Poets & Saints

Scripture   Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)    Don’t worry about anything;   instead, pray about everything.   Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.   Then you will experience God’s peace,   which exceeds anything we can understand.   His peace will guard your hearts and minds   as you live in Christ Jesus...

Scripture   Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)    I will give you a new heart   and put a new spirit in you;   I will remove from you your heart of stone   and give you a heart of flesh. Refrain   Soften my heart until it beats again. Poem   Mary Oliver , from Lead    “There is a heaven we enter   through institutional grac...

Scripture   John 16:13 (NIV)    But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes,   he will guide you into all the truth.   He will not speak on his own;   he will speak only what he hears,   and he will tell you what is yet to come. Refrain   I listen for the voice that leads with love. Quote Kahlil Gibran , from The Prophet “You talk w...

Scripture   1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (The Message)    Didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place,   the place of the Holy Spirit?   Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please,   squandering what God paid such a high price for?   The physical part of you is not some piece of property   belonging to the spiritual p...

Scripture   Ephesians 1:18 (NRSV)    …so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,   you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,   what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,   and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe. Refrain   Open my eyes to what is already holy. Po...

Scripture   Exodus 3:2–4 (NRSV)    There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire   out of a bush;   he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.   Then Moses said,   “I must turn aside and look at this great sight,   and see why the bush is not burned up.”   When the Lord saw that he h...

Scripture   Isaiah 61:3 (NRSV)    ...to provide for those who mourn in Zion—   to give them a garland instead of ashes,   the oil of gladness instead of mourning,   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.   They will be called oaks of righteousness,   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. Refrain   Gr...

Scripture   Lamentations 3:25–26 (NRSV)    The Lord is good to those who wait for him,   to the soul that seeks him.   It is good that one should wait quietly   for the salvation of the Lord. Refrain   I will wait with hope through the night. Poem   John O’Donohue , from To Bless the Space Between Us “This is the time to be slow...

Scripture   Psalm 5:1–3 (NRSV)    Give ear to my words, O Lord;   give heed to my sighing.   Listen to the sound of my cry,   my King and my God,   for to you I pray.   O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. Refrain   God hears what I cannot say. Poem&nbs...

Scripture   Romans 8:38–39 (NRSV)    For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,   nor angels, nor rulers,   nor things present, nor things to come,   nor powers, nor height, nor depth,   nor anything else in all creation,   will be able to separate us from the love of God   in Christ Jesus our Lord. Refrain ...

Scripture   Isaiah 30:21 (NRSV)    And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left,   your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,   “This is the way; walk in it.” Refrain   The voice of God is gentle and trustworthy. Poem   Macrina Wiederkehr    “O God,   help me to believe the truth about myself— ...

Scripture   Exodus 20:8–11 (NRSV)    Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.   Six days you shall labor and do all your work.   But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God;   you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter,   your male or female slave, your livestock,   or the alien resident in your towns....

Scripture   1 Kings 19:11–12 (NRSV)    Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains   and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord,   but the Lord was not in the wind;   and after the wind an earthquake,   but the Lord was not in the earthquake;   and after the earthquake a fire,   but the Lord...

Scripture   Matthew 6:25–27 (NRSV)    Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,   what you will eat or what you will drink,   or about your body, what you will wear.   Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?   Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,   and yet...

Scripture   Psalm 46:10 (NRSV)    Be still, and know that I am God!   I am exalted among the nations,   I am exalted in the earth. Refrain   In stillness, I remember who I am. Poem   Howard Thurman    “There is in every person an inward sea,   and in that sea there is an island,   and on that island is an alt...

Scripture   Psalm 94:18–19 (NRSV)    When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”   your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.   When the cares of my heart are many,   your consolations cheer my soul. Refrain   Mercy is holding me now. Quote  Henri Nouwen , from The Return of the Prodigal Son “You have to trust that the place where you are b...

Scripture   Philippians 1:6 (NRSV)    I am confident of this,   that the one who began a good work among you   will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Refrain   I am being shaped by grace. Quote Pierre Teilhard de Chardin    “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.   We are quite naturally impatient in everythi...

Scripture   Luke 18:13–14 (NRSV)    But the tax collector, standing far off,   would not even look up to heaven,   but was beating his breast and saying,   “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”   I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other;   for all who exalt themselves will be humbled,  ...

Scripture   Romans 8:26 (NRSV)    Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;   for we do not know how to pray as we ought,   but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Refrain   What I can’t say, God still receives. Quote  The Cloud of Unknowing    “Lift up your heart to God   with a gentle stirring o...

Scripture   Psalm 139:23–24 (NRSV)    Search me, O God, and know my heart;   test me and know my thoughts.   See if there is any wicked way in me,   and lead me in the way everlasting. Refrain   Even the broken parts belong. Quote  John O’Donohue , from To Bless the Space Between Us  “There is a quiet light that shines in every...

Scripture   Zephaniah 3:17 (NRSV)    The Lord, your God, is in your midst,   a warrior who gives victory;   He will rejoice over you with gladness,   He will renew you in His love;   He will exult over you with loud singing. Refrain   I am the object of divine delight. Poem   Julian of Norwich    “The greates...

Scripture   Psalm 23:5 (NRSV)    You prepare a table before me   in the presence of my enemies;   You anoint my head with oil;   my cup overflows. Refrain   Even here, I am welcome at the table. Quote Henri Nouwen , from Life of the Beloved   “The world says, ‘Prove that you are worth something—fight, climb, earn.’   B...

Scripture   Nehemiah 8:10 (NRSV)    Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine   and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared,   for this day is holy to our Lord;   and do not be grieved,   for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Refrain   Joy is not naive—it’s courageous. Poem&nbs...

Scripture   Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NRSV)    He has made everything suitable for its time;   moreover, He has put a sense of eternity into their minds,   yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Refrain   Beauty blesses me when I slow down to see. Quote Makoto Fujimura , from Art + Faith “Beauty is not a luxury. &nb...

Scripture   Psalm 30:5 (NRSV)    For His anger is but for a moment;   His favor is for a lifetime.   Weeping may linger for the night,   but joy comes with the morning. Refrain   Even here, joy is still possible. Poem   Frederick Buechner , from Secrets in the Dark “Joy is home.   And I think the reason we sometimes ha...