September 8th, 2026 Duckvertible

Hello my friends. I have another ballpoint pen sketch to share with you today. I did this sketch in a little notepad, with lined paper so you will see the lines there, similar to the previous character sketches I've posted. It definitely helps me keep my sanity day to day, these drawings help me to feel like I'm still a creative person at heart. Thank you for bearing with me.

Today we have a dapper looking duck driving a convertible. While drawing him I imagined his character was suave like Cary Grant. A smooth, fast talking detective who is hot on the trail of some criminal mastermind. Please remember these are rough drawings, if they were for a book or something I would do a "final" draft.

If I was going to do a final version I would make the tie flippping up and around his neck. He can't be zooming around very fast with his tie laying down the way it is drawn now. It's got a little bit of flap to it, but it should be exagerated.

One of my favorite site gags is to draw a large character sticking out of a vehicle, or object. So large that you KNOW that the rest of his body couldn't be there in the tiny car. When he screeches up to the curb where ever he is going he'll hop out and hit the ground running, as if he didn't dwarf his tiny car. I don't know, I find it amusing. I hope you have had as much fun with this rough drawing as I have. God bless my friends, until next time.

Racoon Thug

Hello everyone. Today I have a rough sketch I did a few weeks ago. I did this sketch in a little notepad, with lined paper so you will see the lines there, similar to the previous character sketches I've posted. It's an ongoing series you might say. It definitely helps me keep my sanity day to day, these drawings help me to feel like I'm still a creative person at heart.

Today we have a surly racoon. He is part of a gang of ruffians that must be dealt with. He's a loose part of a story I've been working on. It's a film noir inspired tale of a kid working on a mystery. I like his expression, and the way his skinny arms and legs come off of his body. That's one of my favorite things about cartoon drawing, you have a lot more freedom in how you do things. Please remember these are rough drawings, if they were for a book or something I would do a "final" draft.

If I was going to do a final version I would redraw the character's left foot, so that it is at a closer angle to his right foot. I feel like the right foot has more of a top down angle than the left does.

One of my favorite site gags is to make a very small necktie, or to have the tie curl up at the end. It's not an original idea, I know I saw it in a cartoon somewhere, but I could not tell you where now.

This rough drawing was done with a Bic Crystal ball point pen, on a lined notepad. I've been taking the color out of the drawings because of the whole film noir black and white concept. I hope you enjoyed this drawing and my comments on it. Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. Thank you for stopping by, may God richly bless you.

Jeepy Gator

Hello my friends. Today I have a rough sketch I did a couple weeks back. I did this sketch in a little notepad, with lined paper so you will see the lines there. I cleaned up the lines outside the drawing because I found them distracting.

I have been working on animals dressed in 1930's - 40's attire. Suits and fedoras. This character looked like a tough guy to me, and a vintage Jeep seemed to be his kind of ride. I was going for a film noir look and feel to fit the detective story that goes with these characters, for a picture book. I was heavily influenced by Richard Scarry and his Busy Town characters. I loved those books when I was a kid. I've always loved the idea of animal characters walking around, looking like, dressing like acting like people. Other favorites of mine were: Stuart Little, and Ralph S. Mouse, Wind in the Willows. I loved those books.

I think this story concept will make a great children's book. I have a lot of ideas that I either outline, or do a few sketches for, so that I can come back some day and I'll have enough to work with to create a finished book. I've got a lot of these ideas stored up, to create books from. Some day... some day.

This rough drawing was done with a Bic Crystal ball point pen, on a lined notepad. I hope you enjoyed this drawing and my comments on it. Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. Thank you for stopping by, may God richly bless you.

Sunday Sermon Hebrews 2:1-4

Hello my friends. Today I am sharing an illustration from the sermon we heard from the book of Hebrews. You can watch the sermon and get the full lesson on the facebook page for Ark City Calvary Chapel here.

