God's Story: Jesus was like us.
So part of God's story is about His son named Jesus.
It goes like this.
Even though Jesus is God, He's also like us too.
You might've already heard some stories about Jesus.
Some stories are really famous, like how Jesus was born at Christmas, or how He died on a
cross and then came back to life on Easter.
You also might've heard that Jesus taught big crowds or made sick people feel better
and healed them.
He did do all those things, but that's not all there is to know about Jesus.
He also did a lot of normal stuff, like help His mom with chores, play with His brothers
and sisters, maybe even snored.
The Bible never actually says Jesus snored, but it does say He was like us.
Anyway, one normal thing we know Jesus liked for sure was being with His friends.
Kids, do you like to hang out with friends?
You probably have friends who like to play different things; maybe some of your friends
like to play video games, some go swimming, or to the the playground, some like to chase
around fake aliens with lasers.
The really fun thing about friends is being together, no matter what you're playing.
Well, Jesus spent a lot of time with friends.
He would go over to their houses a lot just to hang out, and usually eat some food.
They sometimes went fishing or rode on a boat.
Jesus had twelve best friends; they were called His "disciples."
A disciple is anyone who follows Jesus.
We can be disciples too if we follow Him, and the really cool thing is Jesus wants to
be friends with us and everybody, and we know that because He was always making new friends.
He even made friends with people nobody else liked because Jesus likes everyone.
If Jesus wasn't with His friends He might've been doing a normal thing like resting.
This one day Jesus was so tired that He took a nap on a boat and He didn't even wake up
when a huge storm came.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night because you heard thunder and lightning?
Well imagine how scary it would be if your whole bed was jumping up and down too.
Not you jumping up and down on your bed, the bed jumping up and down on the floor; that's
what it felt like for Jesus in that boat, but He was so tired He was sleeping right through it.
Jesus knew God was with Him, so He could sleep even during a storm, and He knew it's important
to rest when you're tired.
Sometimes Jesus rested by going somewhere by Himself so He could talk to God.
One place He really liked going was into a garden.
Picture sitting under a big tree in the shade, or climbing your favorite tree.
We don't know if Jesus liked climbing trees, but we do know that Jesus liked to be alone
to pray, and that sometimes He prayed outside.
You also might not have known that Jesus loved going to parties.
think about the parties you've been to.
Birthday parties, Christmas parties, you're not the only one there, right?
Usually lots of people go, because parties are a way for us to celebrate something really
cool with people we care about.
Jesus loved doing that too.
Once Jesus went to a wedding with his family and friends, but right in the middle of the
reception the wine ran out.
There was only water left.
Jesus saved the day by turning that water into wine.
It was His first miracle!
A miracle is when something amazing happens that only God can do.
When Jesus did this miracle the people at the party were able to keep right on having a good time!
Jesus played with his friends, rested, and celebrated many times in the Bible; we just
don't talk about those things as often because they're regular activities that regular people,
like you and me, do all the time.
But even though Jesus was the son of God, and able to heal sick people, and tell amazing
stories to huge crowds, He was also a lot like us, and that's part of the story of Jesus.
So in case you missed it here's the quick version: Jesus was born on Christmas.
He taught thousands of people.
He healed the sick.
Jesus also knew it was important to be with his friends, rest when He was tired, and celebrate
when something exciting happened; so He did just like us!
And that's a part of God's story.