We Will Sing A New Song | 40 visual metaphors to help the Church live and love like Jesus

Clouds Without Rain (Feb 16)

A cloud is nothing more than a mass of droplets of water or frozen crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Billions of eyes have looked up at clouds, hoping that the water inside would be shared through falling rain. Crops would be watered, parched lips would be refreshed, and life would …

Sharing an Umbrella (Feb 13)

There’s something about being invited under somebody’s umbrella in the midst of a downpour that alters your entire perspective on the experience. Though you’re still soaking wet and the rain is still crashing down, being under somebody’s umbrella changes everything. However, when we’re the one carrying the umbrella, we often …

Keys (Feb 9)

When I look at all the keys on my keychain and the “keys” on the plastic cards in my wallet, I realize how many different places in my life I have access to. My home, my car, my office, my mailbox, my parent’s cabin, my gym membership, my bank account. …

Switchbacks (Feb 6)

Whenever I went hiking as a kid, I would always get frustrated when the trail would wind back and forth up a hill. Thinking I was wasting time on the switchbacks I would inevitably scale up the steep mountainside while my family continued on the trail. Every time I did …

Movie Screen (Feb 2)

I wonder how someone would react if they purchased a ticket to a movie, got their popcorn and soda, sat down in a perfect seat, and as the theater got dark and the sound of the projector reel started running, the curtain separated only to reveal a missing wall spilling …

Empty Picture Frames (Jan 26)

Sometimes I wonder if I see the world in a strange way because I think that empty picture frames are depressing. There’s something about seeing an object that was created for something specific sitting on a shelf with unrealized purpose; a frame that was designed to display a unique image instead …

Bees (Jan 23)

You know what’s irony? Getting stung by a bee while eating honey. In fact, I don’t think there’s any other insect that humans have such a love/hate relationship with. While bees are the only insect that manufacture food for humans, with honey accounting for billions of dollars a year in …

Ambulance (Jan 19)

I hear people often say that the church is a hospital for the sick. They say this because Mark 2:17 records Jesus saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” However, I think this “church …

Travel Guide (Jan 16)

I love traveling to places with someone who has been before. Even though its all new to me, they are able to see the same thing with “wise eyes” and can help me see things that otherwise would have been missed. Whether its helping me see something beautiful, something that …

Lazy River (Jan 12)

Rivers at resorts are a cheap imitation of the real thing…yet people flock to them. Often referred to as lazy rivers because people float along an artificial current of chlorinated water in a winding circle without having to do a thing, if you watch them carefully you’ll notice that these …

Clothes (Jan 9)

The majority of Americans have more clothes than they need. New shirts and new dresses find themselves in regular rotation until new wants force the now old wants to the fringes of the closet or the bottom of the dresser drawer. As a result, we can at the same time …

3D Glasses (Jan 5)

Have you ever taken your glasses off during a 3D movie? The clear images that before seemed to have depth and pop off the screen suddenly became a blurry mess. This happens because the glasses tricked your eyes to see the images on the screen in a way they’re not …

The Plate (Jan 2)

A friend recently pulled me aside and started sharing about how exhausting her life was. The complicated act of juggling advanced schoolwork, horseback riding, friends, and family had filled up every waking hour of every day for the last couple of years. She clearly had her hands full and I …

Puzzle Pieces (Dec 29)

I can’t think of many projects more frustrating then spending hours on a puzzle only to find that a piece is missing. Advanced puzzlers tell me that some pieces are more important than others; corner pieces, edge pieces, distinctly designed pieces. However, I could tell you that all of them …

The Sprinkler (Dec 26)

I always liked the sound that above ground sprinklers make. When I hear the tchtchtchtchtchtch TCH-TCH-TCH-TCH-TCH tchtchtchtchtchtch TCH-TCH-TCH-TCH-TCH (or something like that) of a sprinkler, I am transported back to long summer days spent running barefoot through their spray. What was designed to give life to lawns, gave laughter and …

A Continual Unwrapping (Dec 25)

As a kid, I always loved unwrapping gifts. In the moment of tearing apart the patterned wrapping, fumbling with the tied ribbon, and pulling “the gift” out of its box, my heart would be racing. What could it be? The possibilities were endless. Was it something on my list, or …