Stushie

Sabbath Psalms – Sowing Sorrowfully, Singing Joyfully

Psalm 126:5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

It was an old superstition. People once believed that if they planted their seeds positively, then something bad would happen to the expected crop. So, instead of looking forward to the harvest, they used to weep profusely as they sowed the seeds. They didn’t want to make the agricultural gods angry by taking them for granted, so they developed a rite of mourning at seedtime.

Obviously, the Hebrew children did this too, although instead of angering the local Canaanite gods, they didn’t want to offend the One True and Living God. The people of the land had been blessed in the past, therefore, they hoped that God’s promises would be fulfilled at harvest time, so long as the people remained faithful.

The farmers also knew that they lived less than perfect lives, so they planted their seeds with penitential tears. They sincerely believed that if God watched over them as they humbled themselves, then perhaps God would also take pity on them and bless them with a great growing season. The farmers didn’t take God’s compassion for granted, but when the harvest was bountiful, they were truly thankful – which is why we still celebrate Thanksgiving feasts as special days in our nation and around the world.

Perhaps you are starting something new, beginning a new job or business, or going to a new college or location. Maybe you’re apprehensive about the future and hope that things will turn out well. Take time to bring God into this venture and humbly commit Your ideas, goals, and work to the Lord. You may not have to weep sorrowfully these days, but if You honor God at the outset of what you’re seeking to do, God’s approval will eventually come.

Point to ponder: Am I attempting something new in my life? If so, how have I sought God’s blessing?

Prayer: Lord God, You know everything about us and are fully aware of all our plans. We humbly seek Your approval and guidance in all that we hope to begin and accomplish. In Your Holy Name, we dare to hope and humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Narrative Lectionary Art – Solomon and Temple

Bible art for kids, church bulletin covers, Church coloring pages, Lectionary art, Narrative lectionary art, Narrative lectionary bulletin cover, Narrative lectionary bulletin covers, Narrative Lectionary coloring page, Narrative Lectionary resources, Narrative lectionary worship resources

Narrative lectionary art and coloring page. Year 3 Week 8 – Solomon and Temple.

Paid subscribers and donors can download various sizes for use.

Ordinary 30B art and Reformation Day Art

Bible art for kids, bulletin covers, church bulletin covers, Church coloring pages, communion art, Communion coloring page, Lectionary art, lectionary coloring pages, Sunday church art, worship art, worship bulletins, worship coloring page

Bulletin covers, worship screen images, and coloring pages for Ordinary 30 B – also Proper 25 and Pentecost 22 – Psalm 34 and Mark 10:46-52 (Healing the Blind Man). Reformation art also included.

Subscribers and donors may copy and download art for use.

(If you subscribe by check, please review the date for your renewal – most churches who do this resubscribe in October, November, and December)

Psalm 34

Gospel: Mark 10:46-52

Reformation Day art

Sabbath Psalms – Full of Creatures

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions, Sunday devotions

Psalm 104:24 How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. (NIV)

Every summer, our family used to stay for a week’s vacation in the town of Ayr, which is on the west coast of Scotland. We would spend each day on the sandy beach with crowds of other families who traveled down from Glasgow during the July Fair holidays. Sometimes, however, it was too cold to go to the beach, so we walked to a park at the far end of the town called Belleisle. It was a long walk but when we reached the park, we went to our favorite place – a little zoo that had lots of different rabbits, guinea pigs, and ducks from all over the world.

We fed the animals with tufts of grass and plant leaves that we found near the cages. The rabbits and guinea pigs rapidly ate what we offered and looked for some more, so my siblings and I scoured the edges of the path to find more green grass and leaves. We always came away from the park delighted because we had stood so close to the animals and enjoyed having them pull the food from our small hands as we fed them.

Nearly six decades later, when I think about those halcyon days, it makes me wonder if this is why God created so many different kinds of animals on our planet. Instead of killing them for sport perhaps we’re meant to look after the animal kingdom and live alongside it, to delight in God’s works of creation and live peaceably with nature. We seem to be so intent on destroying things these days that I fear we’re actually dooming ourselves to extinction. So many species are lost in the animal kingdom each year because of human expansion and destruction.

If I remember the scriptures properly, God gives Adam and Eve the gift of dominion over other creatures, but not domination. In other words, we’re meant to be good stewards and work with nature rather than being greedy conquerors who ruin and destroy life on this unique planet. I hope and pray that it’s not too late for us to repent of our harmful ways and make the Earth a peaceable kingdom once more, as our Creator intended.

Point to ponder: How do I appreciate and support life on Earth?

Prayer: Loving Creator, this world should astound us, and the beauty of Your works should delight us. Forgive us for taking life on Earth for granted and being so destructive as a species. Open our eyes to the uniqueness of our planet and help us to become good stewards of this beautiful world. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Today’s image is one of John’s crayon drawings called “Fall Break.”

Narrative Lectionary – King David and Temple

coloring pages for church, Lectionary art, lectionary coloring pages, Narrative lectionary art, Narrative Lectionary coloring page

King David thinks about building a temple for God – Narrative lectionary Year 3 Week 7.

