Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sketchnote Easter 2013

Long day today
Sunrise service (Sketch noted live)
Quick breakfast
Double Choir practice
Easter Sunday Service (Sketch noted live)
Lunch
Tidy sketch note  and colour and annotate and post


Sunrise Service
Rev Fred Tan Sunday 31 March 2013
Wesley Methodist Church Singapore
Easter Sunrise service
Text Matt 28: 1-10

Easter morning is  a good morning!

At the empty tomb a good spell (gospel)  reversed the curse which was invoked at garden of Eden when man sinned, and was cursed to die.

Jesus died and was buried.
In the tomb he lay dead unable to observe passover or Sabbath rituals and laws.
In rising on the third day, Jesus broke the power of sin and death.

Our identity is with Christ
Dead with Christ = dead to the law
the law can not touch us.

We are set free
Free to live freely, forever
Free to die happily
free from the fear of death.

Proof that Jesus rose from the dead
1) Empty Tomb: despite posted guards
2) Female eye witnesses: counter intuitive
Made up story would have quoted male eye witnessess
Female testmony was not accepted in court
Yet the gospel writers record it was women who forst saw the empty tomb.
3) Seen in Galilee.
subsequently Jesus was sen by more than 500 people.
Many of the eye witnesses suffered martyrdom and yet refused to recant.
Thrown singing to hungry lions

Jesus now sits at the right hand of God
Fully human yet fully devine
He is one of us
He gives us hope
The reality of the resurrection  shows us the certainlty of eternal life
Jesus has gone ahead to show us the way.

Psalm 23;6
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

"Forever" means for "ever"
No end
Eternal
A powerful word
a powerful promise
a powerful God
 a powerful Saviour.

A witness is someone who knw the trut and tells it to someone else.

Have you experienced Jesus?
GO TELL!



EASTER IS HERE


Rev Dr Kow Shih Ming
Sunday 31 March 2013
Wesley Methodist Church Singapore
        Easter 11 am Sanctuary service
Text John 20: 1-12, 10-18.

Sermon pattern
A vignette
Things going seemingly well
Then fall apart: darkness, hopelessness, pain, death
Stuck in the agony and throes of Good Friday?
There is reason for hope
Easter is here

Mary
Life was a living hell
controlled by demons
Jesus released the demons
brought her back to life
Life was full of hope
THEN Mary watched her saviour die
Early in the morning she brought spices to honour his body
She found the tomb open
She found the tomb empty
She sennsed the pain and death
For her it must have seemed like Good Friday all over again

A young couple that Rev Kow knows get married.
She concieves.
She is happy.
Husband is happy.
Mother in law is happy.
Rev Kow is happy.
Then at 3 months miscarriage
Hopes dashed.
Sense of hopelessness.
She gets pregnant again.
She is happy.
Husband is happy.
Mother in law is happy.
Rev Kow is happy.
Then at 8 months a stillbirth
Hopes dashed.
Sense of hopelessness.
Pain as the stillborn infant is cremated.
 Future promises bleak.
 Hopes dashed
Pain & death
Good Friday all over again.

Han:
 industrious, well respected
On the way to the top
Loved God
Served in Church
Life seemed to be going well.
Then out of the blue: TERMINATED
Repeatedly job search unsucessful.
Wants to end it all but mother succumbs to a stroke
Learns to live a day at a time
Pain, Hoplessness
Good Friday all over again


Barbara & David
Her pulse rate suddenly shoots up
Paramedic called, ambulance comes
Hospitalised.
Husband retuns home to rest and prepare sermon
But darkness and fatigue overwhelm him
He has to prepare Easter sermon but its Good Friday all over again.

 Yet though that repeat Good Friday gloom Mary hears a familiar voice calling her.

She responds
"Rabbonai, Master," for there is recognition
Hoplessness turns to Hope
Despair turns to Joy.
Easter is here.

 That young couple fnally conieve again and carry to term with a healthy baby
Easter has come
The present joy outshines the past pain.
Easter is here.

Han's soul will not decay
God allows new employment\ Better pay
Better working conditions
more time for church and family.
Easter is here.

With Godly counsel from friends
David drew strength from the Risen Christ
and eventually preached one of his finest sermons.
Easter is here.