Here we see Jesus giving us the truth of the gospel. we are admonished to hold fast, cling to "the word". this is to keep us from drifting or back sliding. To keep from falling we should be aware of our condition, be honest with ourselves, and abide in... the word

This drawing is pencil on paper, done with a Pentel P207 .7mm mechanical pencil in my Pentalic 70lbs. (paper weight) sketch book. I hope you enjoyed this drawing and that this scripture helped you on your journey. May God richly bless you.

Free Time Sketches

Hello my friends. I haven't had time to post on my blog here in quite a while. Today I am starting a series of posts about the ball point pen (the good ol' Bic Cristal!) which I have been producing when I have downtime at my day job, I'm stuck in a meeting, or lunch break. Most of these characters are from a children's book concept I have. It is a film noir detective story, that's why all the characters will be wearing fedoras, and in suits and ties.

I had never used a ball point pen for shading until a few months ago. To me pens were used for inking comic book style hard line artwork. I was taking notes in a meeting, and began doodling a character off to the side(just like back in my school days). I found I was able to lightly shade, and build up to darker values similar to how I work when creating a pencil drawing(my usual method of operation). I was easily able to show a definite light source, and get a good range of values. It is definitely a loose style, in a sketchy kind of way. One obvious drawback though, there is no erasing. Once a line is on the paper, it's down there for good.

Since these are just character sketches and not intended to be final art to be published I haven't worried about cleaning up all the loose lines. It has been an interesting (to me anyway) method to investigate, in other words "It's Fun!" So these sketches have come from brief snippets of time I get, and are produced using the supplies I carry with me at my job every day: a bic pen and a little lined notebook. I have found that despite the pace of my life, creativity still finds a way to seep out. I think it helps keep me sane. I thank the Lord for the gifts He has given me.

This character is called Cornered Gator. Most of the characters are tough guys, caught in a confrontation with the main character. Gators are one of my favorite characters to draw (if you've known me for long you know I have a gang of usual suspects that show up on a regular basis).

I hope you enjoy this sketch, and the ones to come. I will try and post a new one every few days. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Chief O'Brien Freelance Work

Hello everyone. Today I have a freelance illustration I completed last month. I got a message from a friend I hadn't talked to in years about an illustration she needed and let me tell you it was definitely God's timing as I really needed the work.

Linda needed a drawing of the Star Trek Next Generation character Chief O'Brien for a friend's upcoming birthday. I tend to stay away from charicatures because they aren't really my strong suit. I know that may sound lame, but when I work for pay I always want to do my absolute best, and so I am a very harsh critic, and that always leaves me feeling like a charicature could have been better. ANYWAY, I took the job and got down to work.

The Chief needed to be in his wetsuit and kayak(which we see him with a few times when he is in the holo-deck on the show) that was the easy part. Getting it to LOOK like O'Brien was where I spent most of my time, and sweat bullets over the several klunkers that I scribbled out in my first pass. It took me 3 different drawing sessions (on my breaks at my day job) to capture him, but I finally got there. I get a lot of work done in the one hour of breaks i get over the course a 10 hour day at work(GE Aviation). Be on the lookout in the coming months for an illustrated guide to the Gospel of John that I illustrated almost entirely this way.

I think the step in the creation that took the longest on this illustration of Cheif O'Brien was the color work in Photoshop. Painting the color always takes longer than I budget the time for. I always try to create a dramatic, visually appealing black and white drawing that stands alone. This time though the color really helps to sell what is going on in the scene, I think it came out well. I like the way the purple kayak jumps out at you from the river scene. I went with soft, gentle colors and tones for the rocks and boulders. I love the round shape of the boulders, they remind me of the stylized hills I drew in the children's book The Little Leaf by Jairo Penaranda.

I finished this job up and my client was happy with the finished product (thank you again Linda!). I hope the birthday recipient enjoys it too. Thanks for stopping by and reading about this project, I hope you enjoyed it. God bless you.

Looking Through a God Lense

Hello my friends. Today I have a sketch from the sermon we had at Northside Baptist church last week. Joshua Pope delivered this message about how the Bible tells us we are to view ourselves, and how we view God. You can listen to the complete message here.

UPDATE:

I had time to do a quick color version of this illustration. The idea is that when we look through the lense of Jesus we see the world as it is, hence the color where Jesus overlaps the globe.

