Category Archives: Stories for Teens

Grandma's Stories, Life Lessons, Stories for Teens

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People? (Pt 1)

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A good friend of ours was ill for a couple of weeks and in the end she went to the doctor when her breathing became difficult. After numerous tests, she was told that she had an aggressive type of lung cancer. Needless to say this left everyone who knew her in a state of shock. “Why her?” people were asking, “She did so much good around the place!!”

People often ask this question….it just seems that life isn’t fair!! We do the best we can and then things go wrong for us! I got to thinking about this age-old question and then thought about a man in the Bible whose name was Job (pronounced Jobe). He was a good man who always did the best he could and then he lost everything. But reading this story  will give us a picture of why this happened which will help us to see things differently and put them in a wider picture when things go wrong for us too.

Let’s turn to the book of Job in the Bible and see what it says about him….                                                                                                                                                  In chapter one, verse one, we read….”there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, one who feared (respected and reverenced) God and who hated evil.”

So we see that Job always did his best and as we read down the chapter, we see the things that he did for himself and for his family. Let’s turn it into a story……                                                                                                    One day, God’s team of angels came to report to Him. God noticed a shiny, glistening, sneaky looking one among them who  didn’t usually come, and recognised him instantly.                                          “Where have you come from, Satan?” He asked.                                       ”       “Oh, I’ve been walking up and down all over the place,” Satan replied shiftily.                                                                                                                             “Have you seen any person as good as My servant Job is?”, God asked, “No-one else is as good in the whole world as he is….he loves Me and hates everything evil! He makes me an offering every day, not only for himself but also for his family.”                                                  “Ho”, sneered Satan looking at God, ” No wonder he is so good! You look after him on every side, and have given him all he’s got! I bet if you took it all away from him it’d be a different story! He would curse You to Your face if that happened!!”

God knew His man, and He knew He could trust Job to do the right thing.                                                                                                                                     “OK,” He said to Satan, “We’ll see. I’m allowing you to take away everything that he has. I know he will stand firm for Me.”                  Satan chuckled gleefully. ” I’ll make him sorry for following God’s ways. I can beat him!”                                                                                                             So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

The next day, Job got up early as he usually did, and made the morning sacrifice for himself and his wife. Then he made another sacrifice to cover each of his children. As he did this, he prayed for each of them, as he did every day. “Lord”, he said, “Please help the boys to stand firm for you; help them to resist temptations, and always be helpful  to their mother and sisters. I pray for the girls, Lord that they will not be vain with how they look, but that they will try their best to be beautiful with their minds and their speech.”

Job knew that his eldest son was putting on a party that day for his brothers and sisters, and he hoped that everything would go well for them all. While he was sitting there after breakfast thinking about them, he saw one of his servants rushing up the path. He could tell something was wrong.                                                                                              “What’s the matter?” he called out as the man got close enough to hear.                                                                                                                                       “We were out in the field ploughing with the bullocks and the donkeys were there beside them when a marauding tribe from over the hill came and rounded them up, killing all the herdsmen, and I’m the only one who got away!”                                                                                           With that, he fell down on the ground panting with the run, and fright at what he had seen.

The man had hardly finished telling Job this when another servant came panting up. “Oh!,” he said, “There was a massive lightning storm over the paddock where the sheep were, and they have all been struck dead as well as the other servants there. I’m the only one who managed to get away to tell you!”                                                                A third servant came panting in from another direction and said, “The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and killed the servants with swords; and I’m the only one  escaped  to tell you.”

Job hardly had time to take all this in when another servant came rushing in from the direction of the oldest boy’s house.                          “Oh, oh,” he wailed when he saw Job, “Your sons and your daughters were  eating their meal and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house when there was a terrific gust of wind rushing in from the desert like a tornado, and the roof was lifted off and the whole thing collapsed on everyone else in the house, and they are all dead! I’m the only one to  escape and tell you!”                                                                           Job had been sitting down all this time, and now he stood up and tore his long robe off his shoulders. He went inside and shaved the hair all off his head to show how upset he was.

