Jesus is the Lamb of God

By John T. McNeal   

A couple of weeks ago, I thought of using my son’s stuffed animal as part of a sermon for the 2nd and 3rd graders. The stuffed animal was a lamb, and it would work perfectly. John 1:29 (NIV) says, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ’Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”’ So I placed it with my Bible Saturday evening before going to bed.

The next morning my wife woke up feeling sick. After some careful consideration, she decided to stay home in case she had a virus. As most Sunday school workers know, “sick bugs” can be shared by the workers just as easily as the children. So she elected to stay home and rest up.

Therefore Josiah and I piled into the car and headed to Church. Once we started on our 20 mile journey to God’s House, Josiah noticed Lamb. “Daddy, why do you have sheep?” echoed from the back seat. Then I told him about what I was teaching about John the Baptist. I finished as we pulled into the parking lot.

One of the great things I love about Chestnut Mountain Church is the breakfast: eggs, beacon, biscuits, and the best waffles in the South. I order the waffle so often that all I have to do is ask for the usual… one chocolate chip waffle extra crispy for me and one regular waffle for my son.  As people walked by our table, they noticed the lamb.

Only a few people inquired as to why we had a stuffed animal at the table. I guess most people would have thought it was brought in by Josiah and not me. The three people who inquired about the lamb had it waved in from of them with these words: “Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Those who asked got a reminder of the great blessing.
When it can time to teach the 2nd and 3rd graders, they were very responsive to the use of the stuffed animal. I even had them sound like a sheep whenever I said “Lamb.” I told the children about the sin in the Garden of Eden that ended in a blood sacrifice and then told them about John the Baptist and finished at the Cross. I could tell they were getting it.

As we were leaving the church, I received a really neat blessing from Josiah. As we left the church and started to walk to the car, I handed Josiah his lamb. I thanked him for letting me use it. While holding my hand, my three year old son reminded me of my Sunday school lesson by saying “Jesus is the Lamb of God.”   So remember, children are listening and learning. If we give them the correct examples, they will get it.

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