We want to get to Heaven and spend eternity with God. The first thing we need to do is be honest with where we are. You can't figure out how to get someplace if you don't know where you are. Be honest. What shapes your perspective? Is it the world? Are you listening for the call of God? Where are you? Who do you hang out with? Are they a good influence? Do they pull you away from Christ, or push you towards Him?

We are all seperated from God, because of the sin we choose. God cannot abide our sin. God had a plan to fix it though, He sent His son Jesus to pay the price for us through His death on the cross. We need to look honestly at ourselves and see the need we have for God's grace. Talk to God about it. Ask forgiveness, and then to live for Jesus, the instructions on how to do that are right there in your Bible. If you want to learn more about choosing Christ please send me a message.

In my illustration here we are looking at the world through a Jesus lense. Just as it should be. I wanted to add color to the part of the globe that you see through Jesus, but I ran out of time. Maybe I can knock that out quickly after lunch.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. Please go and listen to the sermon by Pastor Josh. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post, and that you will open your Bible and learn more about God and how much He loves you. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, if I don't have the answer I'll ask my pastor and get back to you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon John 2:13

Hello everyone. Today I have an illustration I started last Sunday in church. We find ourselves in the second chapter of John this time. In this sermon Jesus is in the temple for the Passover. You can view the full sermon here.

The people come to make sacrifices to pay for their sins. In order to do this because they had to travel on foot (mostly) to get to the temple it was more convenient to purchase your sacrifice once you get there. Because they were traveling for some distance some needed to exchange their currency. The trouble is they had the money changers, animals, birds inside the courts. Animals (doing animal things like pooping and peeing where ever they please) people yelling and haggling. They were also charging exorbitant prices becuase they knew the people had to have these things in order to observe the Passover. All of these things defiled the house of the Lord because it was taking place inside the temple courtyards.

Jesus makes a whip out of cords which took time. He thought about what he was doing, it wasn't a split second reaction like you and I make when someone cuts us off in traffic. He was not out of control. Jesus thought this out. It was a reaction based on how they were treating His father's. They were desecrating the temple. A holy place.

Using the whip Jesus runs the animals and people out, flips over the tables, breaks up the cages, saying to them (in verse 16) "Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."(verse 17) One of the lessons to take away from this message is not to make worship convenient to you, lift God up, worship Him, remember it's all about Him.

Another lesson to take away is that Jesus is telling them (verses 18-25) that He is replacing the old system of blood sacrifice to pay for the sins of the people. He will pay our debt. His blood pays for all our sins, making THE way for us to get to His father.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. Please go and listen to the sermon by Pastor Ryan. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post, and that you will open your Bible and learn more about God and how much He loves you. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, if I don't have the answer I'll ask my pastor and get back to you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series John 1:35-51

Hello everyone. Today I have an illustration I created last Sunday in church. We have been working our way through the gospel of John. In this sermon Jesus calls his disciples to follow him. You can view the full sermon here.

The week before John introduced us to Jesus. He was the voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Pointing everyone to Jesus, just as we should be doing. In the selected scripture this week Jesus extends an invitation to some of the disciples to follow him.

The disciples were not nuetral or undecided on Jesus, they dropped what they were doing and followed Him as He began His ministry. They left life long occupations, family and friends, comfort and established lives to follow the messiah. So begins the roughly three year journey to the cross. Imagine hiking along with Jesus for 3 years, seeing miracles, listening to His teaching, seeing Him crucified, and then raised again, and then His ascension!

Here we see Jesus, I've been pretty good lately about staying "on character" which means my drawings of Jesus look like the same character each time. I'm planning on my next book project being a Jesus picture book. I want to do some resesarch and see what kind of knapsacks they used in those days. I know they didn't have extensive wardrobes like we do, but it seems like they would want to carry previsions of some kind.

