John 3:16 "For God so Loved"
We are in the Easter season now, this wonderful post-Easter time that is full of hope. We are an Easter people, following Jesus in living a life full of resurrection hope. God loved us so much that God decided to come down to the earth and live the full life that we live. Jesus came as a baby. He made messes, he went through teething, he learned to work, he played, he made discoveries, his voice cracked and changed, he learned to be a leader and a teacher, he cried, he mourned, he rejoiced, he suffered, he died. Jesus, God made flesh, has gone through emotion that we go through. And as Easter people, we get to follow him right through all of that, through death, and to resurrection. We follow Jesus through life, death and resurrection. As we parent, it is helpful for us and our children to know that Jesus gets it. And it is helpful to know that there’s so much more than what we see right here, right now. This passage gives immediate comfort as well as perspective.
Read It & Memorize It
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Do It
Ages 0-4: Play follow the leader while listening to these musical versions of the text (The Rizers, Maranatha Kids, with sign language, Psalty).
Ages 5 and up: Imagine Jesus throughout his life, death and resurrection. You could do this by making a timeline with pictures from magazines or the internet, creating a story book of Jesus’ life together, or looking in family albums and imagining Jesus at all those life stages.
All Ages: Dance through the ages. This is an exercise I use with actors in trying to help them imagine their characters as humans with a full life and death. Dance or pantomime Jesus as a baby, toddler, child, young man, leader, teacher, through Holy Week, in death, and in resurrection.
Ages 5 and up: Imagine Jesus throughout his life, death and resurrection. You could do this by making a timeline with pictures from magazines or the internet, creating a story book of Jesus’ life together, or looking in family albums and imagining Jesus at all those life stages.
All Ages: Dance through the ages. This is an exercise I use with actors in trying to help them imagine their characters as humans with a full life and death. Dance or pantomime Jesus as a baby, toddler, child, young man, leader, teacher, through Holy Week, in death, and in resurrection.
Pray It
God, you love us more than we can imagine. Thank you for loving us enough to send Jesus. Help us to follow Jesus. Thank you that we are an Easter people, and thank you for the hope of resurrection. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