His wife and servants wondered how he would cope with all this bad news and the disasters that had happened. But he didn’t curse or swear, or even complain. It didn’t even enter his head to ask God why this had all happened.                                                                                          Instead, he got down on his knees and prayed in front of everyone left in his house, and said, ” I was born naked with nothing, and I will go back to God the same way, with nothing. The LORD gave me these things, and the LORD has taken them away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”                                                                                                                 In all these disasters Job didn’t sin or complain and blame God foolishly. He had truly shown a godly attitude to a disastrous situation, just as God had known he would.

So the next time something bad happens, just remember that maybe God is using this to show others the right way to behave and act by what you do and say.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens, Uncategorized

Progressions…..

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“Sarah, tell me what the sermon was about this morning,”  Uncle Jeff asked as the family finished their lunch around the table one Sunday.

“Well, the minister had three points,“  Sarah said as she folded her table napkin, “He was talking about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ” she said as an afterthought.

“What about them?” Uncle Jeff asked, “What can you remember about them Bobby?” he asked as he turned to him.

“He said that Abraham was always building an altar everywhere he stayed”, Bobby said.

“Well, that’s right”,  Uncle Jeff said, “But why would he want to do that?”

“He did it for God,” Betty piped up .

“Did not,” said Bobby, “He did it because God told him to!”

“That’s what I said, “  Betty said in an aggrieved voice.

“Come on you two,” Mum said, “That’s enough!”

“Well, what about Isaac then?” Uncle Jeff asked. “What was so special about Isaac?”

“Isaac was a promised baby,” Sarah said, “His mother and father didn’t have any children for years and years and God kept telling them they would, and at last they did. They called him Isaac which means happy.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “And he was a happy little boy too. What did he do when he grew up?”

“He dug wells wherever he went,” Bobby said.

“What do you think the wells meant? What were they for?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“ Well, wells give water,” said Sarah thoughtfully, “So they must stop people being thirsty. We need water too, to get washed with.”

“Alright,” said Uncle Jeff , “Let’s think about these two things for a minute. Abraham made altars, and Jacob dug wells. What do you think they meant?”

“Dunno!” said Bobby as he ran an imaginary truck along the edge of the table.

“I guess Abraham  wanted to worship God and that Isaac believed that God would give him the water he needed for his soul. After all, we all need water to wash with and to drink.” Sarah said.

“That’s quite right,” Uncle Jeff said. “What else did the preacher say this morning? What was the third thing?”

“Something about Jacob!” Betty said, “It was something about Jacob!”

“I remember!” Bobby said, “He said that Jacob was wrestling with a man….brrm, brrm.”

“Yes, but the point was that Jacob thought he knew it all until he had to meet his brother who he had cheated, and he was scared. All his cleverness didn’t do him any good then! “ Sarah said, “It was really an angel who was wrestling with him  wasn’t it,  and he didn’t know it was. Jacob was nearly beating him too, and then the angel touched the top of his leg and he began to limp, and he limped for ever after. What did that mean Uncle Jeff ? ”

“It showed Jacob that he wasn’t as smart as he had thought he was, and that he had to depend on God after all,” Uncle Jeff said, “It also showed everyone else that Jacob was different now, and he wasn’t  the cheat  that he had once been. You know, when we really come to know God, we will be different too….we won’t limp like Jacob did, but people will see that we don’t tell lies or dirty jokes any more or do mean things to other people.                                                                          And something more too about Jacob,” Uncle Jeff went on, “It wasn’t until Jacob got right with God, that he was able to go back to where the altar was that his grandfather had built so he could worship God once more in the right way. That’s just like us too, we can’t really worship God properly until we have washed ourselves in the water of repentance, and learned to depend on God. It was after this, that God gave Jacob a new name….Jacob’s name  had meant “Cheat”, now he was to be called Israel which means “Prince with God”, and that name has stuck right down to today!”

Mum had been listening to all this while they were talking, and now she said, “Isn’t it wonderful the way the Bible tells us stories that have such deep meanings for us if we will only think about them and take notice!”

“It sure is,” said Uncle Jeff, “And now I’d better go as I’ve got things to do. See you all next week!”  as he went off.

 

You can read this story for yourselves in the Bible in  Genesis chapters 13:1-4;   26: 32-33;   32: 24-30;   35:9-13.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Be Sure your Sin Will Find You Out!!

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 You will find this story in Joshua 10:1-27, 11:1-11……      News of the way Joshua and the men of Israel had conquered the cities of both Jericho and Ai had spread far and wide in the region that Israel was now entering.