Here we have the disciples. One is dropping a fishing net, so I suppose that is Andrew, or James or John. I already have a character model for Peter. I was seriously channeling Chevy Chase when I drew the one on the far left. Remember in the movie Fletch, where Fletch is undercover on the beach, as a roller skating hippy dude. hahaha... yeah, I know, back to the point.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. Please go and listen to the sermon by Pastor Ryan there is good truth revealed in this scripture about following Jesus. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, if I don't have the answer I'll ask my pastor and get back to you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Mary and the Angel

Merry Christmas everyone! Today I have an illustration from a sermon I heard a couple weeks ago about Mary, Jesus' mom. The sermon was about Luke 1:26-38, and you can watch/listen to it here.

I got a bit off track on this illlustration. As I listened to Josh's sermon about Mary's story I thought about the different descriptions of angels we are given in the Bible, and thought about how I would approach it. In the past I have drawn a man with wings, which seems to be the most acceptable version these days. But then I got to thinking I always try to stay as close to scripture as I can so I really should strive to be correct with this drawing. While listening to the sermon I worked on Mary, and then over the course of the next several days I drew up the different versions of angels and came up with what you see here and what I hope is a fun and different way to present them. These two are from Ezekiel 1. Then I remembered that angels are described in the new testament as shining or glowing men, but they don't describe wings. So maybe I should go that route next time. I sure had fun with putting this all together.

While the angel is definiteyly not the focus of this story (the impending birth of our Lord and savior is) I hope you like what I came up with.

I hope you have enjoyed this illustration, and that you will go and listen to Josh's sermon, it was really good. God bless you all, and merry Christmas!

Sunday Sermon Series From the Book of Acts

Hello everyone. Today I have a couple of illustrations from sermons I heard last spring, when we were working through the book of Acts. Usually I have complete, finished illustrations to show you. Sometimes I take the time to color them, I really miss doing that, but I just don't have the time anymore. These are rough, not completely finished illustrations. The scripture covered in the first illustration is Acts 13:13-52, and the scripture covered in the second illustration is Acts 15:1-41. I have another good sermon and illustration inbetween these two and while I love the concept I came up with it was in to rough of a stage to present here.

In this first piece of scripture Paul lays out a succinct, complete gospel message in Antioch and Pisidia. From Egypt, to David, to John the Baptist and then Jesus. The people BEGGED to hear more of this teaching as they went out, and the next Sabbath huge crowds turned out, which filled the Jewish leaders with jealousy and anger. Go and read verse 46 to see if Paul and Barnabus were intimidated, haha... yeah right. They tell the Jewish leaders if you won't hear it, we'll take the gospel to the Gentiles(and the Gentiles rejoiced!).

I really enjoyed drawing this scene, and love the way it came out. It's a different sort of a scene than I usually draw. Most often I try to draw an action. Something exciting, to draw the viewer in. This time Paul is preaching, the others are sitting and listening. I really like how the characters came out, and how they I was able to stay "on character", or make them look like my other drawings of Paul and Barnabus.

The second piece of scripture covered here is Acts 15: 1-41. Here Paul, Barnabus and the Apostles and elders get together to settle the circumcision of the Gentile believers, with Paul and Barnabus saying all you need is Jesus, not Jesus plus the law, or circumcision, or anything else. James agrees with them, and backs them up in verses 13-21, the entire group agrees, and sends Paul and Barnabus out to spread the news. Then we come to the split. The group also agrees to send Silas and Judas(AKA Barsabbas) to help on the journey. Barnabus also wants to take John Mark along on the trip(who if you remember left Paul and Barnabus back in Pamphylia in the beginning of the story), and Paul is against it. A sharp disagreement ensues, and the parties split up with Barnabus and John Mark going to Cyprus, Paul and Silas to Cyprus. I leave you to ponder that whole situation, perhaps at some point I'll get to hear a sermon about how they work it out in the end, but that's a story for another day.

As you can see here this drawing is as I said in a rough stage. Their feet aren't even completely finished, and some of the textures are not as refined as I usually like to get them. I really wanted to share these with you all, so I hope you don't mind.

