Creation Station: The Aye Aye and God’s Love

The latest video from my new VBS Curriculum Creation Station. This one is about God’s love. I’d love to bring Creation Station to your church in 2014. For more information contact me at AMOKArts@aol.com.

Just Cause I Love This…

I know I have shared this before, but it bears repeating.

How would you introduce Jesus?
‘Cause that is a big part of what we’re called to do, thanks Steve Harvey!

Best of … 2

I’ll be away for the next few days on a little anniversary trip so I thought rather than go completely silent, I’d share three of my favorite videos that I have done, in hopes that they will trigger your creativity.

The Need for Unity…

I did this video some time ago but I think it bears repeating. There are a lot of times in the church where we butt heads. Now I’m not talking about heresy and some of the negative, idolatry things that are out there, I’m talking about the stuff that needlessly divides us. We can find a lot of things that we could part ways over, but there is something, someOne who is bigger than all of that and if we are truly seeking Him He can unite us.

We need to unite in Christ if we want to he the body He created us to be.

Another Creation Station Video

A lot of my creative time recently has been consumed in creating pieces of art for my Creation Station Vacation Bible School curriculum. Here’s how the program came about… Some church leader friends I know have decided to give their VBS teachers a little break this year, so they’re having me come in and do the opening, closing and tag team with the pastor to do the teaching station, the teachers will be working with the students and taking them from station to station. There will be a teaching station, a snack station, a craft station and a recreation station. I’m really excited about this project. The theme of the teaching for this evening is God made you special. Each session uses a different animal (one of God’s creations) to make the point and this one uses the Zebra. The video will show you why. The opening each night will include a live painting of that animal.

How would you teach a child about his or her own “specialness”? The memory verse for this night is Ephesians 2:10. That may be a good place to start.

I plan on doing this VBS as a presentation is churches on 2014. If you would like to bring me in to teach your VBS, contact me at amokarts@aol.com.

A New Video on a New Project: Creation Station

I am in the process of creating a vacation Bible School curriculum which I will be presenting at Coneqwago Church of the Brethren June 10-14, 2013 This is the promotional video I created for them. I hope you like it.

My new project…

This June, I will be  doing the Bible School for Conewago Church of the Brethren. It will be a station format VBS where the students will go from station to station to do the craft, recreation, snacks and of course teaching. I will be doing live art in the opening and the opening teaching, and the I will be helping with the teaching station each night. I am writing the curriculum now. If this goes well, I plan on taking this on the road in 2014. The evening themes are God made everything (Gen 1:1), God made me (Gen. 1:26), God made me special (Eph. 2:10), God made me to love me (John 3:16) and God created me to be a new creation (2 Cor. 5:27).

If you’re looking for something a little different for next year’s VBS, maybe I can bring the creation station to you!

 

Narnia Youth Bible Study: Always Winter, Never Christmas

A few years back I wrote a lesson for my friends at Interlinc to be placed in a special promotional resource for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie. They’ve just republished it for their 12 days of Christmas online promotion. If you’d like to give it a shot, you can download it here.

Interlinc is a wonderful youth ministry resource with teaching resources based on Christian music and other media. If you work with youth, I highly recommend checking them out. It’s a resource I’ve used for years.

Tim Hawkins on Hand Raising Churches

As we approach our Sunday Services today, we are aware that many people worship differently. Some are very subtle some are very expressive. There is no right or wrong form of worship, what’s most important is that you are bringing your whole heart to the Lord. He deserves your worship.

In case you’re not sure where you’re at with all of this, Tim Hawkins has some great insights for you.

Bring your best worship to the Lord today…

He deserves it.

My Church Doesn’t Accept My Gift…

One of the most difficulty things for artists in the church is finding acceptance for their work. I have talked to many people who have said some variation of “My Church Doesn’t Accept My Gift…” What do you do when your church and your gift don’t seem to line up?

Some people get prideful and hurt and leave the church, shaking the dust off their shoes as they go. More often than not, this is not the correct approach, after all pride is the sin that made the devil fall, as such it is not a good motivation for anything done in the house of God. What should you do instead?

1. Pray. I know it’s the Sunday School answer but it’s the truth. The first step in anything we attempt to do in service to the Lord is prayer. Ask God to give you the right ideas for your gift. Ask God to open up the doors, to show you the opportunities and give you the ability to do them
2. Humble yourself and show yourself faithful. In other words don’t put too many things beneath you. You may be a very accomplished artist with accolades from all over the world, but your church may not know what to do with that. Look for the needs, do the small humble job, show yourself faithful in the small things and the doors will open to those dream projects. Most of the time those dream projects are visions from God and sometimes we just need to serve faithfully until everyone catches up. So do the mural in the nursery, do the coloring pages, the bulletin cover, face painting at the community outreach and give it your best. Be a team player and humbly offer your gift. Remember those who humble themselves will be exalted. You usually can’t skip the humbling step nor should you try.
3. Check the fit. Sometimes what you are making does not fit the venue. At this point you have two choices, change the gift or find the venue and neither solution is wrong. Sometimes you have to be humble enough to meet people where they are and sometimes you have to find the people that are ready to meet your creation where it is. Either is an appropriate alternative.

The truth is breaking fellowship over your gifts and talents is almost never the right thing to do. Better to submit your creation to the Lord’s will and let Him work on the hearts of those who will receive it even as He is working on the heart of the one who created it. If God gave it to you, He will also give you the way to use it. It may not be easy, and it may take a lot of work, but God is faithful so follow His example…

Be faithful.