name is Silas.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm eight years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm an eight-year-old drummer at my church.

[SPEAKER_00]: I give this podcast Infinite Stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: The story of E-Hud is my favorite.

[SPEAKER_00]: I listen every night before bed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep the stories coming like a shooting star.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you, Silas, and that's pretty cool that you are a drummer at your church, so you keep the drumming going.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[SPEAKER_00]: This one says, hello, I'm six years old and I listen to your Bible stories all night and they help me to go to sleep a lot.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I thank Jesus for all he has given us and he died for us since this is a prayer for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: There wasn't a name, but the person who left it was Jeffrey.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you so much for that comment.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this was an email that came in.

[SPEAKER_00]: It says, hi, my name is Simon.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am the oldest in my family.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm 11.

[SPEAKER_00]: My younger brother, Rafael is six in my younger sister, Chiseki is two.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am so sorry if I missed pronounced that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it's Chiseki?

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, we live in Zambia and we are homeschooled.

[SPEAKER_00]: We listen to your podcast every morning while we eat our breakfast.

[SPEAKER_00]: We started listening from the story of Abraham.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now we are at Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: We love listening each and every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: It always leads to interesting discussions.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for all you do.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, this next email came in that I'm going to read it says, [SPEAKER_00]: My name is Simon.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am the oldest in my family.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm 11.

[SPEAKER_00]: My younger brother, Rafael, is 6 and my younger sister.

[SPEAKER_00]: Chaseki is 2.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am so sorry if I mispronounce that.

[SPEAKER_00]: We live in Zambia and we are homeschooled.

[SPEAKER_00]: We listen to your podcast every morning while we eat our breakfast.

[SPEAKER_00]: We started listening from the story of Abraham.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now we are at Moses.

[SPEAKER_00]: We love listening each and every day.

[SPEAKER_00]: It always leads to interesting discussions.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for all you do, sign.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ayisha, Kristella, Chomaji.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you all so much for sending that message in.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I just love that you found the podcast and that you are working your way through the Old Testament right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, I have a couple more from reviews over on iTunes, so this one says, dear Sherylin, our family found your podcast about two years ago and have been so blessed by it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's more than just a retelling of the Bible stories, but really carries the life of Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: It always focuses us on the Lord on trusting him and giving him everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: May the Lord continue to strengthen and encourage you in this important ministry.

[SPEAKER_00]: God bless you abundantly, our children wanted to leave some individual reviews for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dear Sherlin, my name is Ethan and I'm 10 years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your podcasts and my favorite episodes are about Elijah.

[SPEAKER_00]: I give you 2,000 quadrillion stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you, Ethan.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hello, Cheryl and my name is Isaiah.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am 12 years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite episodes are about Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: I give you 110,000 quadrillion billion stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Man, that's a lot of stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, Cheryl and my name is frontier.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm seven years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite episode is the ones about Alisha and I give you 100 million stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dear Sharon, my name is Kinza.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am nine years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: It helps me to understand the Bible stories better.

[SPEAKER_00]: I give you nine hundred quintillion thousand stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: And dear Sharon, my name is Judah.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am four years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite episode is David and Goliath.

[SPEAKER_00]: I give you one thousand million thousand stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sharon, I love your podcast from Esteban, who is two years old.

[SPEAKER_00]: PS, we live in Lakeland, Florida.

[SPEAKER_00]: me and I think I have enough stars now for a lifetime.

[SPEAKER_00]: You guys are amazing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for all of those quadrillion quintillion stars.

[SPEAKER_00]: So awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm so glad that you found it and have been listening and are blessed by it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, this next review says, dear Cheryl and I want to thank you for your great Bible stories.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're truly gifted in this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so glad God is using you to tell [SPEAKER_00]: Both kids and I have been enjoying your story so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: You helped me understand the Bible more.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just sent some donation to your Patreon account.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you so much.

[SPEAKER_00]: May God continue to use you to tell his stories and explain his precious words from Dan Ying.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well thank you so much for those kind words and thank you for your financial blessing as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, last one from William.

[SPEAKER_00]: My name is William and I am from Charlotte, North Carolina.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love listening and learning.

[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite stories are about Joshua, his life and specifically him and the spies.

[SPEAKER_00]: And from William's mom, I love this podcast and recommended to anyone with kids or grandkids.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for this sound content and being a conversation starter for our car rides.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you so much, William, from Charlotte, North Carolina and mom.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just really appreciate that, and I love it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Mostly, that the podcast has just become a great way to get conversations started among your families because that is the best.

[SPEAKER_00]: When you can have those deep meaningful conversations with your children, it will go so deep and just plant such powerful seeds of truth and their hearts and minds.

[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, everyone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for joining me today and I look forward to our time together next week.