The characters we see here are Paul and Silas, Barnabus and John Mark (That's the same John Mark that left them and went back to Jerusalem back at the beginning of chapter 13, which really cheesed Paul off). This sermon is the last one our family went toat NW Gospel Church in Washington before we moved to Kansas. June of 2023 seems like ages ago. While we miss our family and friends in the Pacific North West, we have found a terrific, strong church family to join at North Side Baptist Church.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermons, and my illustrations. to hear the sermons please go here(Acts 13), and here (Acts 15). I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post.

As always if you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line, if I don't know the answer I'll find out for you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series Maturity of Faith

Hello everyone! Today I have an illustration from a sermon I heard pastor Ryan Whitley preach last month. October 1, 2023 to be exact. The scripture covered is Ephesians 4:7-16 and the audio can be found here.

Pastor Ryan begins by explaining that spiritual growth and maturity in believers is our goal, not just a larger flock. Living a life worthy of the calling we have received. Paul tells us that we should not be babies anymore, infants in the faith. God wants us to mature. We should not be tossed back and forth by the waves. We should be stable, of sound judgement. What does that look like for us, how do we mature? 1. Spirtual gifts to serve the body. That means using the gifts (skills and abilities) that God has blessed you with, for the benefit of the church, the body of Christ. 2. God gives us spiritual leaders. Leaders who challenge, encourage, equip the body and point us continually to Christ and the power/promise of the gospel so that we might go out into the world and share it. 3. God gives us unity so that we can work together. We can't all serve on the worship team, but if we show up willing and ready to do what we can, to serve the body then we grow into maturity.

What then does maturity look like? We become Christ like. We serve others, we show love one another. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. Showing non believers love while remaining grounded in our faith(see John 8:3-11). We leave behind our life of sin. We do our part individually, cooperating/serving together.

So why the drawing of the man in the boat, and Jesus reaching out? Because to be mature we must be be stable regardless of the waves that come in the storms of life. Jesus is there the whole time. The last few months have taught me that. "Hold fast, and trust in Him." has been on my mind daily. God is using our circumstances to force us to grow, to mature, to be strong in our faith. To trust in Jesus for EVERYTHING. To put GOD first.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. Please go and listen to the sermon by Pastor Ryan there is good truth revealed in this scripture for new Christians who want to learn what is next, and for older Christians who need to know what the goal is. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, if I don't have the answer I'll ask my pastor and get back to you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series Ephesians 2

Hello everyone. Today I have an illustration from a sermon I heard on Ephesians 2:1-10. To listen to this sermon click here.

It is very easy for me to see the sins of "others" and over look my own. Jesus said something about seeing a speck in your brother's eye, but missing the log in your own. Hmmmm... So often I think of sin as an isolated action such as telling a lie, or making a selfish decision to put myself before the person in front of me. But here scripture tells me(verses 1-4) that sin is not just an action, it is a condition of my heart. Dead in sin, my condition is critical. Try as I might I cannot escape that on my own power. No amount of good deeds can balance out the weight of my sins.

Only God can save us through Christ. BUT GOD... had a plan to save us: GRACE. He sent Jesus to live among us, to die on the cross, to pay the price for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God the Father, able to be with God in Heaven for all eternity.

Then the result of salvation is good works. To live as Christ, love one another. The good deeds I do, the unselfish actions, the merciful and compassionate actions are a result of and reflection of Christ in my life. They are not an attempt to earn my salvation since my salvation comes entirely from my faith in Christ as my savior. All to Him I owe.

Grace is the cause, the means is faith, and the result is good works. Keep it simple.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. Please go and listen to the sermon by Pastor Ryan there is good truth revealed in this scripture. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, if I don't have the answer I'll ask my pastor and get back to you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Patriotic Project August, 2023

Hello everyone! Much has changed in my life since I last posted. My wife Angela and I gathered up our family and all our belongings and have moved to the midwest, specifically Winfield, Kansas. It has been quite a journey, with many unexpected challenges, and many blessings along the way. Today I have drawings from a freelance job I was blessed with last month (when our family most needed it).

