Can you summarize the entire gospel in one sentence? Just one sentence?

The word gospel means good news. And the gospel is indeed good news. But the meaning of this good news sometimes gets lost in our eagerness to share it.

We have a tendency to complicate it, don’t we? We start by talking about who God is. Then we move on to what Jesus did. And we can’t resist adding what is required of those who respond. We may even throw in a bit about what the gospel is not.

The essence of the good news often gets lost in lengthy explanations. It may be diluted by denominational dogma or cluttered by complex theology. On the other hand, I’ve also heard the gospel oversimplified down to three words: God is love. While that’s a true statement, it’s not the gospel.

To make matters even more difficult, how do we take the deep theology of the gospel and make it simple enough for children?

According to the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:3-4, the gospel is gloriously simple: Jesus Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose from the dead, all according to prophecies made long before His birth. That’s it. That’s the gospel!

Of course, we can offer profound explanations, including details about how Jesus died for our sins because He is God and had no sin of His own. That His resurrection proved His victory over sin, death, and the devil. The entire Bible is the unveiling of this magnificent rescue plan. But when we share the good news of Jesus with children, keep it simple.

That’s what God did for us. He took the profound and made it as simple as a baby born in a stable, lying in a manger.

Don’t hesitate to share the gospel with children because you may doubt your ability to explain the theology behind it. Follow Paul’s example and keep it simple!