Golden Hills Art Ministry

Peggy Wunderly My Turn Graphite Pencil 20” x 24” Studying Nehemiah, the word ”preparation” kept coming to mind. The rebuilding of the temple and walls were both a physical restoration and a spiritual preparation for the coming Messiah, who would fulfill God’s promises to His people. Those same walls would see the promised Messiah ride through their gates on a donkey. They would also witness His de...

Untitled Acrylics 48” x 48” In Nehemiah, the people rejoiced when they rebuilt the temple. Their rejoicing was over something God had done for them. The people on the pages of the Bible are all experiencing joy in their circumstances. My audio recording tells the stories of these people, if you would like to hear about them. Unfortunately, there are people in the world who are still in bondage to...

Michelle Norman Nehemiah’s Eyes Watercolor on Strathmore, 400 Series 20” x 24” This painting is an inspiration of how God appointed Nehemiah to take on the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament foreshadows the coming of the Christ as both accepted God’s commands. Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, and Jesus delivered the covenant, the Good News and the opportunity...

Faith Sendaydiego The Artist’s Touch Gouache on Ampersand Aquabord 18” x 24” This scene was inspired by the Japanese practice of “kintsugi” (repairing broken pottery with gold), which embraces the idea that brokenness can lead to more beauty as gold fills the cracks and creates glimmering fault lines. Marble statues stand tall in postures of praise with gold running through where they were once br...

Hayden Acosta The Prayer of Wisdom - Nehemiah 1:4-11 Charcoal and pencil on paper Today’s culture seems to want us to be able to always do everything on our own, yet we see time and time again in scripture that God wants us to call to Him and run to Him for guidance. Though God may not always answer with a resounding ‘Yes!’ every time, He wants us to pray, and that’s what Nehemiah did. Before any...

Joselito Bareng The Gracious Hand of God Nehemiah 1:1-5 Colored Pencil 11” × 14” Nehemiah’s story reminds us that through persistent prayer, God is able to perform miracles in and through us, but we must be willing to do what He wants, the way He wants it done. What breaks your heart? The situations and problems in the world that break our hearts are often the very things that God wants us to take...

James Bareng Rejoice! God Will Deliver Colored Pencil, Pencil on Paper 11” x 14” Throughout the course of Nehemiah, God has heard the prayers of Nehemiah and his people, acknowledged their obedience, and has delivered them in the face of opposition many times. Through prayer and obedience, the Lord becomes the foundation of our strength and will deliver us time and time again. As it is written in...

Victoria Orlando Journeys Photographs on canvas 16” x 20” Nehemiah led the Jews in the journey of rebuilding Jerusalem, which was not without problems. Stairways represent journeys, showing the difficulties that we face in life. This stairway is in the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco. Using different tones in developing the photos represents different stages of journeys. Rebuilding the temple a...

Heather Kenney Yet Not I Digital Art 18” x 24” God Himself tasked the Israelites with reconstructing the wall and gates of Jerusalem and later reminded them of His commandment to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In His great and awesome plan, He miraculously took a group of ordinary people with ordinary tools, and carried out His work through them! Using these ordinary tools to do the work could hav...

Karen Hinds Light in the ShadowsFinding a Path Back to God Acrylic on canvas 24” x 36” The path is almost lost in the shadows—the shadows of exile, the shadows of hardship, the shadows of disappointment. The path leads into the sunlight. The stone wall is the remains of a structure from the past, now overgrown and broken down— almost forgotten. Like Nehemiah responding to the call of God, trusting...

Noshua Nunley Jr. Mourning the Aftermath Acyrlic on canvas This piece was created to give insight on a part of a longer story that began with a message from Nehemiah‘s brother Hanani, who informed him of the return of the captives from Jerusalem that they are in great trouble, and the gates and walls were torn down and destroyed by fire and Jerusalem. This teaches patience to persevere in times of...

Pearl DeCew The Comfort of God Fiber Panel #1 (lower right) – Like the walls of Jerusalem, our life is broken down by our sinful nature. We reach up to the ultimate King and ask for help to rebuild our lives. He is faithful and gives us His word. Book #1 -The Bible. It is here we learn to rely on God’s promises. Just as Ezra read the law to the Israelites as they built, they gained strength and kn...

Lisa Bramblet Food FOOD ~ not merely what we eat as fuel, it represents History, Science, Culture and Art. The Israelites as a people were mobile, occupied, held captive and scattered. Their food reflects the collective experiences of where they have been and who they were with. It was incorporated into their lives and their sacred traditions, notably Sabath and Festival observances. Featured in t...

Vanessa Zakas A Wretch Like Me Oil on canvas 24” x 36” When we read stories, it’s easy to identify with the heroes because we want to be the hero of our own lives but if we’re honest, we often have more in common with the villains. In the book of Nehemiah, even the title, the hero, the main character is Nehemiah. But Tobiah saw himself as the hero of his story, so much so that he chose to occupy a...

Alysia Watkins Raised Up Acrylic & charcoal on canvas 24” x 36” When digging through the rubble while rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, what pieces of the previously destroyed lives were found? Broken toys? Dishes? Bones? This sad, yet hopeful, painting explores the parallels between recovering from a natural disaster and the Israelites returning to restore (even resurrect?) their destroyed city....

Ann Cruz Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls Oil on canvas Nehemiah 2:13-15 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through;...

Lily Mahar Pray Without Ceasing Graphite pencils and paper This piece is about continually reaching out to God in prayer in every circumstance the way Nehemiah did before, during, and after the rebuilding of the wall. The first scene demonstrates Nehemiah praying to God on his bed in sorrow and in preparation before talking to the king. In the second scene, he’s in the presence of the king, but be...

Jessica Firkins Nehemiah Prayed Colored Pencil on Pastelbord 12” x 16” "Based on Nehemiah 1:1-11 When I read this, I pictured Nehemiah standing in the midst of abundance and great human accomplishment at the citadel of Susa and grieving the condition of Jerusalem. Perhaps seeing what could be accomplished for an earthly king helped Nehemiah to envision what could be accomplished in Jerusalem. Nehe...

Marianne Spekner The Journey (Seeing God’s glory) Acrylic paint on canvas, lined with Micron ink pens 24”x48” The dove represents Jesus Christ, guiding her on her journey, and the snake is a representation of the enemy, who reminds us of our past (The old self). The tree roots below are our roots in Christ as our foundation, and He is building us up in His likeness throughout our lives, and the pu...

Nehemiah recounts the history of how God restored and revitalized his city and his people in the 5th century BC. God did this by bringing the Israelites back from exile, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and renewing their covenant to love and worship Him. It is a powerful narrative that points forward to Jesus, the great reformer, the cornerstone of the Christian church. The artists in this coll...