Monique was joined by guest co-host, Elizabeth Urbanowicz, and together they answered questions from kids and teens about living as a Christian in today's culture.
Monique was flying solo tonight with Elizabeth Urbanowicz filling in as guest co-host! Tonight’s show addresses many questions kids don’t want to ask their parents!
Part 1: How do we relate to kids’ questions?
Affirm them and their question! Make sure they know questions are welcome!
For example, say, “That is a great question!” or “I’m so grateful you asked that question!”
Train our kids to seek out good answers, rather than answering all their questions and making ourselves out to be the “experts”
Ask diagnostic questions to find out WHY your child is asking this particular question; in other words, try to find out where this question is coming from.
For example, saying, “What made you think about that?” or “Have you seen something like this recently?” or “Where do you think we could find answers to this question?” and also follow-up with: “Do you think there is an answer to this question?”
Part 2: Apologetics questions from kids:
How can we be sure the Bible is true?
If your child hasn’t asked this question, it would be great to ask THEM if they’ve ever wondered about this!
Remember, affirm and diagnose where the question is coming from!
Investigate/explore this question together with kids, looking at these 3 areas:
Resurrection: If the resurrection is not true, Christianity is not true (1 Cor 15)
Investigating the eyewitness accounts of the Gospels
Jesus’ viewpoint of the Old Testament
How can God allow for and even require the killing of people in the Old Testament if He is a good God?
Affirm and diagnose, paying close attention to the child’s recognition and desire for justice
Explore & discuss the Canaanites and ask, “What do you know about the Canaanites?” and “How do you imagine them?”
Look at what the Bible says about why God commanded the destruction of the Canaanites (Gen 15:13-16, Leviticus 18: 24-28) and discuss the reality of their sin
Is it possible that all gods are the same God?
Affirm the question and explore!
“Something is what it is and not something else!”
Look at what the Bible says and compare with another example, such as the Koran
Part 3: Questions from kids about race:
What race is God?
Explore and discuss the concept of “race” with your kids, helping them understand race is a social fiction (ie Immanuel Kant in 17th Century)
Look into the Scripture…Genesis and Acts 17…only ONE human race, although there are multiple ethnicities & nationalities
God is Spirit; we do not associate our human attributes with God (eg skin color)
How can I debunk “woke stuff” in my school?
Ask questions for clarification, such as “Is this true?” or “How did you reach this conclusion?” A lot of people are often confused and misinformed!
Talk to your parents/guardians because they are your first line of defense
Parents need to assess the best educational environment for their child
Part 4: Questions from kids on sexuality:
Why should I wait for “it”...all of my friends are having “it…is the oral method okay since it is not the actual “it”?
Explore and discuss, “What is the Biblical purpose for it?” Why did God give us this gift?” Elizabeth suggests 3 reasons:
To be fruitful and multiply (Genesis)
For husbands and wives to know one another (from Hebrew word)
It is a picture of the marriage covenant, which is a description of Christ and the Church
Apply the 3 purposes above to the child’s question and examine whether the full act or the oral act fulfill God’s purposes
As parents, we need to be the ones to introduce this topic to our kids FIRST! We must start these conversations early, even as early as age 4, in age-appropriate ways!
Why do Christians think people should get married? Is it a sin if I don’t get married?
Ask what the child thinks marriage is?
Look at Genesis and Ephesians 5 & help kids see the GOODNESS of marriage
Also look at 1 Corinthians 7 regarding marriage & singleness
Resources:
Foundation Worldview, created by Founder & CEO, Elizabeth Urbanowicz:
Filter It Through a Brain Cell Podcast & Resources from Kathy Gibbens:
Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace (book series for kids & adults/teen version):
TrueU Series: Is the Bible Reliable (good for teens!):
Article by Clay Jones, "We Don't Hate Sin, So We Don't Understand What Happened to the Canaanites": https://ibs.cru.org/files/5214/3336/7724/We-Dont-Hate-Sin-PC-article.pdf
"Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? by Sam Allberry
"What is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense"
Not written from a Christian worldview, but from an anthropologic, research-based view.
Percy Jackson series:
Great for discussing with younger kids about the Greek gods in comparison with the God of the Bible
Coming in July 2024!
God's Good Design: A new curriculum for ages 4-8 to appropriately build a biblical understanding of how God designed sex, gender, marriage, and the family.
For older kids & teens, check out Christopher Yuan's phenomenal video curriculum, Holy Sexuality:
Connect with the Guest:
Connect with Elizabeth at her ministry, Foundation Worldview, for curriculum resources, webinars, podcast episodes and more!
Make sure to download the CFBU app to stay connected with all that Monique and Krista are doing in the ministry:
Sponsor:
Tonight's show is brought to you by the Center for Biblical Unity, Theology Mom podcast, Family 210 Clothing, and Impact 360!
Be sure to like, subscribe, buy some merch, and support the family!
We have some great merch that helps support the ministries of CFBU and Theology Mom. For every shirt purchased, approximately $10 goes to support the ministry of CFBU or the family business.
Tonight's featured shirt was designed by Krista, "Created to Reign":