CHAPTER XV

JOHN 3:16 IN COLORS=

_Objects: A Number of Colors Arranged in Their Proper Order_

JOHN 3:16 IN COLORS

THIS lesson will help you fix the truth of John 3:16 as well as the words of this golden text in the memory and heart of the little audience for a life time.

This verse is called by Martin Luther "the gospel in a nutshell." By this remark he meant that the truth of the Gospel was condensed into a few words. These colors will help you nail down on the wall of memory this condensed Gospel of John 3:16 so it will be the Gospel not only in a nutshell but the Gospel in the heart and memory. Draw on a heavy paper, a large heart at least sixteen inches high. Pin that up on a blackboard or some back ground where all the class can see it well. Now say you will try to put the little Gospel of John 3:16 in the heart so it will stick there. Take a small strip of _gold_ paper or golden yellow paper and place it on the bottom of the heart. _Gold_ is the richest and best of all things so we will let it stand for God, Who is the Best of all things. That strip stands for "GOD SO." Just above that you place a strip of _red_ which stands for "LOVED." This represents the "Love" of God. Next take a strip of _brown,_ the color of the common earth, placing it above the red, which will stand for the earth. This represents "THE WORLD." Above the brown place a _white_ strip which represents "HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON." White stands for the purity for God's son who had no sin in Him, also "The only begotten son, as He was the only earthly being who had no sin."

Above the white place one long strip of four colors, and if possible let the colors in the strip be of a different shade from those used in the single strips. They are _red_ and _yellow, black,_ and _white. These_ colors stand for "WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH."

Red for the red races, the Indian. Yellow for yellow races--Chinese, etc. Black for the black people. White for the white people.

Other races have faces shaded from these principal colors. These papers can be made of independent strips, going completely across the heart, or of shorter colors joined together endwise.

A _black_ strip is now placed above this which stands for "PERISH." Black suggests death, and the lost soul in eternal night. Add now a _green_ strip. Green is the eternal color. The ivy and the pine trees are always green. Let this strip stand for "EVERLASTING." And so the heart is thus built up.

Now ask them to name the word for which each color stands, then put the words together as in the Bible verse. On another chart write out the verse in colors using the proper color for each word. FOR GOD _(gold)_ SO LOVED _(red)_ THE WORLD _(brown)_ THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON _(white)_ THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH _(yellow) (black) (white) (red)_ SHOULD NEVER PERISH _(black)_ BUT HAVE EVERLASTING _(green)_ LIFE, Tell them this is the Gospel of Christ in John 3:16 in colors and this should be the Gospel in their hearts.

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