Saturday, May 13, 2017

Sunday Sermon Series: Colossians 1:15-23

Good morning everyone, I hope you are well. Today I have an illustration for you from a sermon by Pastor Shaun Hart two weeks ago(to listen to that sermon click here). This illustration became so complicated that it took me longer than usual to assemble all the pieces.

The main point I took from this sermon and scripture is: Jesus in all things is first and foremost. Through Him all things were created. He is one with the Father, and through Jesus I am saved. Keeping my focus on Him both helps me through times of trouble, and keeps me from other troubles.

One illustration Shaun used to drive this point home was the story of Odysseus and the sirens from Greek mythology. The sirens if you recall were half bird, half fish creatures who would beguile or lure the sailors who were passing by. The sirens sang a song that was so beautiful the sailors would either sail right into the rocks, be shipwrecked and die, or they would jump overboard and try to swim to the rocks and be killed that way. When Odysseus heard of this he decided he could fix this problem. So he stopped up his ears with wax and tied himself to the mast so that he could not be seduced. In the Argonauts Orpheus tells Jason he has a different plan. Orpheus played on his harp a greater song, so great that the sailors never even heard the sirens.

A greater song. Such is the song that Jesus sings. His song is so much better on so many different levels that the songs we hear in this world. So much so that when we listen to Jesus, the songs of this world have no appeal to us. When Jesus is at the helm, the wind at my sails, and the very ship I sail only then can I manage this world.

As I worked on this illustration (which I would dearly love to have time to animate!) I listened as I often do to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. Through no coincidence I am sure, I was surprised to hear Alistair relating the same story to illustrate the exact same message. Here is the link to that sermon: Truth for Life. I had to go through quite a bit to find that link for you, apparently the archives for listening through your phone are completely different than those on the web here. Thankfully on the mobile app you can share a link to a sermon, so I shared it with myself and got you the link. Ovey. The whole sermon is great, the part I reference specifically is about 17 minutes in. You should give it a listen.

This pencil sketch was done with a Pentel .7mm P207 mechanical pencil in a Pentalic Sketchbook on 70lb paper. It was scanned and then colorized in PhotoShop. I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it encouraged you or challenged you. God bless, and have a great day! --Ryan

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