Easter Sunday Service

I know in this time almost every church is closed on Easter Sunday. I know most of us are doing something online, but if you have need of a Worship service, or you’d just like to experience one more. Here is the one I made for my church.
Jesus is risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Sermon of the Week 1/26/20 A New You

One of the big things I want to do in this blog is to encourage creative ministry. I’ve been sharing my messages from my church on this blog for a little while now, but now I want to add a feature. Think of it as a challenge. Each week before I post the sermon for the current week, I plan on telling you my next topic and the text. The reason for this is I want to encourage you to think creatively. How would you express the text in your art form? What creative elements would you add? How might you present the text to someone in a Sunday school class, a sermon, a drama, a song or other creative work.

I would love to see/hear how you would express these topics in your art form, so please share them in the comments. I promise not to use anything you create without your permission. On the other hand if you see something on here, you would like to use, I hereby grant you permission to do so, unless otherwise noted and only ask that you link back to this blog. Let’s spread creative ministry together.

The coming sermon is going to be based on Esther chapter four, and specifically around the verse where Mordecai reminds Esther that she came to her position of power, “for such a time as this.” This is really where the rubber meets the road in the book of Esther. How would you express this concept. How about you, what is your for such a time as this moment? Have you ever considered the FACT that you were created to live in this time and fulfill God’s purposes in this time? I’d love to see what you come up with. Share a link to your creation in the comments.

The current Sermon is called simply A New Yoy… It deals with the mystery of the Resurrection of the Body and is based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. So how about it, How did you express the resurrection of the body.

Sermon of the Week 1/26/20 The End of the World…

One of the big things I want to do in this blog is to encourage creative ministry. I’ve been sharing my messages from my church on this blog for a little while now, but now I want to add a feature. Think of it as a challenge. Each week before I post the sermon for the current week, I plan on telling you my next topic and the text. The reason for this is I want to encourage you to think creatively. How would you express the text in your art form? What creative elements would you add? How might you present the text to someone in a Sunday school class, a sermon, a drama, a song or other creative work.

I would love to see/hear how you would express these topics in your art form, so please share them in the comments. I promise not to use anything you create without your permission. On the other hand if you see something on here, you would like to use, I hereby grant you permission to do so, unless otherwise noted and only ask that you link back to this blog. Let’s spread creative ministry together.

The coming sermon is going to be about our resurrection and the resurrection body. I’m entitling it “A New You.” The text is 2 Corinthians 5:5-10

The current Sermon is called simply The End of the World… It’s the latest message in our “New” series is entitled “The End of the World…” What does that have to do with things being new? Everything! The passage I preached on from Revelation 21 is about the New Heavens and the New Earth and God making everything new.

Daily Bible Challenge: January 21, 2019

This year, I am going to post creative challenges from God’s Word, the idea is simple, read the passage and create something based on it.

Well we’re three weeks into 2019. So today let’s look at the third day. Our topic today is…

Resurrection

It’s arguably the most important event in human history, but how would you express it creatively. Think about what it means to you? How would you share it with someone who is not yet a believer?

Happy Easter

Wishing you a very blessed Easter Sunday. He is Risen and with Him comes HOPE!

Silent Saturday…

Jesus was in the grave, the grave was sealed and many people thought it was over. It was the Sabbath and in a sense, Jesus rested in the tomb. It was a borrowed tomb, but that was okay. He wasn’t going to need it very long. Friday has passed. The disciples were in hiding and that Saturday had to be long, dark and silent. Sometimes we all have days that feel like they will never end. Hard days where it’s hard to find hope. If you’re in that place, hold onto hope because Sunday is coming. He is risen! Hope is here.

Silent Saturday…

Good Friday has passed. Resurrection Sunday is tomorrow. Friday, the sixth day, was the culmination of Jesus’ earthly mission. Sunday, the first day is the beginning of a new age, the age of the Church. Friday Jesus died. Sunday He was raised to life. But what about Saturday?

