What Sends Men to Hell?

The audience sits in a trance, soaking up the feel good message of the speaker. "You don't go to hell for telling a lie! You don't go to hell for getting drunk, people go to hell because they don't believe in Jesus!" says the modern day preacher. Hypnotised by the charisma of a man wearing a suit and tie behind a pulpit, while speaking with an open bible, the people naively swallow everything that is said. Surely it's true, he's a "man of God".

Many today, leave their brains and their bibles at the door of the church. They would rather have someone else tell them what to believe. And just like babies, they need someone else to chew their food and deliver it to their mouths with a silver spoon.

Recent Features

Thanks to Ascribing Artists blog for adding my link. Graciously, they will have a feature of my work in Feb.

Be sure to check out their blog, HERE.

Also check out the Christian Artist Resource for including my Luke 19:10 painting.



In Faux-cus

Faux: it's pronounced "foe" for you English speaking gents and ladies, or "phoe" for the Greek savvy. It basically means "false". So, when you hear of someone having a faux finish painted, you'll now be able to understand that they're implying they're having a specialty finish painted to make something look like something it's not.
Here's one of my latest faux projects:

Pilot Mountain Painting

Finally! I just took this pic. of my first completed canvas painting for 2011. It measures 12"x24" and is an original acrylic on canvas. The quality of the digital, however,  looks a little "shady" compared to the original.

Ashland St. Baptist Church Mural

Thanks to Ashland St. Baptist Church, Archdale, NC for their commissioning of this mural. The mural resides behind the choir loft inside their sanctuary.

Book Cover Painting

"Night of The Cossack"

by Tom Blubaugh
Artwork by Jeremy Sams

 Bro. Dennis Vance of  Bound By Faith Publishers commissioned me to paint this scene as a book cover for one of their new releases. Dennis is a fellow graduate of the School of Biblical Evangelism. If you're not familiar with this online school, you can visit Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron's Way of the Master website.

Acrylic Painting Lessons!

Have you ever watched someone paint and thought to yourself, "I would love to try that, I think I could do it!" After watching Bob Ross on PBS for several years as a toddler, I, myself, finally tried it. He made it look so easy and his soft voice would just about make you fall asleep...if it wasn't for the bobbing of that big afro, I probably would have. Well, that's one more "thanks" we can give to big-afro-people: the ability to keep someone's attention.

Ever since I started painting, I have absolutely enjoyed myself. There is something so gratifying to watch nothing turn into something by your own hands. For a while now, I've thought about how to bring others to find some satisfaction and enjoyment in this little world of painting. This past Monday night, I finally got my chance.

One of the coolest houses ever!

This style of house and the lifestyle that accompanies it, has been the subject of many of my daydreams.

The Jesus Way...Great News For Sinners

An excerpt from one of John Piper's sermons. To view the complete sermon, click here.

The Last Santa Post...for this year

Yeah, I know...is there anything else worth talking about? Sure there is, and we'll get to that some time later. I would like to post this last blog article which was written by Noel Piper, the wife of Pastor John Piper. Please visit his Desiring God website. It has tons of great resources, most of which is free.

This article reflects so well my views of Santa, so I just had to share it. You can view the complete post here. It's called, "Thinking About Santa", by Noel Piper.

A response from the weaker brother

Before Ellie was born, I tried to work out almost every day. I could bench press a person and a half, and do 10-12 pull-ups with a 45 lb. weight attached to my waist. I made Arnold Schwarzenegger look like...well, a really huge guy with big muscles. I was nothing like that. But now, several years later, along with the average of 4 seasonal trips to the gym, atrophy has left me looking more like this:

Yes folks, take away the glasses and the shaggy hair and there ya have me. Apart from my high weight/low reps workout routine and high protein intake, I have become...weak. I admit it.

"Santa Claus is a Liar!"

Oh what joyous memories the Christmas season brings! Long lines at the malls and department stores, no parking places for miles, more rude agitated customers than you can shake a stick at, and of course, parents who lie to their kids with a big smile on their face...all of these things have marked the modern reality of the Christmas season.

