This post begins our study of the Names of God. Each month we will focus on a name and have a sketchnote challenge to go along to deepen our study of His names so we get to know Him better.
Why we Name things
In this first installment of in our bible study starts with the concepts of a name and why a name is important. When we give a name to something it helps us understand that thing and comprehend it more deeply. Just by naming our fears we have conquered half the battle. Once we define and name a fear we can begin to better understand it and begin to develop strategies to help us overcome our fears.
The Book 1000 Gifts is about developing a heart of gratitude. Author Ann Voskamp decided to write down 1000 gifts or gratitudes in a year. I was really moved by a passage where she talked about the importance of naming our gratitudes. She discusses how one of Adam’s first takes was to name all the animals; to complete creation with his Maker. By naming the animals it brought order to chaos. By naming our gratitudes we recognize it as a gift and we have a better understanding of who we are in Christ (Vosskamp, 2010).
Why study the Names of God?
So too, understanding God by understanding His names helps us better understand Him and who He is. My passion for the study of the Names of God started several years ago started with my son’s bible. He was a teenager and at that time we all had to wear name tags every Sunday. Most Sundays all my son’s friends would end up putting their name tags all over his bible. One day I was thinking that if God showed up to a conference and had to fill out a name tag what name would He use? I started doodling His names on name tags. You will see several of them throughout this bible study. The more I studied His names, the more I wanted to know. According to Chrsitainanswers.net, there are 955 names and Titles of God. Of course, I had to do the math. If you chose one per week, it would take you over 18 years to study them all. You can find the 955 names here.
By studying God’s names we begin to get a deeper understanding of who He is. Rachel Larkin, in her book, Delighting in the Names of God, captures the essence of studying God’s names which will create abundance in your life; abundance in Peace, abundance in love, abundance in grace, and abundance in provision. (Larkin, 2018). Rachel contends that many of us have a distorted view of God and the best way to correct or perceptions is to renew our minds (Romans 12:2) though the study of God’s Names. Once we begin to better understand Him we can begin to delight in Him in our prayer and devotional time. You will know WHO you are praying to.
SKETCHNOTE CHALLENGE
Now that we understand the significance of names, we are going to take a closer look at our own names. There are no mistakes or coincides about our name or even the day we were born. Your sketechnote challenge this week is to look up your name and illustrate your name – but with a twist. The challenge is to not use any letters. What can you use to represent letters to spell your name? I know we looked up your name for the 21 day Sketchnote B
Challenge, but we’re upping the challenge beyond just writing out your name. There are no standard letters allowed in this challenge.
- Look up the meaning of your name at behindthename.com
- Illustrate your name by not using any letters.
- Also try not to repeat any shapes – for a little tougher challenge.
I love alphabets and I did an alphabet in vegetables above. I did this on the computer, so it technically doesn’t count toward this challenge, but it gives you an idea of what you need to do for this challenge. Below is my name done using art supplies. I put this page in my Doodle Library Sketchbook, but it would also fit nicely into your Life Journal. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
in Art Supplies
REFERENCE MATERIAL
In this study, I will reference the books, and blogs that I used to help me in my study. I will write these posts so you do not need to purchase anything, but if you want to go deeper and not miss a word, these resources are here for you.
Two resources that you might want to bookmark are:
BibleGateway.com – when looking up verses, choose the Names of God translation
The Blue Letter Bible – this resource has a lot of tools that will help you dive deeper into your study.
References:
– 955 Names (2020). 955 Names and Titles of God. Christian Answers. net. Retrieved from: https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/namesofgod.html
-Larkin, Rachel. (2018).Delighting in the Names of God: 8 Weeks to a Deeper Prayer Life. Rachel Larkin. Kindle Edition.website https://www.rachellarkin.com/
-Vosskamp, A, (2010). One Thousand Gifts, Zondervanhttps://annvoskamp.com/
NEXT POST
Normally I will post the sketchnote post on Friday, but Saturday is World Sketchnote Day so be sure to check in as I will be giving away a copy of Mike Rohde’s The Sketchnote Handbook.
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