I was asked to create some illustrations with a patriotic theme, to be eye catching and brightly colored. For this project I was sending my client original artwork, instead of the usual digital files. So I set to work trying to figure out what images would convey patriotism. As you can see from these roughs I started out illustrating the song America the Beautiful. Then I tried charicatures of founding fathers, and great presidents. Abe was a winner, but I couldn't capture George quickly, so I gave up on that concept (I've never been great at charicatures). I also tried an Uncle Sam whom I have tried to draw before but never done a good drawing of, and of course a bald eagle.

America the Beautiful was just a little too ambitious, in the space I had to work with. I never progressed beyond thumbnail sketches with it. If I could have done each section and put them together digitally that probably would have worked, but it still would have taken too long to produce.

The Liberty Bell and the waving flag elements worked and were an easy choice. All those stars on the flag proved a big challenge at the size I was working at. So I switched to waving stripes.

Patriots, a minute man, another tighter, more refined eagle, and a colonial flag round out the group of final elements that I roughed out. I ended up using all of these as guides for my final drawings. Below is a draft of the Liberty Bell. I've never drawn it before, and I wanted it to be accurate. I think it came out pretty good. I looked at these tighter drawings in my sketchbook, using them as reference for the final drawings.

And here we have scans of the final artwork for the project. The client was happy with how it came out, and so was I. I hadn't used colored pencils for a piece of finished art in quite some time. It was fun to do something different for a change. I hope that you have enjoyed this break down of the process, seeing the rough work, and my final illustrations. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series 1st Samuel - March 24, 2023

Hello my friends! Today I have drawings from a sermon I heard back on February 12, 2023 at NW Gospel Church. The title is When God Comes To Town. You can listen to that sermon here. The scripture covered is 1 Samuel 5:1-7:1.

At this point in the story the Isrealites brought the Ark of the Covenant with them to a battle without being told to (by God), and it is captured by the Philistines who bring it back to Ashdod (as a trophy, or prisoner of war) and put it in the temple of Dagan (the father of Baal). The next morning the Philistines find that Dagan had fallen face down. So they took Dagan and propped him back up(verse 3). The next morning Dagan is on the floor again, only this time the head and hands have been broken off, only his trunk was left intact. From this point on the Philistines changed their religion to say that no one may step on the threshold of the temple where their god lost his hands, head and feet to Yaweh. Yaweh alone is God.

The Ashdod were then stricken with a plague of tumors. And they got together with the lords of the Philistines and decided to send the Ark to Gath. But God inflicted the people of Gath with the plague, so they sent it to Ekron, where the people panic. They've been following along, they know what is going to happen to them. So they decide to send the Ark back to Isreal. The Philistines are learning that Yaweh is sovereign. God can and will take care of things Himself. We are living in His world.

So the Philistines send the Ark back, making 5 golden tumors, and 5 golden mice as a guilt offering. They put the Ark and the offerings in a cart yoked to a couple of cows (listen to the sermon to hear Pastor Andrew lowing like a cow) who headed straight the border at Beth Shemesh.

C.S. Lewis: "The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquiial. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock."

No sinner can stand before the Lord, this holy God. We learn about God's judgement in this message, and also about Jesus' provision. Grace, and mercy. This is not the end of the story. There is so much more to this message, that I cannot cover here so be sure to listen to the full sermon.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series 1st Samuel 2:12-36

Good day my friends. Today we have a message that will encourage God's people through contrasting the failure of sinful leaders with the ministry of the Great High Priest. The sermon I listened to as I drew this illustration was on January 22, 2023 and can be found here. Please give it a listen, it's a good one. It is both challenging and thought provoking, and most important of all it reveals God's nature to us.

This scripture is very clear "the sons of Eli were worthless men" (2:12). Hophni and Phinehas were using their position and power amongst the people of God for selfish gain. They used food (meat from the animals brought forth for sacrifices) and women however they pleased, and God is clearly not pleased. We are all too familiar with worthless men and failing leaders. The Lord meets us here, as he promises a faithful priest, one who will do His will, cover the sins of his people.

Sadly, those with any window into religion know that the scene of Eli's sons is all too familiar. We have all seen and been burnt by religious hypocrisy and depraved, selfish leaders. The Lord sees it as well. He promises not only to judge the wicked, but to bring a faithful leader to save his people.

