The Story of Jesus, The Lamb of God, as Told by a Preschool Teacher

One of my favorite things about being a preschool teacher is telling stories. I love making up stories as we eat lunch or walk to the playground. Lately, I’ll borrow my students' stuffed toys and incorporate them in my elaborate tales of adventure, redemption, and salvation. You probably didn’t know that Poppy the Troll and Moana could be used to tell the Gospel, but they can. Even Poppy needs love.

So this Easter, I thought what if I could share one of my preschool style tales with my family. Could I explain Jesus in a way that was easy to understand for the children in our family, but also engaging so that I would not get hard boiled eggs thrown at me? At preschool, I have a captive audience but they can still be tough critics. However, I must be doing something right because everyday at lunch they ask, “Can you tell us a story please?”

So here goes:

Jesus is called the Lamb of God. Ever wonder why that is?

A long, long time ago, God loved a man named Abraham and because Abraham was faithful to God, God blessed him. God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars and through his descendants all the nations would be blessed for from his line would come the Savior of the World – Jesus.

Abraham’s descendants became a great nation called Israel. And the Israelites were God’s chosen people. Soon the Israelites found themselves enslaved by the Egyptians. And the King of Egypt, Pharaoh, was a very bad man who treated the Israelites cruelly.
God sent a hero named Moses to rescue His people
God told Moses, “Go tell that bad Pharaoh to let My people go!”
But Pharaoh said, “NO!”
So, God sent warnings to Pharaoh. He sent a plague of flies, lice, and frogs. Can you imagine waking up to a bed full of frogs? Yuck!
But Pharaoh would not listen. He kept saying, “No! No! No!”
So God said, “Enough is enough. Tonight, I will send an angel of death over Egypt. All the first born sons will be killed.”
God told Moses, “Have My people kill a lamb and put his blood over their doorposts. Have My people stay in their homes and when the angel of death goes by they will be saved by the blood of the lamb.”

The Israelites were saved that day and Pharaoh let them go.

Today, the Jewish people still celebrate that great miracle. They call that day Passover, because death passed over their homes by the saving blood of the lamb.

We, Christians, also celebrate Passover but we call it Good Friday. On Passover, over 2000 years ago, Jesus became the sacrificial lamb on the cross at Calvary. Jesus took the sins of the world on Himself, and by His blood, we have been saved.
On the third day, which we call Easter Sunday, Jesus conquered death! The tomb could not hold Him, and through the shedding of His blood, death has passed over us.

That is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

So this post and prayer is dedicated to my family and friends.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of the cross. Thank you that You have paid the penalty for my sins and by Your stripes I have been healed. Your Word says that to all who believe in You, to all who receive You as Lord and Savior, to us You have given the right to be called Children of God. We serve a risen LORD. You are alive and seated at the right hand of the Father where you have gone before us to prepare a place for us. One day soon, You are going to blow the trumpet in Heaven and step into the clouds and call us to come home where You will receive us unto yourself. We say, “Come, LORD Jesus, come.” Thank you for Your blessings you have poured out on this family, from oldest to youngest to those still in the womb. We ask you to cover every home represented here by the blood of the Lamb so that every person here will dwell under the protection of Your wings. We ask that You keep us united together come what may. If one of us strays, may the rest of us go chase them down and bring them home. We ask Your continued blessing over us in Jesus Name. Amen. 

I’m happy to report no eggs were thrown my way. So, the next time your family gathers together, how about telling them a preschool style tale of how the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world. You can even borrow my Poppy the Troll doll.

Love,
Yolanda

Who Are You Meant to Lead? Easter Message

Have you ever wanted to pass the buck to someone else?
Have you ever been given a task you feel unqualified, intimidated, unworthy, and just plain scared of?
Yep, that’s the boat I’m in right now and I really want to get off.

I feel like God's assigned me a mission and I want to pass the buck. Every time I think about the assignment, I feel like quitting and the assignment hasn’t even started yet.
I keep making excuses. I’m not qualified. I’m going to make mistakes. It’s not my gifting, etc. etc.
Recently, I was reading about Joshua. Joshua was about to replace one of the greatest Old Testament heroes. He was about to step into Moses’ sandals so to speak. I can imagine he was a bit intimidated, scared, feeling unqualified, and unworthy.

After Moses had died in the land of Moab, the LORD commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promise Land. God filled Joshua with the Spirit of Wisdom so he’d be equipped for the job. He also gave Joshua a promise. God promised He would never leave Joshua alone.

God’s promise and commission to Joshua is God’s promise and commission to me, to us.
Who are the people you’ve been commissioned to lead into the Promise Land of God’s Kingdom?
Your children?
Your spouse?
Your family?
Your coworkers?
Your students?
Your neighbors?
Your teammates?
Your best friend?

Joshua 1:6-9 (MSG) In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take.”

Every Believer in Jesus Christ has been given a role in The Great Commission. We all have people to lead. It’s time to move forward in courage. People are going to be looking at us to lead the way in these dark days.  So, we have to stay the course. No going left or right or getting off track. I just read a statement, “Bible prophecy is unfolding right in front of us and the world is too blind to see it.” God commands us to study His Word. Over and over in the Bible, God tells us to study, meditate, and follow His Word. He wants us to know Bible prophecy so that when we see it unfolding we can warn others.

In these Last Days, many Christians will be blind to what is happening right in front of their eyes because they have not taken the time to study prophecy. They have avoided studying 1/3 of the Bible thinking it is not applicable to today but God has written down the signs of Jesus' return so that we would not be taken by surprise. Jesus has basically told us, "The world will be taken by surprise but My people should not be. You should be able to understand the signs of the times." (Matthew 16:3) God says, “My people parish for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)

So this Easter, God is asking us to be His Joshua. There are people in our families and circle of influence that God desires to reach. He loves them but they are wandering in the desert and He wants us to lead them into the Promise Land. We have all been commissioned this task. God is telling us, “Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Don’t get off track.” He’s already given us the playbook on how to successfully complete this mission:
1. Ponder and mediate on the Word of God, day and night.
2. Practice everything written in it and carry it out.
3. Ask God to fill us with His Spirit of wisdom, courage, and strength.
4. Keep our eyes focused on Jesus who has promised to be with us every step of the way.

At Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We give Him thanks for taking our sins upon Himself as the ultimate sacrifice of love, and for giving us the gift of eternal life in heaven. Our God is not dead! We serve and worship a living God. And, our Lord and Savior is coming back again…soon!
So, it's time to blow the trumpet, it's time to give a shout, it's time see the God of Miracles knock down the walls of spiritual blindness that are keeping our loved ones in darkness.

Happy Easter!
Love,
Yolanda

Watch the following great prophecy teaching: The Rapture Countdown by Dr. Robert Mawire.

PS: I love the book, The Donkey that No One Could Ride, by Anthony DeStefano. In the The Donkey No One Could Ride Video  below, watch how Jesus used the weakest, smallest donkey to fulfill a great mission. If Jesus can use the smallest donkey to fulfill a great mission, then surely He can use us to fulfill our mission. In our weakness, He makes us strong.