We live in a time of amazing access to great images. Who isn’t inspired by a mountain vista? Or how about a scene from a sandy beach? Or how about smiling children at play? Or pictures of the stars? Worship should take advantage of these inspiring images to bring God’s creation to mind. And careful selection can add to the power of the Word.

One approach to using Inspirational Images is as backgrounds for lyrics. Most presentation programs make this easy to do. You just drop a background image on the first slide and it will be there for the whole song. You can even have different backgrounds for verses and choruses. Or you can even use video loops to provide a moving background. Some tips to follow:

• Read through the lyrics of the song, to get the gist of the ideas included. Then, you’ll be picking images that match.
• Search in your own library, then online for images that match those ideas. You may already have an image that fits!
• If you can’t find an image, make one. It can be as simple as a large heading, or as complex as your own artwork.
• Be mindful that some images are copyrighted. If so, then be sure to get the copyright holder’s permission before publicly displaying it.

Adding Inspiration Images to the sermon can enhance the spoken Word in new ways. Why not show the congregation the Bible place you are talking about? Or use a still frame from a movie that most people have seen to make a point about Christ. These images can make a point with greater clarity – remember the old adage about a picture being worth a 1,000 words! I used to have a book entitled “1,000 Bible Illustrations.” It consisted of short paragraphs of text making various points, with an index in the back. The idea was to add the illustration to your sermon or teaching to clarify it. A carefully chosen image can do the same thing. And people will remember the image long after the sermon was preached. Or better yet, include it in the bulletin or sermon notes AND use it in the sermon. That way, you drive your points home!

The above image was taken by the author in Cades Cove on September 9, 2017, and is hereby released to the public domain. Feel free to use it any way you like.