The failing of religious leaders is one of the great stains on the reputation of the church. This failure has been happening for thousands of years. The Christian perspective is unique in this sense - it is not about man's search for or journey to God (as all other religions are), it is about God's constant pursuit and faithful provision for us, in his son, Jesus Christ—the only leader who has never failed. Jesus has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins (because he has no sin) and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself on the cross.

Samuel is seen here watching the sons of Eli as mentioned in verse 26. He is growing in stature and in favor with the Lord and man. He sees what they are doing, he knows it is wrong. In the next sermon at Northwest Gospel Chursh we learned about how it worked out for Samuel and Eli, and his worthless sons. Give it a listen too.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Trusting God Through the Storms of Life

Hello again. Today (February 21, 2023) I have an update for this post. I have created an animation to go along with the illustration. Here we see our character tossed about by the storm. It's startling, but he trusts in God to be there with him through the storm. So many people ask why bad things happen. We live in a fallen world my friends, and despite of our choices and the choices of those around us God is with us and will guide, strengthen, and encourage you through it. Talk to Him, pray-pray-pray, and trust in Him.

Hello my friends. I hope you are all doing well. Today I have a drawing from the beginning of January. I hope to create a short simple looping animation of the main character here floating above the background.

Is Jesus the focus of your life, or just a part? Trials in life force us to deal with this question. Jesus is the reason we are all here, the purpose of life is to figure out what we are going to do about Jesus. But once we figure out we are broken sinners, repent, and ask Him to reign in our lives, our work isn't done. We must live as Christ: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33) In good times, easy times, hard times, trials, every decision, everything we do and say should reflect Jesus. We are called "to live as Christ"(Ephesians 4:22-24). Love God, and love one another.

The sky in this drawing is mostly clear, with a few light puffy clouds. It seems tranquil. I drew it that way because many times on the outside things can look fine, but inside they really aren't. A storm is raging. You have to really know someone to know if they are walking through a challenging time. No one knows us better than God. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah1:5 He is there, reach out to Him. He loves us so much. Remember that, and talk to Him. Pray. Pray often like Jesus did.

I hope that you are encouraged by my post. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series Acts 5

Hello everyone! Today I have my 200th post on this blog. Wow. That seems like a lot. When I started (September 24, 2007) I was just posting so that I could participate in Illustration Friday (a world wide group of artists who would illustrate a topic each week, then critique, encourage and praise each other sadly that site is long gone). Now my posts are mainly sharing the good news of Jesus Christ I hear in church. Today I have an illustration from a sermon I heard back on October 30th, 2022. The title is Rise of the Resistance. You can listen to that sermon here. The scripture covered is Acts 5:12-42.

At this time God's power is growing his people. This is a work of God, not of man. The apostles were not selling a popular movement with charisma. God was saving sinners, the gospel of Jesus was advancing. Jesus is the news, we are to spread the news just as the apostles did.

The spirit was working through the apostles and many signs and wonders were done in Jerusalem. Sick people were healed, and unclean spirits driven out. Even Peter's shadow was used as we are told that it passed over a man and healed him. People start to come from the outlying areas to be healed and to hear the good news, much to the chagrin of the Sadducees.

As the religious leaders bring opposition against the apostles, the witness of Christ is validated as an authentic work of God. But the Sadducees efforts to stop the apostles by arresting them backfires and helps to spread the good news. Every scheme of man bows to God's plan. During the night an angel of the Lord comes and opens the doors of the prison. The angel leads the apostles out and says "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." So the Sadducees find the apostles in the temple the next day preaching. They have them arrested and brought before the council again, angry that the apostles refuse to obey. Peter makes a fine speech, laying out the gospel for them, and saying that the apostles must obey God, not men.

Well that didn't sit too well with the Sadducees as you can imagine. They decided to kill the apostles. Old Gamaliel spoke up and said you'd better think about that again. He talked some sense into them, pointing out that killing the apostles would be like pouring gasoline on a fire, but if this was man made plan it would fail. So instead they beat the apostles and kicked them loose.

