In this message, children will be invited to consider the meaning of John 3:16, one of the most well-known and oft-quoted passages of Scripture. Starting off with a "picture puzzle", kids will realize that sometimes we need to take in the whole scope of a big picture to understand what things mean. The explanation Jesus describes in John 3 reminds us that He was the center of God's big picture, and that in Him we can trust God's plans will always work out in wonderful ways.

https://ministry-to-children.com/Gods-big-picture-childrens-sermon

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Law/Gospel Theme: This passage gives us the Gospel in a nutshell. The law condemns and confuses us, and when we focus on the tiny details of rules or regulations, we miss the big picture of Jesus and His love. People in His time (and in ours) often fail to understand the good news of His grace and fulfillment of God’s promises. We might not always understand what God is doing in our lives, but we can trust His “big picture” promises since we know He gave us Jesus!

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” -John 3:14-21