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b'READ: MATTHEW 1:22-23; JOHN 8:1-11; ROMANS 8:1\\n\\n\\n\\nThe music blasted, and we sang so loud that dogs started barking. My car full of friends bounced as we moved to the thumping bass. Then\\u2014CRUNCH!\\n\\n\\n\\nThat wasn\\u2019t part of the song. Did I hit a mound of icy snow? I wondered. I opened my door and looked back. I had backed out into the driver\\u2019s side door of a pickup truck parked on the other side of the road. The fun video scavenger hunt we were on was officially over, and it was my fault. I sat frozen for a couple minutes, unsure what to do. I had never been in an accident before.\\n\\n\\n\\nMy friend suggested we go to the closest house and see whose truck it was. I was scared, and I think I would\\u2019ve sat there numb if it weren\\u2019t for my friend sitting with me and suggesting some next steps. We knocked on the door and explained the situation. My friend stayed with me and helped me with communicating when I couldn\\u2019t get the words out. Although it was a difficult situation, it helped having someone there with me.\\n\\n\\n\\nI love how there are so many moments in God\\u2019s Word when Jesus simply sat with people, ate with people, sailed with people, stood with people\\u2014even when they had messed up in some big ways. One example of this is in John 8:1-11, when a group of religious leaders were about to put a woman to death by throwing stones at her because she was caught in adultery. They humiliated her, but Jesus stayed near her until all the threatening religious leaders left, one by one. Jesus didn\\u2019t condemn her\\u2014He wanted to forgive and restore her.\\n\\n\\n\\nIn Matthew 1:23, we see that Jesus has another name: \\u201cImmanuel\\u201d which means \\u201cGod with us.\\u201d And He is. He is with us when we feel lonely, when we mess up, when we are frozen and don\\u2019t know what to do next. God is with us. \\u2022 Amanda Gott\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Can you think of a time when someone stayed with you during a difficult situation?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Jesus came to live among us\\u2014fully God and fully human. Because of God\\u2019s great love for us, He made the way for everyone who puts their trust in Him to be with God, no longer condemned but fully forgiven. He did this by dying on the cross for us and rising from the grave. If you want to know more about this, who are trusted Christians you can talk to? (Also check out our "Know Jesus" page.)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 If you\\u2019ve already put your trust in Jesus, can you think of a time(maybe a difficult situation) when you were reminded that God is right there with you? How did it feel?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u201c...and they will call him Immanuel\\u201d (which means \\u201cGod with us\\u201d). Matthew 1:23 (NIV)'