As part of my keep-the-eggs-and-the-resurrection-celebrations-separate idea, I decided I needed to come up with something fun to do with Lydia to help her learn about Jesus’ death and life. And today I think I got a great idea!
It started when I read a great slogan at my favorite online store, C28 that said, Easter: A Lamb. Not a Bunny. It’s tongue-in-cheek and kinda funny but it was absolutely perfect for an Easter theme for kids! Why focus on bunny stuff when we can focus on the Lamb?
So, I looked up some “Lamb of God” scriptures today. The one that was in my head before I even looked it up was when John the Baptist sees Jesus and says, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” But the one that stuck out to me as I began to read was the lamb in the story of Abraham and Isaac. Yeah, like Old Testament.
The parallels to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in Abraham and Isaac’s story are glaringly obvious. Even Lydia guessed them: a father sacrificing his son, a son obedient to his father, obedient to the point of death, a son carrying wood on his back and a lamb dying in place of another.
I told Lydia the story as we changed into pajamas. Then I read it to her from (any guesses?) The Jesus Storybook Bible. Here’s a quote:
And as they sat there on the mountaintop, watching the embers of the fire die in the cool night air, the stars above them sparkling in the velvet sky, God helped Abraham and Isaac understand something. God wanted his people to live, not die. God wanted to rescue his people, not punish them. But they must trust him…
Many years later, another Son would climb another hill, carrying wood on his back. Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked. He wouldn’t struggle or run away.
Who was he? God’s Son, his only Son–the Son he loved.
The Lamb of God.
This story is the perfect human example of what Jesus did and who He is. Of course, Lydia still had lots of questions (so do I!) but I could hear in her responses and see in her eyes, that it was connecting.
We did a simple activity for this one–I found a coloring sheet online via Clementine’s Corner. It included the altar and the ram. (And, yeah, they look a little sad, but this was the best of the bunch! Bible character coloring sheets can be scary!) But we just colored and cut out Abraham and Isaac then glued them together in a hug.
We talked about Abraham and Isaac being a father and son just like our Heavenly Father and Jesus. We talked about how Abraham and God were sad to sacrifice their sons. Then we talked about the obedience of Jesus and Isaac and their trust in their fathers. Lydia really enjoyed this and even asked to hold Abraham and Isaac while I was reading her a bedtime story!
I’m hoping we’ll do an activity every day. Here’s my plan, I have a little wooden cross and every day we’ll make a crafty-type thing we can attach to the cross:
Today: Abraham and Isaac: Jesus is God’s Son
Tuesday: Jesus is the Lamb of God {we’ll do a lamb craft & sing The Lamb of God from the Donut Man! more interesting reading on “the lamb of God”.}
Wednesday: Crown of Thorns: Jesus is the King {we’ll make a crown of thorns and talk about the crucifixion…sorta.}
Thursday: {i want to do something with Liz Curtis’ Higgs The Parable of the Lily but am not sure how to do it…thoughts?}
Friday: Good Friday: The Tomb {we’ll make the resurrection rolls and talk about Jesus being placed in the tomb}
Saturday: Nothing. I want to focus on the silent and closed tomb. I’m thinking about putting a cloth over the cross so we can’t see any of the things we worked on.
Sunday: Jesus is Alive!: Before Lydia wakes up, I’m going to take off the cloth and all our little crafts. Then I’m going to attach fresh flowers all over the cross! It will be a flowering cross to remind us of the new life Jesus brought us when He came back to life!
I’ll keep you updated on how this goes. And if you decide to do something similar, let me know! I’d love to see what you do!
Want more Resurrection Day ideas? Buy Sense of the Resurrection now!
Sheila says
Thanks so much for your blog – I’m inspired every time. 🙂
I’m new to the Donut Man (I know, what a shame!). Which CD would you pick to buy if you could only buy one? Thanks.
familyofthree says
So interested in what you can share about talking to your kids about the crucifixion. I’ve been wondering about this myself… how much is too much? How much isn’t enough? My daughter is only two, so we aren’t quite there yet this year, but might be a little more by next Easter. I was working on a post for my blog and kind of thinking out loud about this topic as well, so I’ll definitely have to check back later this week! 🙂
Oh, and I haven’t read the Parable of the Lily, but these handprint lilies are awfully cute! http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/flowers/handprintflower/
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