Subscribers and donors can download various sizes for use.

Ordinary 29B art and coloring pages

Bible art for kids, bulletin covers, church bulletins, Church coloring pages, Lectionary art, lectionary coloring pages, worship art, worship coloring page, worship cover art

Ordinary 29B bulletin cover art and coloring pages for the Gospel, Prophecy, and Psalm passages: Isaiah 53, Psalm 104:1-9 and Mark 10:35-45.

Subscribers and donors may copy & download for use.

Psalm 104

Isaiah 53

Sunday Shorts – Such is Life

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Sunday devotions

Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It’s a question that we all ask at some time in our lives: “How can I overcome death and obtain everlasting life?”

When I was eighteen, I overdosed on tranquilizers and almost died. I was saved by three friends, to whom I will forever be indebted. I spent three days in hospital to get my stomach cleaned out to check if my organs were still working. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I could have permanently damaged my kidneys and other vital organs, which would have meant that I would have unavoidably died days later. Thankfully, and providentially, that did not happen. My life had been spared by the quick action of my friends and the medical emergency team at the hospital.

Through being so close to death, it made me think about Life. I was faithless at the time, so if I had died, I could have been lost to everyone forever. I did not know this because I held a childlike belief of God in my heart. However, when I later turned to the scriptures to learn more about God, I was startled by some of the forthright views of Christ because sometimes His words stung me.

I no longer dabble with death or take my life for granted. My attempted suicide has given me a different perspective from most people. Life is something to be cherished, but it is also a gift of God that shouldn’t be wasted or squandered. The purpose of life is to give it back to God. Everything that we accomplish, all of our achievements, and every resource that we own, are nothing compared to the riches of God’s grace and everlasting love. That’s why Jesus asked the young man in this much told story to give up his wealth and esteem – for when he is old and dying, the young man is going to have to give them up anyway.

Health and wealth won’t last forever, but faith and love do. If we want life – a real abundant and everlasting life – then we are also invited to surrender ourselves to God through Jesus Christ.

Point to ponder: What is the purpose of my life and how can Christ make it more abundant?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, each day You challenge us to give up our lives and place them in Your hands. In other words, You’re asking us to have faith in You by surrendering ourselves to Your Church and Kingdom. Help us to do this willingly so we may realize that our lives are gifts from the Lord, which we will eventually give back to God. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Today’s image is one of John’s crayon drawings called “Cosmic Surfer.”

Sabbath Psalms – Unanswered Prayers

church devotions, Devotions, Lectionary devotions, Psalm devotions, Sunday devotions

Psalm 22:2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. (NIV)

We’ve all been there at some point in our lives – crying out to God for help, but receiving no response. Usually, the prayer is about our health or the well-being of a loved one. Instead of getting the answer we want, nothing changes, leaving us feeling bewildered, abandoned, even forsaken by God. It makes us question God’s existence, as well as asking what’s the point of having faith if God won’t do what we want?

The Bible doesn’t shy away from those hard questions. Psalm 22 is a prime example of someone who is feeling forlorn and forgotten by God. The writer is feeling vulnerable and lost, finite and frail, so he is looking to God for strength and deliverance, renewal and restoration. It’s a painful psalm to read because it’s written by a tormented soul and even though it ends with some sort of resolution, the sorrows expressed appear to be unanswered and relentless.

Jesus quoted the beginning of this psalm when He was brutally nailed to the Cross. In His final moments of life, He truly identified with the pain, loss, and suffering which all human beings experience. He could have chosen to run away before He was arrested to save His life. He could have called down legions of angels from Heaven to rescue Him from death and destroy His enemies. Instead, He chose to accept a painful end to His life, so that He truly became one of us, as well as the prophesied “Man of Sorrows” described in Isaiah 53.

Perhaps you are going through a hard time and praying for someone you love. Maybe you feel as though your prayers are unanswered and that God doesn’t care about your plight. It’s an awful feeling and heavy burden to bear. I’ve been there, too, but what got me through it was an understanding that Jesus knew exactly what I was facing and had felt the same kind of pain. In other words, He walked beside me to help me endure. I hope and pray He will do the same for you.

Point to ponder: What painful prayers and burdens am I currently experiencing?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, today we appeal to Your humanity and not Your divinity. Today, we pray for You to walk alongside us as we journey through a path of pain and loss. Help us to endure and enable us to overcome. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Narrative Lectionary art – Hannah praying

church art, church bulletin covers, Church coloring pages, Lectionary art, Narrative lectionary art, Narrative lectionary bulletin cover, Narrative Lectionary coloring page, Narrative Lectionary resources

Narrative lectionary art – Year 3 – Week 6 – Hannah praying. 1 Samuel 1 & 2.

Annual subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes for use.

Blue Advent Candles art

Advent art, advent bulletin covers, Advent candles art, advent clip art, Blue Christmas art, Blue Christmas bulletin, Blue Christmas clip art

Some churches use blue candles for Advent instead of purple ones, so I’ve redrawn this year’s Advent series. Also, I’ve added a Blue Christmas Candle for the Longest Night services.

Annual paid subscribers and donors can copy and download various sizes for use.