    The men of Gibeon got together and said to each other, “Have you heard what Joshua has done to Jericho and Ai? We’ll have to do something to make peace with him before he attacks us!”

“Yes,” said one, “Let’s pretend we’ve come from a far country with old worn out clothes and shoes and mouldy bread to make it look as though we’ve been on a very long journey, and ask him if he’ll make a treaty with us”.

“What a good idea!” they all agreed.

     So a group of them got together, and dressed in old shabby clothes with worn out shoes, and carried their bag of mouldy bread over their shoulders and went to meet Joshua. When they found him, they told their story and produced the evidence….”Look Joshua,  here’s our mouldy bread and worn out shoes. This shows how far we’ve come! Make a treaty with us,” they said.

    This is where Joshua slipped up. He should have said, “I’ll ask God first”, but he didn’t. He looked at the supposed evidence and believed what they said.

“Sure”, he said, “We can do that!”

So he agreed to make a treaty with them which guaranteed them to be protected by Israel, no matter what. They went away smiling and pleased with themselves.

    Three days later the news leaked out, and the men of Israel found out that these people who had supposedly come from far away, actually lived right among them! The people of Israel heard what these people had done, and they started whispering among themselves against the princes and leaders who had made this treaty. They heard these death threats that the people were making.

  “We can’t do anything to them,” they said, “We’ve made a solemn treaty with them. Joshua called for the Gibeonites to come to him.

“You frauds!” he said, “You lied to us! You just live nearby! From now on, you will be our servants and do all our heavy work for us!”

The other Israelis said, “Let’s teach them a lesson, the lying sods!”

“No, we can’t do that,” Joshua said, “We’ve made them a solemn promise and we have to keep to it!”

    The Gibeonites didn’t mind, and said to each other, “At least we’ll be protected if we become their servants!”

      In chapter ten, we see that is exactly what happened. The people of Gibeon started to prosper and do really well. Their animals all grew fat and big, and their gardens bore large crops. The other tribes round about them began to mutter….”Let’s get together and go and teach Gibeon a lesson! That will teach them to make peace with Israel our enemy!”

The men of Gibeon heard these threats, and quickly sent a message to Joshua, “Come and help us from these other kings. We’re your servants, remember!”

This time Joshua remembered to ask God what to do. “Go and chase them out,” God said, “Don’t be afraid, because I’m going to fight for you!”

Joshua and his men travelled all night and came upon the enemy first thing in the morning. They didn’t know what had struck them when Joshua and his men started to chase them. They ran, and as they ran the sky got darker and darker, and God sent enormous hailstones on them. More people died with the hailstones than died in the actual battle!

    This was the beginning of a great victory for Israel, and they took all the cities of the land one by one because the Lord fought for them (Joshua 10:42)

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

What’s it all About?

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  Uncle Jeff was driving back from the camp complex where the meetings had been held, with Sarah, Bobby, and Betty.                                                                                                                               “What did you do for your activities, Betty?” Sarah asked her little sister.                                                                                                                                    “Oh we all coloured a paper Noah’s Ark, then cut it out and made it up,” said Betty. “It wasn’t all that easy either.”                                                 “I don’t suppose it was easy for Noah either, to make the ark,” said Bobby.                                                                                                                                “No, I guess it wasn’t,” Sarah said, “Can you  imagine what it was like to get all the animals into the ark? Just think of hauling an elephant inside!”                                                                                                                          “Haha,” said Bobby, “Imagine getting giraffes in too!”

“Well, can either of you older ones remember what the main speaker was talking about this morning?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Yes, it was about the lamp that Moses had made in the wilderness, that was to go in God’s tent,‘ said Bobby, “The tent was called the tabernacle.”.

“He said lots of things about the lamp,” Sarah said thoughtfully, “I never knew it meant so many things.”

“That’s why it’s important to think about them,” Uncle Jeff said, :”Everything in the Old Testament part of the Bible has a matching part in the New Testament.”                                                                                “Really?” said Sarah, “I didn’t know that!”                                                          “Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, ”That’s why God told Moses to make it exactly to the pattern He gave him, because it was all a picture of something in heaven”.

“Ooh,” said Betty, “Was Noah’s Ark a picture of something too, Uncle Jeff ?”

“Sure was,” he said, “What do you think it might have been a picture of Bobby?”

