A Night of Flow, Illumination, and Calling

First Saturday Worship at The Harbour Church – May 3rd

There’s something sacred about showing up with only a brush in hand and expectancy in the heart. On the evening of May 3rd, during The Harbour Church’s First Saturday Worship, that’s exactly what three of us did.

The invitation was simple: Paint during worship. Respond to the Spirit. Be open.
What unfolded was anything but simple—it was profound.

Preparing the Way
Before worship began, Ali, Dani, and I gathered quickly after setting up our stations. We didn’t have much time, but we shared what each of us had been sensing in prayer and reflection leading up to this moment.

Ali came prepared to work in neutral tones, with an intentional focus not on color, but on texture—she brought paste to blend with paint, creating a tactile depth that echoed what she felt led to express: “flow.” It wasn’t something to define, but something to release.

Dani felt drawn to mountains. She had already begun her painting earlier in the week and felt strongly that this theme was meant to continue. The image of mountains carried weight, stability, and the echo of something Jesus had done time and again—retreating to higher ground to teach and to commune.

As for me, I returned to a painting I had started previously—a portrayal of Jesus’s tomb and the surrounding place of burial, the hiding place. But even as I prepared to pick up where I had left off, I wrestled with the pressure to get it “right”—to make it resemble what the tomb really looked like. The Holy Spirit gently invited me to let go of realism and instead, lean into what was being revealed in the moment.

That word—”commissioned”—floated in my heart like a whisper. Was I being asked to paint for something? For someone? Or perhaps… from Someone? I didn’t know yet. I only knew I was listening.

The Message and the Matchless Flow

Then, as worship flowed and the atmosphere shifted, Pastor Darren took the platform—and the Spirit’s coordination was nothing short of divine.

One by one, the themes we had each privately received—flow, mountains, and illumination—were spoken from the pulpit with clarity and anointing:

For me, his words echoed Matthew 5:14–16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” We are called to illuminate truth—not with striving, but by simply being who we are in Christ. Put on display by God Himself, not to perform, but to reveal Him.

For Ali, he spoke of the essence of Jesus “flowing out of us”—not forced, but surrendered, like living water through a willing vessel. Her quiet neutrality, her focus on movement and texture, had prophetically aligned with this idea before a word of the message was spoken.

For Dani, he went directly to the mountain—to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1–13, where Jesus ascended and began to teach the very message that would shape the rest of the evening: What does it mean to be a city on a hill? What does it mean to rise and shine in a world that desperately needs light?

There was no mistaking it. God had been speaking all along—individually and collectively. Through color and brushstroke. Through texture and stillness. Through Scripture and sermon.

The Hidden Work, the Seen Glory
Each of us stood as quiet witnesses and participants in what God was doing—not just with paint, but in the atmosphere. There was no need to explain our pieces. The Spirit had already translated.

And the word “commissioned” that stirred in my heart? It still lingers, but now with peace.
Perhaps we are not just allowed to paint during worship—we are called to it. Not as performers, but as co-creators. Witness-bearers. Light-bearers.

We are not painting for an audience—we are painting for the glory of the One who has called us to rise with Him.

Gratitude and Forward Motion
To Dani and Ali—thank you. You showed up with open hearts, and your courage created space for the Spirit to move.

To The Harbour Church—thank you for making room for artists to rise, to worship, to be seen.

To those wondering if God can use their creativity: He can. He does. And when you offer it to Him, He weaves it into something greater than you could have imagined.

This was not just an event.
It was a moment of agreement with Heaven.
A picture of what it means to be risen with Him.
A glimpse of what it looks like when the church becomes the city on a hill.

Listen to the message here: https://www.youtube.com/live/x5fboLdnDSE?si=Tripl6K153GTpxSR

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For those who have taken the Introduction to Prophetic Painting workshop:

You’re invited to join us for future worship nights! This is a beautiful opportunity to continue exploring your creative calling and offer your art as an act of worship.

📞 Interested in Prophetic Arts and Painting?

Contact Sarah Oliver at (954) 776-7007 to learn more or express your interest.

We’ll continue to build this creative ministry together—one brushstroke, one act of obedience, one encounter with the Spirit at a time.

Let’s rise and shine, friends. 💛✨

—Sarah Oliver