Especially for Older Students: The Whole Picture

(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will try to figure out the whole picture from just a small portion of a painting
Provide paper and a pen for each student. Either save two pictures on your computer or print two pictures as follows: In the first picture, print an enlargement of only a small section of a painting, such as Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise. In the second picture, show the entire painting.

As students arrive, give each a sheet of paper and a marker, and draw their attention to the enlargement of a small part of a famous painting, such as Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise or another impressionist painting. Instruct students to look at the enlarged section of the painting and then to write on the paper provided what they think the entire painting is.

After a minute, lead students to guess what they think the painting is. After multiple guesses, show the complete picture and point out the section of the painting that you originally displayed. Then, lead students to discuss:

How difficult was it to tell what the painting is about when you could only see a tiny section?
How much of the painting did you need to see to be able to correctly identify what the whole painting showed?
When God looks at our world, do you think He sees a tiny section at a time or the whole picture? Why?

Explain that Jesus came to complete the picture of God’s Word for us. Say: Jesus came as the fulfillment of both the Old Testament and the New Testament––He completed both by fulfilling all the promises of God in both. Only through Jesus can we see the whole picture of God’s plan for us.