There’s almost no mention of Saturday in Scripture. I am sure Jesus’ followers were mourning and grieving, because remember they didn’t seem to understand what Jesus told them about Sunday. In fairness, very few people had risen from the dead up to that point and all of them who had been raised were raised by Jesus. What would they do now that Jesus was dead and which of them would be next. Moreover what about Jesus? Well he was dead, but let’s examine this a little further. What did His Father do on the seventh day? He rested. What did His Father command His followers to do on the seventh day? Rest! What did Jesus do on the Sabbath. Rested in the sleep of death. One mission over and a new one beginning. Jesus could rest in the promise of John 10:17-18 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Jesus laid down His life on Friday and took it up again on Sunday. A new mission for Him and for us… We’re still on that mission Church.

Friday is Gone and Sunday is coming… Rest up cause something awesome is coming!

Good Friday Reflections…

Sometimes I believe I will never understand it. The fickleness of humanity, other times I realize that I can be the same way. Good Friday really seems to bring this into focus. The painting I am sharing here is one I did a few years ago in my church for Palm Sunday. It’s the same person in two very different states of mind, divided by the palm branch. I think maybe we need a refresher on the time line.

The face on the left represents Palm Sunday. On this day Jesus had what we call the triumphal entry. Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey’s colt. Big man on a little horse, you might think but this was symbolic. When a king entered a city looking for war, he would ride in on a stallion, when he came in peace, he would ride in on a donkey. Jesus was showing He was a king but that he came in peace and the people responded. They threw their cloaks and palm branches down on the streets for Him to ride on. It was an act of submission, “Please Jesus, be our king!” They shouted praise,”Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” All appeared to be right with the world, and Jesus was finally getting the recognition He deserved.

Five days later, on Good Friday, some of those same people would be screaming, “CRUCIFY!” Why the change? That’s right, not weeks or months, five short days produced a seismic shift. One might ask “Why?” Well the crowds were incited to be sure, and of course it was God’s will that Jesus die for the people, for us, but I want to look at the human nature side of this. What made the people turn? I think it was this simple. They began to see that Jesus was not going to do what they wanted Him to do. They didn’t want Messiah to come in peace. They wanted Him to overthrow the Romans and take over. They wanted the wealth that comes with being in charge. They wanted to rule. They wanted power and all that comes with it and if Jesus wasn’t going to deliver that, He wasn’t who they wanted. Kill Him and move on.

They were short sighted and so are we. What they could not see is He did come to overthrow. Not Rome, because He would die for them too. No He came to overthrow a much more powerful enemy, the real enemy, the one who keeps us slaves to sin. He came to give us the power of God in our lives and the eternal wealth of becoming heirs to God’s Kingdom. What they could not see is He came to give them so much more than what they wanted and what He gave would last forever. They didn’t want forever, they wanted stuff now, so they screamed “Crucify.”

Don’t fall into that trap. He never promised us an easy life in the here and now, but rather perfect eternal life when the struggles of this life are through. It’s much more valuable, but harder to see. The thing is if He can only be God if He does what you want, He’s not God, you are. We need Him to be God.

Trust Him. He will deliver. He is good. He is God.

Gather at the Table…

We’re in Holy Week, the land between Palm Sunday and the Crucifixion, between “Hosannah!” and “Crucify!” As we move toward Thursday, the day the disciples gathered around the table, we have scripture to tell us some of the things that happened and yet there is still much left to the imagination. How did they feel? What did they truly understand? What were those moments of uncertainty like as they gathered around the table? Were they in denial? Were they afraid? Did they really comprehend what Jesus was telling them?

This video really from The Artist’s Bible really touched me. I wanted to share it with you as we face this time that is as much about looking forward as it is about looking back.

Crucial to Remember

In these trying times, there is something crucial to remember.
When you turn on the news and wonder where the good is, there is something crucial to remember.
When the world seems dark and cold, there is something crucial to remember.
When you feel lost and all alone, there is something crucial to remember.
When your hope is gone, there is something crucial to remember.
When you wonder why, there is something crucial to remember.
There is something crucial to remember.
Crucial to remember…

Literally. You see the word “crucial” is defined as involving an extremely important decision or result. It is derived from the Latin word crux which means cross and therein lies the “crux” of the matter. When all those negative things and many more come up in your life it is crucial to remember the cross and, of course, what Jesus did there. He said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” That’s what He did on the cross, overcame it all and that is crucial to remember. But there is something more and it may be even more crucial.

He is risen! The cross and the tomb are empty. Jesus is alive and at work in our world and in our lives. That is something we can celebrate no matter the circumstance. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

Happy Easter!