I chose the story of the shepherds receiving the news about the birth of Jesus as it brought hope not only to them but also to all of creation. The angel’s announcement certainly got the attention of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. But it was something else that sent them hurrying toward a manger in Bethlehem. It was HOPE. After hearing the good news, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed. After the shepherds witnessed the birth of Jesus, they returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Their lives were changed. Similarly, we have hope of a renewed relationship with God and a hope of eternal life through Jesus’ birth.
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I drew a picture of a child’s happy face from receiving the promise of the verse; yet at the same time, with sadness in his eyes from living in a foreign land. To show how the hope endures through circumstances, I wrote the verse repeatedly in the background, on a discarded piece of cardboard (which homeless people often use for sleeping).
God’s promises never change. When we believe in Jesus (God’s only Son who died for us), our lives are filled with the promises of God.
The drawing shows Jesus in the boat with my parents and me. The boat is our life. As promised, Jesus is with us, lives in us and He goes before us to lead us.
This artwork describes the new Jerusalem mentioned in the book of Revelation. The river was flowing from the throne of God and on each side of the river stood the tree of life yielding twelve different fruits every month. The city walls were decorated with twelve precious stones and with twelve gates remembering the sons of Jacob.
A colourful rainbow emerges from the 2D, black-and-white coloured earth which brings the painting to life. The white silhouette cutout represents God speaking the words of Genesis 9:11. This brings to focus the centrepiece of God’s amazing promise, represented by the rainbow.