“Well, it saved Noah and his family and all the animals in it from being drowned,” Bobby said after thinking for a while, “ So I guess it was a picture of how the Lord Jesus saves us.”

“That’s right,” Uncle Jeff agreed, “But let’s get back to the lamp. It had seven branches all decorated up beautifully. Why do you think there was one tall one in the middle with six others around it?”

“Well, the Lord Jesus is in the middle of His people,” Sarah said.

“That’s right,” Uncle Jeff agreed, “What does a light do?”

“It chases the dark away,” piped up Betty.

“How does Jesus chase the dark away from us then?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“He said He was the light of the world, “ said Sarah, “There is no darkness in Him at all anywhere, and He never stops shining.”

“Yes, that’s true. He said too that we must be lights in this world showing others how to live right. What makes those old fashioned lamps keep burning brightly?”

“I know!” Bobby said, “They’ve got a wick down in some oil inside them and the wick has to be kept trimmed all the time or else the light gets dull”.

“So what do you think that means?” said Uncle Jeff, changing gear as they came to a hill.

“I guess it means that we are like the wick that needs to be trimmed too,” Sarah said, “When we get into bad habits, God needs to trim us up.”

“Do you think it would be pleasant for the wick to be trimmed?” asked  Uncle Jeff.

“I wouldn’t like to be trimmed,” said Betty.

“Ho ho, you sure don’t like it when you have to go to your room for being naughty!” Bobby chortled.

“You too!” and Betty gave him a poke.

“OK, OK,” said Uncle Jeff, “What was the lampstand made out of?”

“Pure gold”, Bobby said.

“What did the preacher say that was a picture of?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“It was a picture of how the Lord Jesus was God’s Son and just like Him,” Sarah said.

“Yes, and what else does it show us about the Lord Jesus?”

“He was beautiful,” Bobby said.

“Yes, and He lasts for ever.” Sarah added.

“Then gold costs a lot of money,’ Bobby said, “And I guess it means that Jesus is just the bestest person there has ever been!”

“Well done!” Uncle Jeff said as he turned into their street, “What was one last thing the preacher said about the lamp?”

“It kept burning all night till the morning!” Betty said.

“I was going to say that!” Bobby said.

“What does the morning mean then?”

“Well, the morning is like when Jesus comes back again, and the night has gone” Sarah said, “And we have to keep shining for Him until He comes back again!”

“That’s dead right,” Uncle Jeff  said as he turned into their driveway, and pulled up, “Now it’s up to us to remember all these things and all be little lights for Jesus. .Let’s go inside now and find something to eat!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

The Boy who Made up his Mind

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Bobby and Sarah had gone over to Uncle Jeff’s to get some oranges off his tree. They were really big golden ones, and very sweet. So they filled their plastic bag up and then wandered inside where Uncle Jeff was reading his Bible.

“What are you reading about, Uncle Jeff?” Bobby wanted to know.

“Well, actually I was reading the story about Daniel and his three friends,” Uncle Jeff replied.

“Oh, I know that story,” said Bobby, “Daniel got thrown into the lions’ den, and they didn’t eat him!”

“Well, there’s a lot more to the story of Daniel than that,” Uncle Jeff said, “What do you know about him Sarah?” he asked.

“I know there are a couple more stories, but I’m not sure how they go,” she said, “Didn’t he have some friends with him in some of them?”

“Well, let’s start at the beginning,” said Uncle Jeff, “Daniel and his three friends (as well as a lot of other people) were all taken off to a far away country to the big city of Babylon by the conquering king, Nebuchadnezzar. These boys were all part of the royal family of Judah, and when the king was taken hostage, they were too. Have you any idea why God allowed this to happen?”

“I guess it was because the people had left God out of their lives”, Sarah said.

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “But there were still some who did believe in God as we shall see from Daniel’s story”.

“They must have often wondered why this was happening to them then,” Sarah said thoughtfully.

“It must have seemed funny to go to a strange land where they couldn’t understand the language,” Bobby said, entering into the story.

“They were smart boys,” said Uncle Jeff, “and it didn’t take them long to pick it up. In fact, the king decided he wanted a bunch of these boys from the captive royal family to be part of his court. But first of all they had to learn how to behave themselves  in his court, and also learn a whole heap of other things like astrology, and science and things like that.

