There is a lot of power in a story.
If you had the power to write a story that would come true what would you write? What if your story was so powerful that if it was ever read aloud, the characters would come to life and you could actually talk with them and get to know them? Would you make these characters love you and do everything you said or would it be better to allow them to make their own choices? What if they wanted to do something bad, would you let them or would you force them to be good? What if you knew that even if something bad happened, your words were so powerful that they could fix any mistakes that your characters had made and that they would learn valuable lessons along the way?
You are not the first to wrestle with these questions, God, had to consider these things. God is an author like no other, because not only is He the author of the Bible, but also the author of the history recorded in the Bible. In fact, before a single word of the Bible was written, God’s word existed and through this word He spoke the world into existence.
Like most writers, God knew what would happen before it happened. And like a good writer, He left clues to let those who would experience this history what He was going to do in their day and in the future. Some of these clues were promises that He made, like when He promised Abraham that somehow through Him great kings would come and all nations would be blessed. He gave other clues through prophesies that He was going to send a prophet like Moses, or a king like David, and a Savior who would suffer, save, and rule the world. Those who listened to these clues from God, could then recognize when God’s Spirit was fulfilling what God said that He would do. Ultimately, each of these clues in prophesy and promises looked ahead to when God would come to earth Himself as a man named Jesus.
The life of Jesus fulfills God’s promises and prophecies and gives new meaning to the history of the Old Testament. It is as though God is using the history of the Old Testament as a preview of what was to come in Jesus. Moses and all that happens during the Exodus from Egypt preview what God was going to do in a New Exodus, led by a new prophet like Moses who would Himself become the Passover lamb, would give us a new law, feed us with manna from heaven, lead us in the true light, and give us living water to drink.
How can we teach these meanings in a way our children can understand?
We are excited to release the full material for teaching through the 8 days of Christian Passover Easter Jesse Tree on our website this week! Check back or subscribe on the right to our email list to receive all 8 lessons for free! You are welcome to copy our designs to make your own ornaments (for personal use) or purchase a set in our Etsy shop here. There is much more meaning to be gained in this season by truly focusing on the lessons leading to Jesus. Let’s make every effort together to carve out time for traditions worth keeping. And we want to help!
For more information, you can watch this video demonstration and say Hi in the comments or tell us your favorite part!
I LOVE your Jesse tree! In my own home I use a different tree each month as a teaching tool for my family and friends to share together and I also feature the trees in my blog every month. I’ve done this for years now and it is amazing how well it works for teaching things that would not normally come up in conversations; but needs to be a part of our daily Christian vocabulary. Many of my trees are centered around the Holy Days and my writing in The IN SEASON LIfestyle blog. A lot of our teachings seems to be on the same subjects and I’ve really enjoyed reading your explanations of some of my favorite subjects! Iron sharpens iron; you have helped to confirm the need for more of this type of study for me.