Take home message
Perhaps you are in a "Good Friday" situation?
Betrayal, Sorrow, Pain, Death?
Dreams and hopes dying?

Take courage for Jesus is with yu
and Easter will come.

Glurge:
Jeremy and the empty egg
http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/15/t/002196/p/1.html















Friday, March 29, 2013

When Darkness Comes

When Darkness Comes
Good Friday Sermon
29 March 2013
Wesley Methodist Church Singapore
Rev Kow Shih Ming

4 panel sketch note
Sketch noted live:
colour added later:
 annotated at leisure




Darkness is a common experience


Some complain "Why me?"


5 facts about darkness
1 INEVITABLE
2 UNPREDICTABLE
3 IMPARTIAL
4 TEMPORARY
5 PURPOSEFUL









1 INEVITABLE
It will happen
Not IF but WHEN
As surely as night follows day darkness will come
again and again
As surely as we have night after night after night

2 UNPREDICTABLE
We don't know when it will come
Often at the "worst" of times
Suddenly it is upon you

3 IMPARTIAL
Good people get it, bad people get it
Good or bad doesn't matter
So long as you are "people"

4 TEMPORARY
The sun will rise
(The Son will rise)
Darkness has a finite length,
a definite end,
It is like a tunnel
There is light at the end of the tunnel

1 Peter 1:6
So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.

5 PURPOSEFUL
God cannot cause evil
But God can allow that evil to help you grow
To test your faith
To build your faith

God is more interested in your character than your comfort

God is more interested in your holiness than your happiness




Your RESPONSE to DARKNESS

1 REFUSE
2 REMEMBER
3 REQUEST
4 REALISE
5 REMIND
6 RELINQUISH

1 REFUSE to be discouraged
You have a choice
Choose to be discouraged
Or choose not to be discouraged

2 REMEMBER God's limitless resources
Focus on God's power
There is a greater power with us
2 Chron 32:7
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus Phil 4:19
ALL means all!
(NB all needs not all greeds)

3 REQUEST God's help
James 4:2
God wants you to ask
If you don't ask you don't get

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Rom 8:32

4 REALISE God is with you

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2

No loneliness
No drowning
No burning
God is with us

5 REMIND yourself of the future
After darkness there will be light
The ultimate destination:
Heaven
Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday

6 RELINQUISH control of your life to God




Note on SHADOWS
1 Bigger than Reality
2 Cannot hurt
Shadow of truck cannot knock you down or run you over
Shadow of dog cannot bite
3 There is no shadow with out there being light

When facing shadow turn around to face the light.

Difference for Christians when facing darkness
Remember it is Friday but Sunday is coming.
Stop fighting with God for control of your life.
Trust in the Name of the Lord
Rely on God

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10

Evidence of a relinquished life is Obedience

Trust and Obey

Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
Psalm 119:165-166 (NIV)
As we entrust our life to God we gain
Great peace. Serenity. Confidence





Have you come to a patch of darkness?
You can not go over it
You can not go around it
You have to go through it.

Yet light can penetrate your darkness
But first you must let light penetrate your soul.
You need to let Jesus into your life.

Will you today relinquish the control of your life to God?
And let His light into your soul?

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday: Rev Wendy Watson: Wesley Methodist Church

Sketchnotes: Scribed during sermon
                     Coloured right after:
                     PENTEL large stick pastels

Maundy Thursday service commemorates
Last night
Last supper
Washing of feet
and New Commandment (Mandatum = Commandment)
 "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos"
 ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you") the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34

In order to love others we must first understand how much does Jesus love us

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
Isaiah 53:5 English Standard Version (©2001)

In Matt 23:37 Jesus identifies himself with a mother hen
Counter intuitive
non-macho
no sharp fang
no fierce roar

Mother hen calls out "cluck cluck cluck"
an early warning detection system
calling her chicks to her
protects themwith under her wings
protects them with her life

Story is told of a mother hen who sacrificed her life for her chicks
glurge/Little Red Hen

So too Jesus shields us from punishment, insults, whips, shame
as he protects us under his outstretched arms/ wings on the way to calvary.