The other things they noticed strange were the statues of different idols all around the place. They could see the food that was placed in front of these statues, and asked what happened to it seeing the idols couldn’t eat. The other ones in their class laughed and said that it was probably what they were given themselves later!

Daniel was horrified, and went to the man in charge and asked if they could be given just vegetables to eat and water to drink instead of this other fancy food that had been offered to the idols first.”

“What did the man say?” asked Bobby.

“Didn’t he say he would get into big trouble if they didn’t look as fit and healthy as the others in the class?” asked Sarah.

“That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff.

“What happened next?” asked Bobby.

“The man agreed to do it for ten days and then give them a check over. And you know what? At the end of the ten days they were more alert and fitter than all the others who had been drinking the king’s wine and eating the fancy food all that time!”

“Wow!” said Bobby.

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “And the point for us today is that Daniel had made up his mind that he was going to follow God’s ways no matter what! Daniel was still only a teenager when all this happened you know, so it just shows that it doesn’t matter how young we are, we are still able to decide what we will do that honours God.”

“They were honouring God.” Sarah said slowly and thoughtfully, “ and then God honoured them later didn’t He Uncle Jeff?”

“That’s right Sarah,” said Uncle Jeff, “When they were taken for their test before the king, he found they were smarter and better trained than any of the others in their class, so he promoted them and gave them top places in his court. It didn’t seem to matter what the king asked them, they knew the right answers.

But I think that’s enough for now, we’ll have another story about Daniel next time! Let’s go and put the kettle on and have a drink!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Sticks and Stones

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“Mum,” Betty wailed as she came into the kitchen, “Bobby’s calling me names!”

“Oh, come now,” said Mum, “He doesn’t mean what he is saying!”

“He does too!” said Betty, “He told me I was an old meanie-bum!”

“Well, what did you do to him?” Mum asked. She knew very well that Bobby wouldn’t call names if he hadn’t been provoked in some way.

“Well,” said Betty looking at the ground, “I did hide his phone, and I won’t tell him  where until he says he is sorry!”

Mum was used to this sort of thing, and she said mildly, “Don’t you think you should say sorry too and go and get his phone back for him?”

“I don’t think it was a nice thing for him to say I was a meanie-bum,” Betty said sulkily.

“Well, you remember the old saying that ‘sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me!’ ” said Mum, “And in this case don’t you think you deserved it when you took his phone?”

   Uncle Jeff came in just then with Bobby following close behind. “Well, well,,” he said in his big cheerful voice, “What’s been going on here?” as he noticed Betty’s aggrieved face.

“Bobby’s been calling me horrid names, Uncle Jeff”, she said.

“And Betty’s gone and hidden my phone!” Bobby said, “She deserves it!”

“Now, now,” said Uncle Jeff, “I think you should both say sorry and you go and give his phone back, Betty. Two wrongs don’t make a right you know!! You know, saying things like this is like ripples on calm water….they go for a very long way. Even some jokes hurt other people. I remember once when I was going to school, a boy called me ‘Bandy’. He only meant it as a joke, but I didn’t like it and I’ve never forgotten it!”

“Yes,” said Mum, “And I remember once I told a girl in my class that I liked what she was wearing and she took it the wrong way, and acted as if I’d slapped her in the face!”

“Ooh,” said Sarah who came in then and heard this last bit, “What happened then?”

“Nothing,” Mum said, “But I’ve never forgotten it. It just shows that what we say can go much further than we ever intend it to.”

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “We should always say things that will build other people up and make them feel good. People will always remember you by what you say!”

    Betty had gone out of the room, and now she came back with her hands behind her back. “Here’s your phone, Bobby,” she said, pulling it out… “I shouldn’t have annoyed you by hiding it”.

“Oh, thank you Betty,” Bobby said, “And I shouldn’t have called you names either, but you did make me mad!”

“That’s great,” said Uncle Jeff, “Now what about that cup of tea? I’m awfully thirsty after all that!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

The Travellers’ Bags….

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     Gran was visiting at Bobby’s  place one day, and the young ones were dying to see her and  hear about her adventures. Gran had just arrived back from an overseas trip and they all wanted to hear about it and to see if she had brought any presents with her. She usually picked up small things that she knew the children would like.

