1 John Artwork

1 John

In the Spring of 20265 Terra Nova Church in Troy, NY will work through the book of 1 John.  Our hope is to join John in exploring the themes of love, light, obedience, and truth.

The Artist

Paul Gordon [Terra Nova Network + Troy]

Paul lives in Williamstown, MA and has been part of the Terra Family of churches since 2006. He currently serves as the Executive Director for both the Family of Terra Nova Churches and Terra Nova Church in Troy, NY. Paul & Nicole have been married for 21 years and have 2 teenage children, Margot & Elgin.

Paul dabbles in graphic design and he created this artwork initially for Terra Nova Saratoga as they studied 1 John in January of 2026.

To help us remember this series, there will have stickers available with a variation of the art you are welcome to pick up on at our Sunday Gatherings. 

The Art

The  main conceptual components of the artwork include:

• There are 42 hearts represented in the artwork since the word “love” is used 42 times in the 5 chapters of 1 John and that one word could be used to summarize the whole book. 
• The colors are intended to feel like Christmas and the hearts are strung up as Christmas lights (Original artwork was part of Terra Saratoga celebrating the liturgical seasons Christmastide & Epiphany).
• The hearts are shown as descending on strings of lights, which is inspired by the 19th century poet, Christina Rossetti who penned the poem “Love Came Down at Christmas” after contemplating 1 John 4:7-11.
• Each of our four main themes (Love, Light, Obedience & Truth) are represented by 4 different shades of gold hearts).