The final verse in this story sums it up well:Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. So remember, every scheme of man bows to God's plan.

I drew the dramatic scene of the angel of the Lord releasing the apostles from prison. As you can see I didn't go for the modern "winged baby angel" in a diaper but a grown warrior type. I gave him a glow, as they are often referred to as hard to look at because they are so bright.

I hope that you have enjoyed my synopsis of the sermon, and my illustration. I hope that you are challenged or encouraged by my post, and that you will go and listen to the sermon, it's another good one. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series Acts 4:32-5:11

Hey howdy hey buckaroos!  Today I have drawings from a sermon I heard back on October 23, 2022, on the book of Acts.  I highly recommend that you listen to it  here.  Today we learn that Jesus is deadly serious about his people's witness.

As the story begins here we see that the early church is growing, flourishing. The members are living out "love one another" by helping each other with daily needs, to the point of selling land and sharing the proceeds of the sale with those in need. Radical generosity. Mt. Saint Helens May 18th style generosity.

Hypocrisy in the ranks of those associated with God's people has been one of the great scourges of church history. In this stark story, we see that the Lord is not OK with it.

But... "But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira...: Acts 5:1 Ananias and his wife lied about the price of the property they sold. They didn't have to give any of the proceeds of the sale, they didn't have to lie about what they gave, they chose to be deceitful.

Hypocrisy in the ranks of those associated with God's people has been one of the great scourges of church history. In this stark story, we see that the Lord is not OK with it. As we see God's justice swiftly punish sin, we are confronted by the grace of Jesus, who bore the weight of divine judgment on the cross. He paid the debt for ALL sin, for EVERY person, for ALL time. "Look what the Lord did to Ananias and Sapphira!" No! Look what Jesus did for you.

If you think Christian hypocrisy is a massive issue, so does Jesus. It's his name and reputation that falls into disrepute when people falsely claim allegiance to him.

The Lord fiercely guards his people's integrity because the church would carry on the witness of Jesus in the world.

I hope that you will listen to the sermon, and that this post has challenged and or encouraged you. May God richly bless you my friends, until next time.--Ryan

Sunday Sermon Series: Acts 2:1-41

Hello my friends! Today I have drawings from a sermon I heard back on September 18, on the book of Acts. I highly reocommend that you listen to it here. I hope this illustration draws you in, and leaves you wanting to hear more about the joyous topic: the Pentecost!

Pentecost happened 10 days after Jesus' acension into Heaven, 50 days after the Passover. Pentecost was a day of feasting for the Israelites, as they gave thanks to God for their harvest. I have 12 men here representing the apostles, (with Matthais, the recently anointed apostle from Acts:1:26) but according to the sermon, all the followers of Jesus were gathered there. That puts the actual number at about 120. So there they were... and then the miracles happened. When Jesus returned to His place on the throne next to the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent to Earth. Those gathered heard a sound like rushing wind; something like fire appeared above their heads, and they spoke in foreign tongues.

Peter clarifies in Acts 2:14 that this day was prophesied and was a fulfillment of God's promise: That this Jesus was God, was delivered up to death, was raised from the grave, and was exalted on the throne.

I was so happy when the movie Risen came out. I love movies about Jesus, but I had been anxiously waiting for a movie to be made about AFTER the cross. The cross is where Jesus worked out our salvation, but it doesn't stop there. He is RISEN! And then He was seen! AND THEN... He ROSE into heaven!! Yeah, I got excited there. The day of Pentecost is an exciting part of the story -- His story. I'm excited to depict it here. I drew the apostles amazed here, and I still get a chuckle now and then because they look sort of like Simpsons characters having a bright idea if you have no concept of what the story actually is. They should look *gasp* amazed! They heard a miracle, saw a miracle, and then they spoke a miracle!

I hope that you will listen to the sermon and learn more about this amazing day when God's promise was fulfilled. On the day of Pentecost, God delivered on His promise, birthing the church through the power of the Spirit bearing witness to the work of the Son.

May God richly bless you my friends. Until next time... --Ryan