After all the “hellos” had been said and she had relaxed with a cup of tea, they gathered around her, and she said “Oh, it IS good to be back home. But before we look in my bag to see what I’ve brought you, I want to tell you a story I thought of while I was waiting for my flight this morning…..

“I was watching the people all coming in to the airport lounge to sit down and wait for their flights. They were all going somewhere and were all carrying different sorts of bags….some  were big and floppy and others were proper small suitcases with wheels. Others were back packs. As more people came in, they were getting more squashed up together, sitting closer as the seats were being filled up.

The bags were sitting on the floor, by people’s feet, and I imagined they were talking to each other. There was the smart blue bag on wheels with a matching handbag beside it. “Oh!”, it thought to itself, “What a lot of other tatty bags there are here! I’m so glad I don’t look like them! Why, I’ve even got a matching handbag. I’d move further along if I could!” and it gave a bit of a sniff.

Right next to it was a big floppy orange bag. It looked quite old and as though it had once carried baby’s bottles and nappies. It had a warm comfortable look about it. It was thinking to itself, “I wonder where my missus is going with me today. I DO hope there are some children there so I can carry things for them!”

Further along was a large backpack. It had quite an adventurous look about it. It had seen many different places, and had actually got badges from these places stuck on its sides. It looked around and thought to itself, “I’m glad I’ve been around a bit and seen more than these other bags! Look at those two blue bags over there, they look so new that they haven’t had time to see anything yet!”

Next to it was a large business case. It had been to the office all week and was going back to its home. It thought to itself, “Oh dear, I’ve had such a busy week. But I know a lot of important business has been done and I’ve been able to carry all the papers and the laptop to help get these things done. If I hadn’t been doing this the business meetings wouldn’t have been able to be held. But I WILL be glad to get home for the weekend!”

There was one last bag I could see. It was an ordinary looking bag, neither too big nor too small, not too new nor too old. It looked as though it belonged to someone very organised. I imagined it was thinking to itself, “I’m so glad I know where I’m going. I’ve got the passport ready and the plane ticket is tucked into my inside pocket along with the boarding pass, and my owner knows where it all is!”

The call came to board the plane, and the people all picked up their bags and moved  towards the boarding lanes.

The two blue bags said to each other, “I DO hope we aren’t piled into the cabin ports too close to these other bags, they might scratch our nice new shiny look!”

The big orange floppy bag with the comfortable look thought to itself, “Oh, it’s going to be such fun when the little ones see the presents I’m bringing for them, I can’t wait to get there!”

The backpack was anxious to get on its way and thought to itself, “I wonder what adventures I’ll have tomorrow! I don’t mind if I get squished into the overhead compartment, so long as I can get going!”

The business case thought, “I’m so glad I was able to be part of that big business deal we did this week, what a big improvement it’s going to make for everyone!”

The last case thought, “I’m so glad I’m not a great big bag that will have to be stowed in the overhead compartment. I’m all ready to go and I know where I’m going!”

I couldn’t help thinking these bags are just like we are sometimes. We feel so pleased with ourselves, and think we are smarter and more classy than other people (the blue bags). Or are we just happy to be able to help people and to take things that will give them pleasure? (the floppy orange bag)  Or are we too busy doing our own thing and wanting to go places to be able to help others?  Maybe we might want to do or see something new too badly  to think about helping other people. Especially when they have been away on holiday, do we take the time to ask them what it was like and what they did? (the backpack)

We could be thinking about other people and what they’ve been doing and not just thinking what WE’VE been doing! This was what the business bag was like. Even though he often felt tired, he knew that what he was doing was good for others.

But the last bag had the best place of all. It knew where it was going and it was all ready for the trip with its ticket and boarding pass right at hand”

“What a neat story!” Sarah said, “I don’t know how you think of all these things, Gran!”.

“Is that all there is?” asked Betty who had been listening with her mouth open, “I want to be like the last bag!!”

“Well,” said Gran, “All those bags sitting by their owners’ feet just reminded that it’s always good to put others first because this is what pleases God. But the best of all is to know where we are going when we die and to know that we are ready for this trip. So many people trust in their good looks and their good deeds, or in being kind. Others are just too busy and have too much to do and see to think about God. Still others are too busy working in their offices and making money to have time for God’s things. So I just want you to make sure that you are like the sensible bag and know where we are going at the end of our life and that we are ready for the trip!”

