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Jesus gets in a boat with his disciples and says, "Let's go to the other side of the lake." Then, he finds a cozy spot in the back of the boat and falls asleep. Without warning, a fierce storm comes upon the lake. The wind and the waves appear to be too much for the small boat. It starts taking on water and the disciples, including several seasoned fishermen, are terrified. The call out to Jesus, waking him up. "Don't you care that we are going to drown?" Jesus wakes up, calms the storm, and questions their faith, leading to the disciples fear shifting from the storm to God standing in their midst. They respond appropriately, by worshipping him!

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Reading the story of Jesus calming of the storm from Mark 4:35–41, Matthew 8:23–27, and Luke 8:22–25.
• The Sea of Galilee was also called the Lake of Gennesaret and Lake Tiberias.
• The boat was probably 24 ft. long and 7 ft. wide, about the size of a pontoon. And they had very low sides.
• There were other boats out on the lake with the boat Jesus was on.
• Jesus tells them they are going to the other side.
• The Sea of Galilee is is about 690 ft. below sea level in the Jordan Rift Valley.
• On the eastern side of the lake, mountains rise up to about 2000 ft.
• There are hard, dangerous situations in life.
• Part of our sinful human nature that we forget what God has done and what God has said.
• "Where is your faith?" is a great question to ask ourselves and others.
• Jesus is completely at peace and goes to sleep. He's tired as a human, but he's also at peace, as God.
• Jesus does not panic at our panic.

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• Jesus Boat Information
• Storms on the Sea of Galilee
• "Stand Firm & Act Like Men" by Joby Martin
• The Bible Recap

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

Contact Us: leaderlounge@gmail.com

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Talking about the paralyzed man who is carried to Jesus by four of his friends. When they get to the house, they can't get in because of the crowd, so they climb to the roof, dig a hole in it, and lower their friend down to Jesus. Jesus tells the man his sins are forgiven and the religious leaders are beside themselves, because Jesus is doing something only God can do. Then, Jesus heals the man physically, proving that he actually does have the authority to forgive sins.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Emily is handwriting the Bible and is on Genesis 27.
• Chris is doing the Bible Recap, reading through the Bible in a year.
• We are reading from Mark 2:1-13, Matthew 9:1-8, & Luke 5:17-26.
• The house was completely full of people and it's easy to describe that to kids when you're in a crowded space.
• Houses back in Jesus' day were much smaller and shorter.
• Could this house have been Peter's house?
• Jesus read all their minds. He proved he was God before even healing the man.
• Jesus knows everything about all of us. He knows everything in our hearts and he loves us and died for us anyway.
• There could have been a larger crowd of people and 4 of them were carrying the man.
• It matters who your friends are and who you're surrounding yourself with.
• In each of the accounts it says the people glorified God after the healing.
• The spiritual matters more than the physical in Jesus' eyes.

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• Kay - Handwriting the Bible
• The Bible Recap
• "Stand Firm & Act Like Men" by Joby Martin

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

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Jesus performs his first sign at a wedding party, turning water into wine, and keeping the party going. By doing so, he saved a family from the shame of running out of wine and instead made them stand out above everyone else for saving the best wine for later.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Do we know Bible stories well enough that we can just recall them from memory?
• Have kids retell Bible stories and see if they got it right.
• John 2:1-12
• Jesus says his time has not yet come, but then he performs the miracle anyway.
• Jesus is 100% God and 100% human.
• Weddings in Jewish culture of Jesus' day was much different than our weddings.
• The jars Jesus used were large jars used for washing hands and feet. They would never want to drink out of them.
• The servants got to see the miracle first.
• We are not enough. That's why we need Jesus.
• God is a God of abundance.
• Jesus saved the family from shame and set them up to be celebrated for saving the best wine.
• Jesus keeps the party going!!

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

Contact Us: leaderlounge@gmail.com

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Jesus asks a few fishermen to follow him and they do! It might have had something to do with what they already knew about him, or what John the Baptist said about him. And, what probably sealed the deal was all the fish he miraculously filled their nets and boats with.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Chris & Emily's backgrounds in ministry and education.
• The synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, & Luke
• Matthew was written to a Jewish audience.
• Luke was a doctor and he wrote to a gentile audience.
• When we see God's glory, it puts our sinfulness into perspective.
• The disciples were probably teenagers who had been rejected by other rabbis.
• Emily points out that Jesus calls two sets of brothers to follow him: Peter & Andrew and James & John.
• What would have been like to be in the boats with all those fish?

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• The Chosen: Miracle of the Fish (Luke 5)

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

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We talk about Phillip's conversation with Nathaniel regarding Jesus. Nathaniel is skeptical at first, but Phillip invites him to "come and see" for himself. Nathaniel quickly comes to believe that Jesus is Lord.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Emily is handwriting the Bible.
• Background of John the Baptist and Jesus
• John 1:43-51
• John says "The next day." So, what happened before this story?
• Jesus is always doing the unexpected.
• Nathaniel accepted Phillip's invitation to "come and see."
• Using this story to encourage kids to "come and see" Jesus and to invite their friends to "come and see."
• The connection between Jacob's ladder and Jesus being the ladder.
• Are we just satisfied with our relationship with Jesus, or do we expect to see greater things.
• We have the same spirit in us that raised Jesus from the dead.

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• Kay - Handwriting the Bible

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

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This is our first episode. We spend a few minutes talking about why we are doing this and what we hope it will be for you.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• A story about Bible stories
• Is the Bible a reference book or something we know and memorize?
• Deuteronomy 6:4-9
• Who this podcast is for: youth leaders, parents, people who love the Bible.
• These podcasts will be under 20 minutes.

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• Young Life Seminole County

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

Contact Us: leaderlounge@gmail.com

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Welcome to the Leader Lounge Podcast, where youth ministry leaders and parents come together to dive into Bible stories with a curiosity that will bring the stories to life and plant them in our hearts.

First episode is January 6, 2026!

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• Host Introductions
• Podcast Mission
• Format Preview

RESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONED

• Young Life Seminole County

Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our's.

Contact Us: leaderlounge@gmail.com

Emily's Instagram

Chris' Instagram

Chris' Substack - Love, Life, and Lampoonery