A Real Life Game of Marco Polo

Do you remember those childhood days years ago? It was a beautiful summer day and you and your friends would go down to the pool to cool off. After awhile you'd start playing some games and often Marco Polo would come up. Without fail, everyone would choose you to be Marco first. So you'd be in the pool, water up to your chest, with your eyes closed, shouting, "Marco!," and back came that thunderous surround sound chorus, "Polo!" Quickly you move towards the closest sounding voice and lunge at them for a tag, only to miss and hit nothing but water. So you try again. "Marco!," you yell. "Polo!" Off you went for the nearest voice, and this time you caught them. Such joy and accomplishment you felt when you caught someone. That's the essence of the third installment in the Matthew Meal sermon series from Murray River Baptist Church.

If you have not read the first article and second article, check them out for a better understanding of what's been said up to this point. Regarding this week's sermon, Pastor Steven Maldoff said, "This time the message is going to focus on the effort and rejoicing that takes place in the finding of the lost. [This is] seen in Luke 15 with the stories of the three lost things: coin, sheep, and son." Many times, we want the joy of finding something without all the hard work it takes to do the finding in the first place. We expect results to appear without any physical work on our part. How can we hope to see souls saved for Jesus Christ if we are not actively involved in spreading the gospel? Murray River Baptist Church's Matthew Meals are just one way to accomplish that goal.

The design for this week's visuals carries more of a cartoon feel bringing back those childhood memories. When designing these visuals, it's important to take into consideration the title of the sermon as well the emphasis of the message. For instance, it would not be good to include a picture of the tomb or of the Ark if the sermon is not about those things. I had two choices of direction for this design. I could have designed it after the sermon title, which I did, or I could have chosen to go with the aspect of finding, maybe including a magnifying glass. By deciding to design based on the title, this aspect of seeking and finding would immediately be understood by anyone who has played the game or heard of it before. Take these things into consideration when designing your sermon visuals. What best creates an interesting design and conveys the message at the same time?

To listen to the sermon, download it here. Also, feel free to download the visuals and keep for ideas or for your use in the future.

Posted in: Powerpoint, Sermon Visuals