Any Good Ways To Animate Lighting/Textures Without Python?

My current project will be in need of animated light energy and the object texture. Whether it be for fires, lanterns, light bulbs. I would like to know if anyone has found a good way to animate lights/textures without having to write a script.

If there is no other way, would someone be so kind as to tell me where I might find a tutorial on this kind of scripting. I am trying to learn Python, but I still have a long way to go.