New
CHAPEL GALLERY EXHIBITION: MARCH 8- APRIL 12
NEW
The inspiration for the title of this show comes from Revelation's final scene as all the finishing touches are being put on God's work in our current age of human history. God speaks from his throne in Revelation 21, and this is special. "Thrones" are mentioned quite a bit in Revelation, but only a very few times does God speak a powerful and audible proclamation from his seat of kingly authority. In Revelation 1:8 and 21:6, he asserts "I am the Alpha and the Omega." This is Jesus's affirmation that all human history belongs to him, and all purpose, all the flow of history, and all the meaning begin and end with his redemptive work. We need look no farther than Jesus if we want to understand where things are going in our topsy-turvy world. At the end of the book and at the end of this age, Jesus reiterates his deep and abiding purpose, the purpose before which all other purposes bow-Rev. 21:5-".. am making everything everything The title of this gallery show — "NEW" - comes from these words of the risen Jesus.
Bible scholars note that the "making of everything new" is in the present progressive tense. This means renewal is underway and will continue! The "new heaven and new earth" we will experience at the end of days, will only be the capstone of a process that is going on now in human hearts. Here is how Paul talks about it:
Il Cor., 4:16--So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day... Cor. 5:17--Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The Chapel Creatives invite you to meditate and worship deeply as we celebrate the "new wine" of the "new covenant" that was purchased at the cross and affirmed when Jesus rose to life from a "new" tomb. Our lives of faith in Jesus are part of this amazing story of redemption and renewal. God is making all things, including our hearts, "new". We are especially excited that our Youth Art Creation session on March 1 focused on this theme-we hope you enjoy the colors of hope and the joy of renewal expressed in their art.
Note: If you are interested in talking with an artist about their work or about purchases or commissions, email the curator, Mike Lane haoyist@gmail.com for contact information.
“NEW CREATION”
Mandy Poe
Medium: Watercolor, gouache, and pen
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
A few weeks ago I noticed the first sign of new life and Spring in my backyard - daffodils sprouting up! But this year there was something different about these green shoots. Many of them were capped with snow! The ground, covered in patches of beautiful, white snow, had welcomed new life that had sprung forth and lit up a once dull landscape with vibrant pops of yellow, orange, and green!
As I looked at these frosty blooms, I was struck by the beauty of new life, reminded of the symbolism of snow and how Jesus washed us and made us new in Him, and comforted by the truth that it's God who brings new life, not me. I can strive and stress, but ultimately, I am not in control of the coming of new life, the timing of it, or the outcome. Just as God brought the daffodils up out of the snowy ground overnight or the bunnies out of their burrows one warm day, He called my wandering heart back to Him, and He made it new! What a miracle that continues to unfold every day, and what a glorious Savior!
“WALK IN THE LIGHT WITH ME”
Brenda Cottle
“RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME”
Poem by Dennis J. Borgerding
Artwork by Kenneth Borgerding
During the Ash Wednesday service, Pastor Esperat talked of the forty days of Lent. This poem came to me as a response to that sermon. It describes three things—first, how we may often treat our LORD, second, despite that, what he did for us, and finally, our response to His love.
“NEW LIFE”
Chapel Youth
New life and transformation purchased at the Cross are part of our celebration during the Easter Season. This truth is reflected in the Springtime as we see new growth and freshness of hope in nature.
2 Cor. 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
“THE NEW HAS COME”
Mike Lane
This painting, for me, connects with my experience in two ways. First, II Corinthians 5:17 describes the transforming power of the Gospel in the believer’s heart. As a young college student, I put my trust in Christ and almost immediately, sensed Jesus was beginning to change me from the inside out. On another note, years later, I was kayaking on the Alligator River in NC and came upon the scene on this creek bank— a vibrant, green pine was just sprouting in the decaying stump of an old tree. That was me back in college and I’m so grateful for the powerful cross that made it possible.
“UNSEEN ROOTS”
Chapel Youth
One of the art processes we used on Youth Art Creation Day is called a "pour". Basically, multiple colors were randomly applied to a flat piece of plexiglass, and they sort of mixed with each other and then a piece of paper was laid on top of the mixture and pressed down. This made an abstract "mono-print" on the paper. It was a lot of fun. But the challenge was to see the patterns and meaning in the random messy" print. Some prints were easier than others to figure out, but in the end, we accented forms and contours with an ink pen and allowed everything to dry. What happened next was interesting.
When cleaning the globs of paint off the plexi-glass, the superficial thin coating of pigment washed off almost immediately, and what was left was a stunning fractal pattern that looked a lot like roots—it ran through all the colors as they joined with one another (note: have a look at the photos). Metaphorically speaking, this discovery accented a fact about our lives in Christ-beneath our difficult experiences and our uncertainty in figuring out the meaning of them, there is a life-giving purpose. Jesus uses them to change and renew our hearts. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus looked to the purposes of the Father as he faced the Cross, and we can know that our hard experiences are part of the plan of our Loving Father who is at work in ways that are sometimes unseen and just beneath the surface of our experience.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God....
Heb 12:6,10 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives....For they (earthly fathers) disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
2Co 4:16-18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
“CALLED BY NAME”
Poem by Dennis J. Borgerding
Artwork by Kenneth Borgerding
Isaiah 62:2 and Revelation 2:17 both speak of God giving us a new name. Just as Jesus spoke to Mary, Peter, and Thomas, calling them by name, someday He will call us by name, by a new name written on a white stone.
“A NEW SONG”
Chapel Youth Art Creation: Paintings
Clarabelle Southerland: Trumpet
What will these new songs be about? We are told in Rev. 5 that people groups from all over the world will sing of the Cross and how worthy Jesus is (that's why we focus on missions to the unreached peoples of the world at the Chapel—we want to be involved in adding to this chorus!).
Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
The other new song will be sung by the 144,000 Jewish believers. Commentator, David Guzik explains: "these 144,000 were last seen in Revelation 7, where they were identified as a group of Jewish believers who minister during the great tribulation and are given a seal of protection throughout that period. " What a new song that will be!
Rev 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
"NEW WINE & NEW COVENANT"
Chapel Youth Art Creation: Paintings
Luk 5:37-38 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
1Co 11:25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
“SPRING INTO NEW LIFE”
Lupe Santoyo
Sometimes we are in a season of life where we are in the dead of winter, but winter is not dead. God is giving nature a time to rest & nourishes it. During these dark times in our lives, like nature, God is graciously wanting us to learn to rest & be nourished by His mercy to SPRING us into new life.
Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe, my God for in you I take refuge... 9-11 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.