For Such a Time as This

May 11, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day as we look at God’s timing in the life of Esther. Mordecai suggests to her that perhaps God has placed her in this place at this specific time for a reason. Read on for the article from the front page of the Announcements this weekend.

Have you ever longed for greatness? I have. It’s not for the fame or fortune that come with greatness, but because I want to make a difference. I want to know that what I do has worth and meaning. I don’t want to be ordinary or mundane, yet so much of my life seems to be spent there.

²⁶In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27

Of course, the ordinary and mundane are familiar to God. Mary, an ordinary woman, was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Mary didn’t seek greatness, fame or glory. She just made her ordinary self available to an extraordinary God and He used the ordinary for the extraordinary, the mundane for the miraculous.

Do you struggle to see the greatness God is doing in your life? Is it hard to see how you’re making a difference in your family, let alone the world? Maybe you’re focusing on your own “mundane” existence instead of God’s miraculous power.

^14bAnd who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b

God has placed you where you are, at this time, for His purposes. He is using your ordinary self for extraordinary things.

One Thing I Know

May 5, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

We conclude our Miracles series with the healing of a man born blind. At first, he is unsure of who Jesus is, but this he knows: once he was blind, but now he sees. Jesus would write a story of spiritual blindness healed in our lives today.

Stories are powerful. Well-crafted stories speak to our hearts, drawing us into a greater narrative. They evoke strong feelings in the hearer and inspire action. Stories awaken passions we didn’t know existed.

God is the ultimate storyteller. He has been writing stories for thousands of years in the lives of His people. We’ve heard some miraculous stories these past four weeks: the Resurrection, storms calmed, wine from water, the lame healed and now sight restored. The formerly blind man is called before the Pharisees to tell the story of Jesus’ miraculous healing. Outraged, the Pharisees demand the blind man recant.

He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25

The blind man couldn’t deny the story being written in his life:, that though he was blind, now he saw. His story had only one conclusion: Jesus must be God, for no one else could have healed him.

Today our Confirmands boldly profess that God is writing a story in their lives. Though their stories are different, they are written by one Storyteller. He is weaving their stories together into an even larger one, a story of spiritual healing and renewal in Jesus alone.

What story is God writing in your life? Is it one of healing? Of restoration? Of forgiveness?

Do You Want to Be Healed?

April 27, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

Jesus asks a seemingly silly question to a man who was lame for 38 years. Even something good for us can be scary, taking us out of our comfort zone. Read on for this week’s article from the Announcements page.

Familiarity is good. I like having a regular routine to follow. While I’m not opposed to change, the familiar patterns in my life are comforting to me. I feel more relaxed when things are familiar and unchanging. My life might not be the best, but it could be worse. So rather than risk moving in the wrong direction, I stay in my comfortable, familiar routines and habits.

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6

Do you want to be healed? What a strange question to ask a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. I mean, how would you answer that question if you’d had a debilitating disease for 38 years? So why would Jesus ask him?

I suppose the man was comfortable with his life, possibly to the point of being resigned to it. The question is not meant to gather information, but rather provide hope. It drew him out of his “comfort zone,” the life that he was used to living, and focused his attention on Jesus. And Jesus does not leave that hope unfulfilled:

Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” John 5:8

Jesus wants to offer hope to you. Real hope. He desires to draw you out of your comfort zone into something better. And He never offers something He is unable or unwilling to provide. Whatever ails you, whether physical illness, ungodly desires or spiritual doubt, Jesus is calling: “Do you want to be healed?”

A Covenant of Grace

April 20, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

We’re entering week 3 of our Miracles series, focusing on Jesus turning water into wine. This miracle is life-giving version of a judgment miracle from the Old Testament. Read of for the details in this week’s announcements article.

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. Exodus 7:17

This was the first of 10 plagues that God would visit on Egypt through the hands of Moses. They were words (and signs) of judgment upon Pharaoh for his refusal to let God’s people leave. The resulting chain of events would lead to God’s people escaping through the Red Sea and forever be burned into their minds.

1,500 years later, Jesus begins His public ministry in Cana, when His mother observes that the wedding they are attending is out of wine. Jesus turns water into wine, a gift for the newly weds, saving them from the embarrassment of not having enough for their guests.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:11

This miracle set in motion a new chain of events that would lead to the salvation of God’s people. Unlike the first, this process begins with grace, not judgment. This chain reveals Christ’s glory. It brings life to those who trust in Jesus, regardless of their nationality. This chain brings hope and joy, not condemnation.

The disciples witnessed what happened that day and believed in Jesus as a result. But it wasn’t just for them. It was for you that Jesus started this chain. His goal was to bring salvation to you. It is His gift of grace and hope and joy for you.

Weathering the Stormy Sea

April 13, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

We continue our series on Miracles this week in worship as Jesus calms the storm. Jesus, sleeping in the boat while the disciples fear for their lives, brings peace to a chaotic, violent system with just a few words. Read on for this week’s announcements front page article.

[Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” Mark 4:35b

So begins that fateful night. The disciples had spent the day hearing parables as Jesus taught the crowds, then privately instructed them on the meaning behind the parables. They were undoubtedly excited–to hear such great teaching publicly and patient explanations privately. What faith-building must have happened that day! And yet they were also exhausted, looking forward to a good night’s rest.

Jesus had other plans, however. The request to cross the lake was probably seen as an opportunity to rest. Throughout the night, the disciples would alternate between the calming, familiar practice of sailing and resting, as the boat rocked with the waves, gently lulling them to sleep.

What they didn’t see coming was one more giant faith-building experience. Jesus knew there was a storm coming, and so He directed them across to the other side. On the sea that night, they stared death in the face. Panic and fear took hold as they did everything they could to save their lives. And then, when they had run out of options, they brought their problem to the calmly sleeping Jesus:

And Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39

What storm are you facing right now? What overwhelms you to the point of desperation? More importantly, have you brought it to Jesus?

Using Images in Your Ministry

April 12, 2012 in Media / Communications, Resources with 0 Comments

When I was in High School, I used to download MP3s and video games illegally. It was fun hunting for the songs and software I wanted but “couldn’t afford” or “wouldn’t have bought anyway.” But as a I matured in my faith, I realized this practice didn’t line up with God’s plan for my life or my ministry.Too often, the church infringes copyrights. We tell ourselves it’s because we’re doing the Lord’s work, so it’s OK to “borrow” images, music or software.

Using images in your ministry can really enhance your message, helping it stay in the minds of your hearers. Research shows that the more senses you can engage, the better the chance your content will stick. So what image options are available to churches that won’t break the budget?

One of the nice things about the internet is that there are lots of people willing to share their material with the world. Creative Commons provides a legal framework for making this happen. Photographers (among other types of artists) can choose to license their works for use under certain conditions. Check the Creative Commons Site for specific information about the licenses that are available. They can range from a simple attribution to more complex rights regarding modifications and new works based on the original image.

We use Creative Commons licensed photos almost exclusively in our sermon PowerPoints to help reinforce the message, with a simple credit on the bottom of the slides. On digital materials (like this blog), I like to link the photo to the original author so people can access it themselves. Of course, the license is just about worthless if you can’t find images. So how do you filter through the millions of images that are available for the Creative Commons licensed ones? Here are a few options:

Compfight.com

Compfight is my go-to site for finding images. It’s not the most expansive 0ption (it only searches Flickr.com images), but it’s the easiest to use and quickly navigate. Type a search term into the box and hit enter to start finding images. After you’re first search, you’ll need to adjust some options to only get the Creative Commons content.

I grabbed this image from a sample search I did for trees. There are four sets of options to choose from in the left column of the page. They are:

Tags only / All text

This group decides what gets searched. Tags only will search the tags that people associate with their photos on Flickr. A good photographer will have lots of tags, others might have only one. For example, a “tree” photo might be tagged simply tree, or could include green, blue, sky, bark, ground, and bright as it describes other elements or characteristics of the photo. I’ve found searching tags only eliminates some lower quality images, but gives fewer results. All text will search the tags and any information entered in the description of the photo. This might include a story about where they were when they took the photo or other random details. If you can’t find an image from Tags only, try switching to All text.

Any license / Creative commons / Commercial

The search defaults to any license, which is fine if you’re just looking for inspiration. You’ll have to click through to each image to see if it’s actually usable, however. Creative commons will restrict your search to the images that are freely usable, assuming you follow the Creative Commons licensing restrictions the photographer licensed the photo under. The license appears in the right column of the Flickr page for the image. Hover over the icons below the licenses header to see which restrictions apply. The Commercial option will further restrict the search to items that can be used commercially. These images aren’t necessarily free–most can be licensed via links on the Flickr page.

Show originals / Hide originals / Only originals

Show or Hide originals will either display (or not) the original image size when you hover over the image in the search results. I find this option helpful if I need a high-resolution photo. For projection, you can usually get away with an 800×600 image or larger. 1024×768 or higher is preferred. Only originals will only show the photos that actually have an original that you can download.

Safe / Unsafe

This is a content filter for safe or unsafe images. I leave it on Safe, which eliminates some naughty images, but not all of them. Your best bet for eliminating naughty images is thinking about your search terms carefully. I remember trying to find an image to go with the verse in Genesis about God creating garments of skin for Adam and Eve. I put “leather” in the search box and got some …provocative… images.

Choosing (and Using) an Image

Once you’ve set your search terms, all of the images will appear on the right. Click on an image to go to the Flickr page for the image. Here’s an example page we used in our Easter sermon. To access larger versions of the image for download (if they exist), right-click on the image and choose the resolution you want to use. If you did it correctly, you should end up on this page. Now you can right-click the image and choose “Save image as…” or similar, depending on which web browser you use. You can also choose “Copy image” and just paste it into your presentation.

