Voices

For 5 weeks during the summer, we'll be taking a short break from I Corinthians: Dear Reno and doing a sermon series called Voices at Living Stones. Each sermon will be preached by a different member of the LS Community or by a guest preacher from around the region. These "voices" will come with their respective soapboxes in tow, each sharing the truth, concept or topic that fuels him the most. Not only will it be an opportunity to enjoy some diversity, but -- let's be honest -- when someone gets the chance to teach about that one thing that ignites his soul above all else... we would do well to listen.

For the Voices artwork, I decided to go green. Not for any sort of symbolic reason... mostly just because I Corinthians: Dear Reno was red heavy. No big whoop. : )

If there is any symbolism to be had, it's in the fact that it's kind of a mess. The colors are a little muddy. Some of the words are deliberately out of focus and all seem to be competing for a place to call their own. There are all kinds of splotches contributing to the chaos. To draw the parallel, there are times when the noise in our lives gets so piercing, the fuzz so thick, that the one voice that matters most grows faint. I think that may be where my heart has been for the last week -- straining to hear Him through the busyness of life. I had the blessing of slowing down and taking communion tonight with one of my Small Groups and read John 6:55-58 in the process:

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."

Jesus is the ultimate satisfaction, the ultimate nourishment, the ultimate fulfillment. His voice will cut through all of the noise and will silence every doubt, every hunger pang, every naysayer, every fear, every boast, every selfish thought.

Ironically enough, if I were ever given the opportunity to take my soapbox and set it up somewhere (regardless if anyone is there to listen), that is what I would want to talk about: abiding in Christ. I would contend with the saints and urge them to believe that the very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in them -- and that this changes everything. I would plead with those who do not have a relationship with Jesus to connect to Him, the True Vine, and have life. To all I would say that Christ in you is the only hope of glory.

I've borrowed these words from a song we sing at LS from time to time, but I think it sums up my hope for the Voices series: "may Your voice be louder / may Your voice be clearer / than all the others / may Your face be dearer / may Your words be sweeter / than all the others in my life / please keep my eyes fixed on You / please root my heart so deep in You / keep me abiding / keep me abiding / so I might bear fruit."

Baptized into the Triune God

I haven't done this in a while, but I'd like to get into the habit of sharing my artwork on a more frequent basis. I am always appreciative when others share, so -- for those who are interested -- here's a portion from me. Let me give you a quick rundown of some of the nuts and bolts:

• I wanted the words of this sermon title to do the talking (imagine that). So, I chose to make the words themselves the main focus of the graphic by keeping everything else fairly muted and simple. The background is a dark blue overlayed with a vertical stripe fill pattern. I rasterized the pattern and hit it with an eraser to tone it down a bit.
• The arrows are a mixture of several brushes (free brushes) available on Brusheezy. They, too, were treated with the same eraser in order to mute and texturize them.
• And now... the moment all the font-o-philes have been waiting for... the names of the fonts I used for the main text. "Baptized" is in REBOARD, "into the" is in Marcelle Script, "Triune" is in Night Stalker and "God" is in White Tie Affair. I love playing with the free fonts on Dafont.com -- you should, too. Each word has been rasterized, texturized and shadowed for extra visual interest.

Ultimately, I hope that God Himself will be more evident than anything that is seen or heard this weekend. If you're part of the Living Stones Community, I can't wait to celebrate Him with you this weekend at 11am in Lawlor's main arena! And... if you're getting baptized (or are still thinking about getting baptized), I'm praying for you!