God invites and waits for us to respond:
Come bring your wounds
Come bring your dissapointents
Come bring your shame
Give God permission to use them

TAKE HOME MESSAGE
Come running back
You cant make it on your own
You cant depend others, power, position, possessions, money:
these are temporary
Let Jesus protect you under his arms
Let Him be your refuge



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Poster Presentation

What I had in sketch notes [click here to see sketch notes]
 is now transcribed to posters:
The interim fortnight of cogitation has helped me to internalize for the actual presentation.

First, a glimpse of the 4 panel panorama, then poster by poster view.

4 poster panorama


The first poster, with my best guess of what Graphic Recording is called in Korean.
Outlines the WHAT

The second poster outline the WHY

The third poster looks rather blank: I will use it to develop a basic drawing vocabulary with the participants



The fourth poster has been reworked with info
 from Sketchnote Army's on "the Sketch note Handbook"

I will follow this sharing with my first ever attempt at Graphic Recording on 1X2 meter paper!


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sketch note Youth 2013 Prague

Reflections: 2013 Prague

 My sketch notes provide my aide memora and my Urban Sketches augment.

 The fun started for this
Festival Young Prague 2013
18 -26 March 2013
Nanyang Primary School String Ensemble
& Nanyang Primary School Choir.

Even as we gathered for check in at Changi airport we saw the chellos being directed to first class!

An iPhone left in the washroom was desperately trying to say goodbye to its owner: a week later to be pick pocketed!

Students doing homework at Frankfurt Airport was quite a sight

Our first words of Czeck:
Dobre Rano = Good Morning
Dekuji = Thank You


The opportunity to sing at Frankfurt Airport was fun: and appreciated!

Within Prague itself, sightseeing took quite a bit of walking, often 20 minutes from bus to tour site: and another 20 minutes walking back: Keeping coach traffic out of town reducing pollution.

Plenty nice buildings to sketch: often done as urban sketches with a bit more detail and reduced to a few lines for this sketch note. Saying which the pace at which we zoomed by building after building after building, left precious little time for my speed sketching!



 
At Charles bridge we came across the plaque commemorating John Nepomuk.
Read the outline as annotated in my sketch note and/or Google for more info.
This page depicts the performance at Secondary School of Public Administration: Older students who could converse in English rather than Primary School Czeck students who could not. The strings played well and the choir sang beautifully.

By now a number of children (and adults) were taken ill with a vomiting bug +/- fever.
Some were quarantened at our Barcelo Hotel. Those on the road with us were shunted into makeshift sick bay on available desks.


Of the other venues, I liked the singing, music ambiance and acoustics at U Salvatora Church.


In contrast to Sunny Singapore the weather was FREEZING COLD (to the enjoyment of many).
The black light theatre was entertaining.


IN SUMMARY
Hectic schedules
Early morning calls
 Personal bible reading & quiet time disrupted
But what are my true values!
A gentle guided way to point me back to my maker!
Especially of the Jewish Quarter
Not only the Holocust and the 86,000 dead , the Terazine camp children's art but even previous successive progroms and the way that the Josefov was set outside the city wall
A sense of connectiveness even through churches and cathedrals that yoyo from Catholic to Protestant and vice versa
And the elements of the synagogue : the Torah scroll, the Decalogue and Gollem!

Good to see bonding camaraderie sense of oneness of Nanyang PS esprit de corps
To see children helping one another
To see parents helping other people's children

The official performances were good. Both strings and choir.
"When I close my eyes" and "turkey in the straw" became the unofficial anthems

The baroque, renaissance, gothic styles
 were just words to me: must learn basic historic architecture.

The pace of touring was very fast : too fast to do justice to my sketching: so my sketches became snap shots:
The instinct and passion and capability for building preservation is very commendable: something Singapore can learn.

The cold was cold! I think some kids were underdressed! The tiny tiny exposure to snow was fun.

Food was quite pleasant generally, except for the report of one school lunch. my favourite: the expresso served at Michal Restraunt

Observing teamwork as the group responded to various situations: like jumbled aeroplane seating and the tummy bug vomitting "epidemic"

Compared to the rural village conditions I sometimes work with in Cambodia , this trip has been a total 8 star experience: STA Eileen & staff deserve a commendation.

