Lyrical Riffs

I climb one mountain, Convinced that I’ve made it to the top, Only to discover there is another peak up ahead, Another climb, another challenge. And so we climb on, …

The revolution goes on, led by subtle rebels, And faithful, courageous, ordinary radicals, In the smiles and the serving and the showing of love, In the grind and the grit, …

Before everything else, As we face a new day with all it holds, And we’re tempted to rely on our own resources, Help us to put our trust in you. …

Life walks the streets, encompassing all: The faces full of joy, the minds full of questions, The frustrated souls, and the hearts about to break. And in his wake, justice …

Easy to think that God is only about The bright and beautiful, happy and glorious, Forgetting that Jesus was a man of sorrows Acquainted with grief and trouble. A dusty …

We live through many times and seasons, Sometimes in a single day. Times when it’s good to speak up and Times to appreciate the silence. Times to cry out, and …

There are days when the world seems Too hard, too lost, too painful, The hills higher than they were before, The valleys darker and the roads longer. The giants loom …

Not easy to appreciate the small things The way that you do, In a world where the frenetic scramble for Success, popularity, accolades, and awards, Is not only applauded but …

We believe in God the father, maker of heaven and earth, With all our doubts and misgivings and meandering, We believe in Jesus Christ his only son, our Lord, Daily …

At times the road doesn’t seem to rise to meet us, It’s as if life buckles and slips from our grasp, The doors keep closing and the way is unclear, …

I wonder how much we have in common with Jesus? We were born, as wide-eyed wonders, We cried, we cooed and giggled, We were fed and we filled our nappies, …

Wonderful counsellor, Everlasting father, Prince of peace. The pulse of life, our true north, The ground of our being, Source of hope and direction, Humility, pride, strength and service, One …

We all get frightened, All get bolshy, all get frustrated, We all lose patience and find it again. We all have our loves and hates, All have our longings and …

This footprint, this turf, this moment, This carpet, this concrete, this rocky path, This holy ground. This church, this stadium, this field, This shop, this cinema, this school, This holy …

I really love the way you’re rooted in reality, Well acquainted with sweat and spit and stress, Acquainted with fears and grief and frustration. A human being, moved into our …

And so this festive season falls once more, The Autumn hues melting into hopeful wonder, Perhaps snow will twinkle like so many diamonds, Sprinkled liberally across the winter ground. Carols …

The myrrh rolls down the ages, as does the frankincense and gold, Three gifts now etched in history, in songs and stories told. Strange gifts for a baby, not a …

In the house, on the street, In the places where we meet, In the bath, or on the loo, When we’re making the stew. When we’re huffing and puffing And …

That person on the street, That stranger on the seat, That quiet old man, That woman with a plan, That cleaner, that assistant, That person in a hurry, Those faces …

The glimpses of full life, The offerings of love and help, The moments of peace and calm, The now and the not-yet. The reminders of a better way, The signs …

Don’t want to be told who I am, By the flash and the pressure, Of the advertising scam. Don’t want to be told what I need, By deceptive messages fuelling …

Thank you Lord that you choose us, No reservation, no love held back, Thank you Lord that you choose us, Not because we are perfect, But because you are gracious …

For all the precious lives given, For all the lives laid down, For those who served And continue to serve. For the courage and the quiet strength, For so many …

With each new dawn and with the fading of the day, We choose to think on the gift of a moment of goodness. Though we are often worn down by …

Why are we so down, why do we think God has forgotten us? ‘God is not on my case,’ we might say, ‘His focus is elsewhere.’ Have we forgotten so …

Let there be light, Good light, strong light, warm light, So that those walking in darkness May see the way to go. The light shines in the gloom, And though …

The nights close in, as the veil of autumn falls, With tumbling daylight hours, and its golden leafy sprawls, Lights twinkle from the skies, and through partly curtained windows, As …

Perfect love can drive it out, a love beyond our own, The fear that can grip us on a daily basis, Fear of the past, the future, the present, Of …

‘Now one day,’ the prophet says, Perhaps standing in the town square as they speak, ‘The earth will be filled with the awareness Of the glory of God, as the …

Bones are popular this time of year, bones and cobwebs and darkness, ghosts and grim apparitions in white sheets, and masks fixed in a permanent scream. So it is, that …

Peace on earth, and goodwill to all, The longings rise up, the questions, the call. Peace on earth, promised long ago, When the tiniest child arrived here below. Peace on …

Running on empty, running on full, Your grace is the fuel that helps face it all. Running on empty, lost for words, Struggling to achieve, to be seen or heard. …

Keeping going, nothing spectacular, faithfully walking, Long obedience in a good direction, Trudging on, setting your face, inspiring others, Drawing them to look where you are looking too. One foot …

I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. He prunes every branch in me that bears fruit. Lord, that’s easy to read, trips off the tongue, But …

Gratitude If you had not entrusted yourself to us, Where would we be, I wonder. If you had not entrusted yourself To that young poor couple in Bethlehem, If you …

If you had not entrusted yourself to us, Where would we be, I wonder. If you had not entrusted yourself To that young poor couple in Bethlehem, If you had …

I still believe, though I’m often haunted by doubt, I still believe, though the road goes uphill at times. I still believe in truth though life has its shams, I …

We are born. We cry. We fill nappies and drink milk. His love, his kindness, his caring presence is always with us. We grow. We struggle. We learn. We tumble. …

Lord we pray today for peace in your world, For those working to bring peace, For those longing to live in peace, For those with the power to offer peace. …

What of our prayers and praying? They are like a hand reaching for help and comfort And something solid for ourselves and others, A song we make up as we …

To offer it all, our whole being, the bits we like and the bits we don’t. Like Jacob wrestling with an angel, we wrestle in our love for God, We …

To live a life with open hands, I think must be a wonderful thing, Risky, and vulnerable, of course Yet also free of the compulsion to hold onto things, Free …

It matters What we put in, What we take on board, What we absorb and hold on to. Or to put it another way, The saying goes: Feed the healthy …

Give justice to our leaders, O God, May it top their to-do list. Help them judge and guide your people in the right way, Let the poor always be treated …

Fretting We fret about so many things Surviving, success, stability, Being accepted, being strong, Our looks, our finances, our family. Those we love, those we like, those we fear, Our …

Far from random, no accident or evolutionary hiccup. But a plan for meaning, a people known and designed. Flawed yes, so flawed, but offered a rescue plan. A daily beginning …

If you are the Way, the winding path, Then surely nobody knows how to get home Without you. If you are the Life, the source, Then perhaps nobody breathes or …

Calling Lord we long for you, As dry ground longs for rain, As sports fans long for a win, As weary travellers long for rest. Lord we thirst for you, …

A many layered gift, Moving us from darkness to light, From fear to compassion, From rejection to welcome, From lost to found, (Though we may struggle to find ourselves at …