Scripture Unscripted

Psalm 32 1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,     whose sin is covered. 2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,     and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away     through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;     my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,     and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”     and you forgave the guilt of my sin.Selah 6 Therefore let all who are faithful     offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters     shall not reach them. 7 You are a hiding place for me;     you preserve me from trouble;     you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.Selah  

Psalm 139  To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. 1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down,     and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue,     O Lord, you know it completely. 5 You hem me in, behind and before,     and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;     it is so high that I cannot attain it. 7 Where can I go from your spirit?     Or where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;     if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning     and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,     and the light around me become night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you;     the night is as bright as the day,     for darkness is as

Psalm 106:1-14  1 Praise the Lord!     O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;     for his steadfast love endures forever. 2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,     or declare all his praise? 3 Happy are those who observe justice,     who do righteousness at all times. 4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;     help me when you deliver them; 5 that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,     that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,     that I may glory in your heritage. 6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;     we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. 7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,     did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,     but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. 8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,     so that he might make known his mighty power. 9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;     he led them through the deep as through a desert. 10 So he saved the

Psalm 102  A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the Lord. 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;     let my cry come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me     in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me;     answer me speedily in the day when I call. 3 For my days pass away like smoke,     and my bones burn like a furnace. 4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass;     I am too wasted to eat my bread. 5 Because of my loud groaning     my bones cling to my skin. 6 I am like an owl of the wilderness,     like a little owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake;     I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 8 All day long my enemies taunt me;     those who deride me use my name for a curse. 9 For I eat ashes like bread,     and mingle tears with my drink, 10 because of your indignation and anger;     for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 11 My days are like an evening shadow;     I wither away like grass. 12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;     your name endures to all generations

  Psalm 51  To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God,     according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy     blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,     and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions,     and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,     and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence     and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty,     a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward being;     therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness;     let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins,     and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,     and put a new and right spirit

Philippians 3:2-21 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of Godand boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— 4 even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes

Philippians 1:12-27 12 I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; 14 and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear. 15 Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. 20 It is my eag

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures

Matthew 27:45-46  45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Genesis 2:18-25 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” 19 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said

John 1:6-13 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

Luke 2:19 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

Matthew 1:18-25 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,     and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her unti

Luke 2:22-38 22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,     according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31     wh

Luke 2:8-20 8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,     and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 Whe

Luke 1:67-79 67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,     for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us     in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71     that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,     and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,     to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness     before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;     for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people     by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God,     the dawn from on high wil

Luke 1:46-55 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.     Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,     and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him     from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm;     he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,     and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things,     and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel,     in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,     to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Job 42 42 Then Job answered the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things,     and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,     things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;     I will question you, and you declare to me.’ 5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,     but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself,     and repent in dust and ashes.” 7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has

Job 38:1-18 The Lord Answers Job 38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up your loins like a man,     I will question you, and you shall declare to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?     Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!     Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk,     or who laid its cornerstone 7 when the morning stars sang together     and all the heavenly beings[] shouted for joy? 8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors     when it burst out from the womb?— 9 when I made the clouds its garment,     and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed bounds for it,     and set bars and doors, 11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,     and here shall your proud waves be stopped’? 12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,     and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 so that it might take

Job 32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry. Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: “I am young in years,     and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid     to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak,     and many years teach wisdom.’ But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,     the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding. It is not the old that are wise,     nor the aged that understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;     let me also declare my opinion.’ “See, I waited for your words,     I l