Tag: prayer

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CHOG News church cartoons Newsletters Sport Cartoons

Good old Sports Illustrations!

Cartoon of a man praying at a pulpit. He says, "And we give thanks for a football season that supplies ample sports illustrations."

Over the years, I’ve heard plenty of sermon sports illustrations. You can always tell when a pastor loves a particular sport. And what’s not to love about a story that illustrates courage, determination, and a little of the unexpected?

But like anything else, they can move into the realm of the cliché. Cartoonists aren’t immune to this either. There used to be tons of cartoons based on a desert island theme. But think what good came of it? If that never happened, we wouldn’t have had Gilligan’s Island!

Stories are important in any sermon. Jesus taught in parables for a good reason. They illustrate truths in a way that engages the audience and made them see differently. And when we have creative teachers bring a story to life, amazing things happen!

When an illustration is used effectively, it can make a powerful point. But if the audience can’t relate to your story, it can fall flat. The old proverb, know your audience, can be very important. That’s partly why sports illustrations have always stood out to me. While I love history, I’ve never been much of a sports guy.

Yet, I like sports illustrations for the following reasons:

  • They frequently illustrate perseverance
  • Many demonstrate how to overcome adversity through preparation and patience
  • They can show the value of teamwork

So let us be thankful for a new round of sports illustrations. While I’m at it, I’m thankful for autumn, cooler temperatures, and a little pumpkin spice latte.

Cartoon of a man praying at a pulpit. He says, "And we give thanks for a football season that supplies ample sports illustrations."

I drew this cartoon for the November 2022 CHOGNews.

Categories
motivation

Driving and Prayer

Cartoon of father and son in car

My wife and I have just finished a drive across the country. We saw plenty of speeders and aggressive drivers. It was enough to make you utter a prayer of thanks when we arrived in our driveway.

We take a lot of factors for granted when we hit the highway.

  • We depend on the vehicle we are driving
  • We rely on a highway in good repair
  • We hope and pray the other drivers are competent and able to safely operate their vehicles (despite evidence to the contrary)

We are less in control than we would like to admit. I am thankful we made it back and that our prayers were answered. I am also thankful there is another day to practice some safe, assertive driving.

As we venture out, let’s try to be the answer to someone’s prayer, instead of the reason someone has, out of fear, urgently stepped up their prayer life!

Cartoon of father and son in car
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CHOG News School Cartoons

Prayer and Going Back to School

Cartoon of a mom and son. The disgruntled son says,

It can be tough to have faith that can move mountains when you have to go back to school. I probably prayed a prayer similar to the boy’s prayer in this cartoon when I was in elementary school.

School was stressful for me. I never knew if my pencil was really a Number Two Pencil. If I wasn’t so nervous, I may have had the wits to actually check the inscription on the pencil. I should’ve realized almost all school pencils are number two pencils. If I just got that through my head, maybe school wouldn’t have been so stressful. Then again, maybe I should have just prayed about my stress!

I drew this for the Church of God Newsletter.

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sketch journal

How to Take Captive Every Thought

notes on taking captive every thought

My wife and I have been reading a devotional from Mark Batterson called Draw the Circle.

I sketched my notes while she read. We took notice today about the verse in 2 Corinthians 10:5. We are surrounded by so many thoughts each day. When I’ve read this verse before, I thought about the thoughts of temptation. But Mark points out it could be all thoughts, including positive ones.

Just as we need to take captive the negative, we need to be sure those positive thoughts don’t get away either. That’s just one of the reasons I use a sketchbook. We need to grab those good thoughts before they disappear. Too many times, I thought of an idea I was sure I’d remember only to wrack my brain and wonder what it was.

I’d encourage everyone to write down those dreams and thoughts you want to remember to make them captive on a page so you can go back to them.

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cartoon children cartoons

Prayer Requests

Here’s a post I made in 2006.

“Remember me in your prayers. When my dad finds out I stratched the car with my bike, I’ll need all the prayers I can get!”

You get all kinds of interesting prayer requests in a Sunday school class. I have a feeling I uttered a similar requests once. Though I don’t remember scratching Dad’s car, I did plenty of other things. I’m thankful Dad was gracious when I messed up. By the way, Happy birthday, Dad!