Hats off to Mother Hen 校长
Hip hip horray
Hi-yah!!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Urban Sketch Prague

With Nanyang Primary School String Ensemble and Nanyang Primary School Choir attending Youth 2013 Prague Festival


We stayed at this hotel: value for money

On tour through Prague: around old town square:
 the Powder House dating back to 1600's:
Municipal Building

As annotated:
In the middle, behind: the place where Mozart's Don Giovanni was first performed.
Also of note, many historic rooms were now 3-7 metres below current road level
Recurrent flooding of Prague had caused them to raise the road level repeatedly through the centuries.

The astronomic clock and St Nicholas Church at Old town Square
Tower bears three styles of clock systems: Babylonian, Old Czeck timescale and modern
The twelve apostles and 4 articulated figures (Jew [Money], Turk [Infidel], Vanity & Death) appear every hour on the hour as the clock chimes

Iconic Church of Tyn

This chapel stood in the way of Čech Most (Cech Bridge) and was moved.

The sun was shining in my eyes so I could barely see more than a silhouette of St Vitus Cathedral (Prague Castle) from this angle: None the less I think it made a successful sketch.

Panoramic view over the hill from Prague Castle

View from first (outer) courtyard

Soaring facade of St Vitus Cathedral


View of Third Courtyard

Back of napkin sketch at breakfast time

Church of Tyn, more leisurely 20 minute sketch

Performance at Secondary School of Public Administration Prague.

At cultural hall

This poor lass was taken ill and unable to sing: Yet she watched and listened with rapt attention through the window as her choir sang in the church sanctuary 20 metre below.

The Church of the Holy Saviour (U Salvátora), Prague’s largest evangelic church devoted to the Holy Saviour (Salvator = Saviour). In the beginning of the 17th century, a great number of German Lutherans came to live in Prague, and soon they started to miss their own large church. The land plot for building one was purchased on their behalf by count Jáchym Ondřej Šlik by a house that later became the Paulan convent. In the years 1611 - 1614, they built a Gothic-Renaissance church of the Holy Saviour. J. Christofen of Graubünden was the builder; Giovanni Maria Filippi is assumed to have been the author of the project. After the Battle of Bílá Hora, the church was confiscated from the evangelics, it was closed and the preachers were expelled from Prague. In 1626, it was handed over the Paulan Order via a deed of donation, and this order modified the neighbouring house to a temporary monastery. Later on, they wanted to extend the monastery, and so they purchased the neighbouring house at the Old Town Square. The Paulan monastery was connected with the church via a covered corridor. The church burnt down in 1689 and after that, it was partially modified in Baroque style, with platform built above the side aisles. In 1720, a prismatic tower was added, and in the mid-18th century, the main aisle and the chancel were decorated by Rococo stuccoes. It was probably on this occasion that the church front was completed with two towers. Later building modifications of the church and of the convent in 1777 were conducted by the builder Jan Prachner. After the Josephinian reforms in 1784, the abolished monastery and the desecrated church were allotted to the mint office. In 1863, the church was purchased by Bohemian evangelics; it was restored to serve the divine purposes again, and consecrated. This state has remained unchanged until the present days.

Performing at Salvatora


Dinner at Chinese Resteraunt (Taiwan Eating House) The art motifs came from three of the paintings on the wall.

Performing at Cultural Hall



Royal mums (and grandma) box office view:

This is the outside view of cultural hall


The Italian Court (Czech: Vlašský Dvůr) is a palace in Kutná Hora. Originally, it was the seat of the Central Mint of Prague; it was named after the Italian experts who were at the forefront of the minting reform. The main area of the mint consisted of coin-makers-workshops, or Smithies, which were located around the courtyard, and the minting chamber, called “Preghaus”, where the Prague groschen were struck. After its reconstruction at the end of the 14th century, the Italian Court became a part-time royal residence:



another interpretation

Lunch at Dacicky:

Mirror maze at Petrine Hill

One of my favourite sketches! Captured the essence of the Black Light Theatre

Very pleased to sketch the residence of Mr Golem!
The Dial of the clock on the Jewish Town Hall has Hebrew Numerals and the clock runs anticlockwise!

I found this place awe inspiring: No photography did not mean no sketching!

Ended with a nice note
Lunch at Michals restraunt
Had 3 and a half cups of expresso!