This is the first time I’ve tried a blackout poem. They work by taking a page of text and then blacking it out until only the remaining words give you the poem.
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Three haikus on the Trinity (a poem)
It’s said that it’s hard to pack anything of substance into such a short poetry form. (Haikus are a Japanese type of poem with three lines. The first has five syllables, the second seven, and the third five.) To be sure, it’s not easy, but it can be done.
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Three limericks on the Trinity (a poem)
Something a little more light-hearted this week.
It’s said that Trinity Sunday is also called ‘Heresy Sunday’ because so many ‘explanations’ on the Trinity fall into one heresy or another.
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A palindrome poem on the Trinity (a poem)
Also called “reverse” poems, palindrome poems are ones where the lines are read forwards and then again backwards.
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A villanelle on the Trinity (a poem)
Yes, “villanelle” is both a name and a type of poem.
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A sestina on the Trinity (a poem)
With this poem, I had two goals — and failed at both.
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The fire of day 50: a poem for Pentecost (with pictures)
It’s been a few weeks since Pentecost, but I felt this site needs some more poems about the Holy Spirit. One a year is not enough. Having now learned a little Ancient Greek, I took inspiration from some observations I had while reading Acts 2:1–4.
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On giving to the poor: ‘The Silent Finance Awards’ (a comedy based on Matthew 6:1–4)
Today’s sketch is based on Jesus’ teachings about giving in Matthew 6:1–4. There are many kinds of financial giving, but according to the NET, the kind referred to in this passage is ‘alms’, referring ‘primarily to the giving of money or food for the relief of the poor.’
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The rich young ruler: ‘The Sacrifice of Inheritance’ (a drama based on Matthew 19:16–30)
No discussion about money in Matthew’s gospel would be complete without looking at the rich young ruler: Matthew 19:16–30.
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Jesus sends out the twelve: ‘The Miracle Method’ (a satire based on Matthew 5:5–15)
Happy new year!
This week, I have another short sketch, based on Matthew 10:5–15 when Jesus sends out the twelve. I imagine a conversation between Peter and Andrew and their host as the two apostles visit a town.
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The Three Wise Wives (a short drama based on Matthew 2)
Happy First Sunday of Advent!
Over the last few weeks, I’ve really enjoyed writing short sketches about money, but I wasn’t sure about writing scathing satires during the festive season.
We’ll see what inspires me next week, but today, I’ve explored the story of the visit of the magi. There’s actually a lot that can be said about money from this chapter of Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 2).
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Offering and Greed: The Apocalypse of Price Gouging (a satire based on Matthew 21:12–13)
Today, I wanted to write about price gouging – a practice of exploitation through unnecessarily high prices. I noticed some similarities between the story of insulin (how it was discovered and how it is now priced in the US) and the story of Jesus cleansing the temple.
The sketch is 1,000 words long, but it’s also light-hearted for a satire and has a refreshing declaration of Jesus’s ministry.
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Putting God before grifters in your household budget (a satire based on Matthew 15:1–12)
Today I wanted to explore one of my favourite moments from the gospel, when Jesus teaches on the law – by which I mean the Old Testament law.
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Jesus is every influencer’s worst nightmare! (a satire based on Matthew 6:24)
Today I’m writing about Matthew 6:24.
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Wealth managers outraged by “deceitful” slur (a satire based on the parable of the sower)
As I was finishing the last series for Faith in Grey Places, I began to think the next one would look at Matthew’s gospel in some way. Then as the news-feed scrolled on I thought maybe this was a time to write about money.
According to The Infographic Bible by Karen Sawrey, money is the fourth most-frequently preached on topic of Jesus’ teaching [p148-151]. The top three being the kingdom of God, the Father, and faith.
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The God who reigns (a poem)
Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
So this is the last post in this series! Today’s word is מָלַךְ / malakh which means to reign.
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The God who saves (a poem)
Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
The verb ישׁע / yasha is indirectly familiar to many Christians because it’s the root of names like Joshua and Jesus, both of which mean ‘the LORD saves.’ (Hence Gabriel’s instruction to Joseph: “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NIV)
There are some interesting things I learned here.
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The God who commands (a poem)
Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
Another busy week, another poem that almost refused to be written.
But no prizes for guessing some of the thoughts behind this one.
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The God who sits (a poem)
Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
A few weeks ago, I sat down to map out which Hebrew verbs I would write poems on for the remaining weeks of this 12-part series. They had to be words I’d learned over the last year and, obviously, not the same as the verbs I’d already covered. So far, we’ve had poems on stand, provide, shine, build, give voice, create, cease [rest] and form; the remaining weeks were to be: sit, dwell, appoint, reign.
There was, however, a slight flaw in this plan.
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The God who forms (a poem) (with pictures)
Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
Yes, it’s Monday. It’s also a bank holiday here in the UK and so I decided not to pressure myself into sending out something yesterday.
But if I’m honest, the real reason is that this poem was really hard to write. It’s based on the verb יצר / yatsar, which means to “form” or to “shape.” In many ways it’s a concrete version of the verb ברא / bara which means to “create” and which I wrote a poem about a few weeks ago (available here).
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