For the photo credit, I use: “Photo: username (website)” as the template. In this case, the username would be dtcchc, which you can find on the top of the page you were on when you saved the image. For website, I use Flickr.com for this image. If you’re using it online, you can link the photo to the image page that has the comments on it (on Flickr, that’s the page that ends with a number instead of photostream).

Other Options

Definitely start with CompFight, as it’s easy to use and accesses a large database of available photos on Flickr. You can also try Every Stock Photo, a site that searches Flickr and several other sites. I’ve also found some good images on Deviant Art, though there’s no easy search tool to restrict images there to only Creative Commons content. There’s also more questionable images on Deviant Art, so search at your own risk. The easiest way to find the creative commons is through a custom Google search. Enter in the search box:

site:deviantart.com “creative commons” search term(s)

The site: modifier will limit Google’s search to only that website. “creative commons” (with the quotes) will restrict results to only those that include the words “creative commons”, which will be present on pages that have the license. Search terms will narrow down the options to your subject matter. You won’t see previews, so you’ll have to click through each link to see what the image looks like. It’s definitely my last choice for searching, but there have been some good finds in there on occasion.

Artwork: Everyday Faith PowerPoint Slides

April 10, 2012 in Media / Communications with 0 Comments

One of the things I’ve been working on is developing some consistent looks throughout our ministries that reflect our story. Eventually, I’d like all of our graphics to have similar themes and follow some consistent design guidelines, but still be tailored for a particular ministry area. Lately, I’ve been working on bringing that consistent look to Everyday Faith.

Everyday Faith is a ministry that walks alongside families, marking spiritual milestones and helping families connect with God’s Word along the way. There are programs from birth through High School graduation that happen. This quarter, the “My Bible” event is running for students in grades 3 and 4 and their parents. They’ll gather around the Bible and learn how to grow closer together with God. We decided it was time to update the PowerPoint slides for Everyday Faith, so we created a new look to complement our existing designs:

Typically, we try to reserve the bottom 20-25% of a slide for artwork and the remaining 75-80% for content related to the ministry. Much like our worship slides, the logo is in the bottom left corner. We’d actually be able to use this slide in worship and not make any changes to our existing slides beyond the background switch. We simplified the Everyday Faith logo in the bottom right to use the same font as our Kingdom Quest ministry, our primary Children’s Ministry program.

It was important for the graphics to include life, energy and motion. These are key concepts critical to spiritual development and children’s ministry, so we wanted to convey them visually. The children jumping did a nice job of bringing in those elements. We’ll also be able to expand on this slide as needed for the other stages of Everyday Faith. Parents holding a baby can replace the jumping children for the Baby Blessing Event. High School students can be swapped in for the High School Graduation Event.

I’ll post another set of graphics later this week with our updated table tents for the event that use the Kingdom Quest images (with one replacement).

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher

April 8, 2012 in Media / Communications with 0 Comments

Dread and Awe

April 6, 2012 in Bible Teaching, First Trinity with 0 Comments

Easter weekend is finally here. Of all the major church holidays we celebrate, this (extended) weekend is my favorite. From Maundy Thursday’s celebration of the Last Supper to Good Friday’s reflection on the death of Jesus. But Easter is the capstone. It’s the crescendo we’ve been building to since Christmas.

This year, I’m seeing it in a different light. No longer just an awe-filled celebration of victory over death, but also a dread-filled moment where we step back and realize exactly who it is we serve. It’s the healthy fear of the Lord that we hear about throughout the Scriptures. It’s the logic-defying truth that God is even bigger than death, a concept our limited minds can not truly understand.

Read on for this week’s cover article in the announcements.

Recently, we showed a section of the Gospel of John in worship about the resurrection of Lazarus. I experienced the story from a new perspective that day. Oftentimes, I miss the feelings behind stories—the mood. Music and solid acting really conveyed the sense of dread and awe the people must have felt at seeing Lazarus walk out of the tomb. My heart flutters just thinking of being there first-hand to witness it.

Flash forward to “Good” Friday, and Jesus is dying on the cross. After He dies, His friends are mourning and distraught. Because it was Friday, there was not time to prepare the burial spices and ointments, so Jesus was laid in a tomb until after the Sabbath. But what His friends found that first Easter morning was the unexpected.

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Luke 24:5

What dread and awe must the women have felt upon hearing these words? Or Peter, as he ran to the tomb to confirm the news of Jesus’ resurrection himself, upon entering and seeing only the cloths? Or the two men on the road to Emmaus, whose hearts burned within them as Jesus secretly taught them along the way?

Two-thousand years later, do you feel the same dread and awe? Jesus, who was dead, is alive. It defies logic. It is incomprehensible. It’s awesome and fills me with dread at the same time.

Jesus is risen. He is indeed. Alleluia!

One Thing Remains by Kristian Stanfill

March 31, 2012 in Media / Communications with 0 Comments

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