“Sure will!” said Bobby, “What did you bring us in your bag Gran?”

“Let’s have a look,” said Gran, “and every time you see these things just remember the story about the bags and the sort of people they are like!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Why Bread and Wine?

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    Bobby and Sarah were riding home from church with Uncle Jeff one Sunday after the morning church service,  as he was coming to their place for lunch.  Both of the young people were more silent than usual, and in the end Uncle Jeff said, “Is something bothering you Bobby?”

“Well, not exactly,” Bobby said, “But I’d like to know a few things”.

“Like what?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well,” said Bobby slowly, “What I’d like to know is about this bread and wine stuff they have during the service”.

“What do you know about it Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well, I know it comes from the Bible, it’s not just a thing that people have made up to look good”, she replied.

“I guess it must mean something,” Bobby said, “But I’ve never heard anyone really explain it”.

“Perhaps you weren’t really listening”, Uncle Jeff said, “Haven’t you noticed what sort of prayers are said just before the bread is given out? What about you Sarah?”

“It’s usually a thank-you prayer”, she said, “Thanking the Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins.”

“That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “But there is a lot more to it all than just that. How do you think the bread is made?”

“It’s made out of flour”, Bobby said.

“And how does flour get to be made?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Well, it gets ground up out of the grains of wheat or whatever other grain is used”, Sarah said.

“If the wheat grains had feelings, do you think it would have been hurt in the grinding process?” Uncle Jeff went on to say.

“Oh,” said Sarah slowly, “So you are saying that the bread is like the Lord Jesus being hurt so badly when He died on the cross”.

“That’s right, Sarah, ” said Uncle Jeff, “What is the next process in making bread?”

“It gets mixed up with other things and then it’s baked in the oven,” Bobby said, “I DO like new bread!”

“What do you think the meaning of that is as far as the Lord Jesus was concerned?” Uncle Jeff asked getting back to the point.

“Being in the oven is very hot”, Sarah said, “I guess it was like that for Him when God turned away from Him when he took our sins on Himself.”

“Yes, that is quite true,” Uncle Jeff continued, ” and what’s more what is the bread like when it comes out of the oven?”

“Yum, yum,” said Bobby, “I LIKE new bread!”

“Did you know that the Lord Jesus could say that He was the bread of life? That was all because He died to save us from our sins! ”

“So that is what it is all about?” Sarah said, “Thanks so much for explaining that. What about the wine then? Is that something the same? ”

“Yes, the picture is the same”, Uncle Jeff said, “ The grapes have to be crushed first to get the juice out of them, and then there is a further process the juice goes through before it will keep. How do you think this is a picture of the Lord Jesus?”

“He lost a lot of His blood while He was on the cross”, Sarah said thoughtfully, “Almost as though it was crushed out of Him!”

“Yes, and some people drink wine to make them feel happy, and when they have something to celebrate; another thing about wine is that it is a healer if you put it on sores, and then it stops you feeling thirsty as well,” Uncle Jeff said, “And what’s more it lasts without going rotten. The Lord Jesus does all these things for people when they trust Him…that’s why it is a picture of Him.  Does all this make sense to you Bobby?”

“Ye-e-es, I guess so”, Bobby said. “So it’s all a picture of what  Jesus has done for us. It won’t seem so boring now in church, now that I know what it all means. But why is it only big young people who take it and grown ups? Why can’t I do it?”

Uncle Jeff had been expecting this question, and he said, “I know that a lot of young children have given their hearts to Jesus, and they would love to do this, but you know people do change their minds as time goes by. Remember the time when you thought you would like to milk cows when you grew up?”

“Yes”, said Sarah nudging Bobby, “And remember how you used to say you were going to marry Jenny when you grew up?”

“Yuk!”, said Bobby, “I’ve changed my mind, that’s all!”

“Well, you see we have to make sure that you are grown up enough to understand what it is all about and you want to do it to please the Lord Jesus Himself, not just because Jack in the next seat takes it!”

“Oh!” said Bobby, “Well, I don’t think I’m going to change my mind about this, but I only  want to do it to please God and because it says so in the Bible!”

“That’s great!” said Uncle Jeff as he turned in to their driveway, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling hungry. Let’s go inside and see what Mum has ready for us for lunch!”