"What's Santa gonna bring you, little girl?", this has been the most popular question asked to my 3 year old daughter for the past 3 weeks. What the questioners don't realize is that at my house, we don't condone lying to our children. Yeah, I know, we're fanatics. I've been called that more times than once. And, surely, telling your kids about Santa is not that bad, right? It's just all fun and games, right?

The Greatest Gifts...Christmas painting sermon

JESUS: He shall save His people from their sins.

Tis the season for giving!...or getting, depending on your personality. Ask any child what their most favorite part of Christmas is and without hesitation, most will say "Presents!"
Well, approximately 2,000 years ago, God the Father gave the greatest gifts to His Son and also to us.

Kersey Valley Christmas

The good folks over at Kersey Valley are at it again this Christmas. I was priviledged to paint a few photo-ops and signs for them this year. If you live in the High Point, NC area, you really need to check this place out...they have about everything you need from Christmas trees, wreaths that you can decorate as you like, hot chocolate, and even their brand new "zip line" for all those who have an adventurous streak in them.
I would recommend that if you go, go at night...or at least make a trip back at night to see the beautiful light display. It took me forever to drag my 3 year old, Ellie, away.

Here are some of the things I painted:

If any man thirst...

What makes us thirsty? Have you ever thought about that? What is it inside of us that alerts our bodies to tell us we need liquids? It's amazing to see how our bodies were designed to inform us through "thirst" that we need water. When we become thirsty, we then naturally seek satisfaction. Without "thirst", we would never realize our body's physical need of water and we would surely perish.

During the last and great day of the Feast of Booths ( Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Ingathering), Jesus stood and proclaimed, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38. Without a proper understanding of Jewish culture and festival practices, one might think this was an unusual setting for Christ's words. But, John always gives valuable details of his journeys with Christ so that we might believe and be saved.

Archdale Elementary Arts Day

Archdale Elementary School hosted a day of the arts on Friday, Nov.12 of which I was invited. Each participating artist was set up in a specific classroom while the students rotated to each class every 20 minutes. I brought a couple of my most colorful paintings to show, "But Noah Found Grace" and "The Seed Sower". Instead of going through a boring lecture about my art and how I paint, I decided to do an actual painting demonstration so the kids could see first hand how a painting is started and how it progresses.

Bread of Life Painting Sermon

How despairing it is to observe an empty painting of an empty plate. We are all consumed with emptiness and we spend our entire lives attempting to fill that empty plate within our souls. In John 6, we see a demonstration of this vain attempt. The multitude of John 6 was guilty of wrong motives and wrong methods in their quest to fulfill their void.

Pastor Appreciation

This is my latest painting that was painted for our Pastor Appreciation Day. October has been designated as Pastor Appreciation Month and churches are encouraged to show their love and gratefulness to the undershepherd of the local flock of believers.

My pastor, John Miles is a huge history buff who shares a common love that I do...old clipper ships. I remember a book that my parents had bought me when I was a little fella, called "How to Draw Ships, Trains and Airplanes". It was the greatest thing since sliced bread. This began my love affair with drawing. I also remember reading a great book titled "Kidnapped" when I was in elementary school. This book is responsible for many daydreams of sailing on old clipper ships and pirate vessels.

So, in my own feeble way, I'd like to say thanks to my pastor, John Miles, for his stand on the truth of the Scriptures and his rejection of the humanistic modern bible interpretations that plague our churches today. May God give him many more years of minsitry.

My First Pentecostal Holiness Experience

"Where do you guys keep the snakes?", was one of my first statements after stepping in the pulpit at the First Pentecostal Holiness Church of Thomasville, NC. (I just couldn't resist the above picture!) Luckily, we all agreed that the only proper way to handle a snake is the way the Apostle Paul did, by shaking it off in a fire!

Trinity Baptist Church Steeple Raising

"Psalm 147"

This is a 12x24 acrylic on canvas painting that I donated to help Trinity Baptist Church in Fort Mill, SC. The church is growing and their current lease will be up in March of 2011. Therefore, they have been providentially forced to expand and move.