I recently wrote an article on the Incarnation and the Real Presence relative to the Passover, and I took some photos that might be useful to those who’d like to tie “The Word became flesh” to “This is My body.”

Find variants with both paten & chalice here.

A Photoshop composite for a sermon from Matthew 5:1-12 (Sermon on the Mount, Beatitudes)

When everything crumbles: When everything falls apart around you, when you have nothing left, is it possible to feel blessed in the middle of that?

Cross in Rubble (from Rikuzentakata_filled_with_the_rubble by Mitsukuni Sato, Creative Commons Attribution License)

A wrestling championship belt around a Bible

From a sermon based on Genesis 32.22-30

From a sermon based on Luke 10:38-42 Finding God in the Clutter (Jesus, Mary & Martha)

No matter the space, we’ll fill it, whether our homes, our computers, or our schedules. How do we find the space we need for everything that needs to go into it?

Illustration for sermon from Isaiah 66:10-14

“Comfort for the Nation”

When the stress of life is too much, where can we find comfort? Is comfort from God just platitudes, or does He truly have comfort to give? How do we find that comfort?

Inspired by a sermon I recently heard, here’s a simple illustration depicting God’s name placed on our hearts through Holy Baptism, that He claims us as His own like Andy claimed his toys in Toy Story by writing his name on their feet.

Title art for sermon for 5/29/16

Text: 1 Kings 8:22-24,27-29,41-43

Description: “Bringing the World to the House of God” Where is the house of God, and how can we bring people to it?

The idea is that the house of God is now the human heart through Holy Baptism, and we bring others into God’s house by bringing them into our hearts and showing them the love of Christ, letting our light so shine before men….

(And of course, because the Word of God is in our hearts, when they’re in, they’ll hear it, because it’s everywhere in there.)

From a sermon based on Revelation 22:1-6,12-20

“The Coming Kingdom Today” Is the coming Kingdom of God just something that we look forward to someday, or can we find glimpses of it today?

http://artfrmthehrt.com/scripture-reading-samples.html

PowerPoint Contemporary Slide Presentations consisting of a Scripture reading introduction, three readings, and an appropriate ending slide for each reading using the ESV translation with copyright permission from Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The slides use the readings prescribed by the LCMS Lutheran Three-Year Lectionaries with an original and appropriate artistic background for each reading. The slides can be copied and pasted into any PowerPoint presentation.

So I was at a new grocery store to get supper, but when I went to check out, I realized I didn’t have my wallet, and they didn’t take Apple Pay, so I acted like I was self-checking, put it all in a bag, and walked out. That’s when I got caught. But then a guy stops the clerk and produces a receipt with my name on it for my items. Not just my items, but everything I’ll ever buy there in the future. All paid for, in advance.Before I ever walked into the store.

Then I notice he has a whole stack of these receipts, all with different names on them.
Oh, wait. It wasn’t a store. It was my life. And it was Jesus. And He paid with His life. And you still can’t pay with Apple Pay.