Our young hosts have just finished their exploration of church history in the 18th century and have a lot to say about their discoveries and lessons learned. Like other wrap-up episodes, it is great fun for everyone involved! It's also an occasion to welcome our new host, Isaac, and to say goodbye to three pillars of the podcast: Emma, Trinity, and Sophia, who have just turned 18 or will turn 18 soon. Feel free to send a note to these lovely young ladies, and we'll be sure to pass it along!

It's almost Christmas, and the song "Joy to the World" is playing everywhere! But did you know that its author, Isaac Watts, never meant it as a Christmas song? And did you know that he faced some opposition when he proposed that Christians can sing more than just the biblical Psalms? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Grace, Isaac, and Sean talk with our expert, Rev. Jonathan Landry Cruse, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, MI, and author of many books.

Thanks to the generosity of our friends at 10ofThose Publishing, we are pleased to offer our listeners a copy of Jonathan Cruse's book, Sing in Exultation: A Christmas Devotional Exploring Our Favorite Carols. Enter here to win.

Show Notes:

Several past episodes of Kids Talk Church History were mentioned today. Check out our website to listen to some of them: https://alliancenet.org/broadcasts/ktch/

More Jonathan Cruse books: https://reformedresources.org/authors/jonathan-cruse/

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and we usually hear two different types of stories about the early European settlers in America. Some are about a group of pious and peaceful Pilgrims who came to find religious freedom. The others are about greedy Europeans who used Christianity to take advantage of Native Americans. Join Trinity, Sean, and Grace as they explore the true story of the relations between Puritans and Native Americans with their guest, Dr. Matthew Tuininga, Professor of Christian Ethics and the History of Christianity at Calvin Theological Seminary in Michigan, and author of the book, The Wars of the Lord, The Puritan Conquest of America’s First People.

Show Notes:

Here is a link to Dr. Tuininga’s book if you’d like to find out more about this fascinating topic!