Poets and Saints Participant's Guide

Jamie George, Leslie Jordan

• Publisher: David C Cook
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781434710031
• eBook ISBN:
  9781434711182
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This immersive seven-week experience uses the intentional conversations of the Poets and Saints DVD as a springboard for further reflection and discussion. Exploring the spiritual lives of Christians such as Saint Francis of Assisi and George MacDonald, and featuring photography and artwork reflective of their lives and experiences, Poets and Saints Participant's Guide challenges readers to grow in their own faith as they immerse themselves in the remarkable lives of those who have gone before them.

week one

William Cowper and John Newton

Embracing Limitations

John Newton and William Cowper both lived with limitations. Newton lived continually with the regret and shame of being a slave trader. Cowper battled with depression and was at times suicidal throughout his life. Together, however, they faced their fears, pushed through their sadness, and contributed to the love story of God.

Though we might smile and soak up the hope revealed so majestically through the words of the poets and saints who have gone before us, we often forget about the pain and failure in their personal lives. God used Cowper’s pain to bring Himself glory. Newton’s redemption gave hope to the people he once abused.

Recognize that each limitation in your life can point toward something of value. And remember, a limitation today may not be one tomorrow.

I waited and waited and waited for God.

At last he looked; finally he listened.

He lifted me out of the ditch,

pulled me from deep mud.

He stood me up on a solid rock

to make sure I wouldn’t slip.

He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,

a praise-song to our God.

More and more people are seeing this:

they enter the mystery,

abandoning themselves to God.

—Psalm 40:1–3 the message

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Dear Father,

When the darkness of shame comes over me, please drive it away. Remind me that the blood of your Son has redeemed my life. Give me eyes to see the restoration that is taking place in my life and grant me the faith to believe that You never cease to make all things good. Amen.

---

My Roving Heart

© 2015 David Leonard, Leslie Jordan

Let worldly minds the world pursue

It has no charms for me

Once I admired its trifles, too

But grace has set me free

Its pleasure now no longer please

No more content afford

Far from my heart be the joys like these

Now I have seen the Lord

As by the light of opening day

The stars are all concealed

So earthly pleasures fade away

When Jesus is revealed

Creatures no more divide my choice

I bid them all depart

His name, His love, His gracious voice

Have fixed my roving heart

Now, Lord, I will be Thine alone

And wholly live to Thee

But I may hope that You will own

A worthless soul like me

Yes though of sinners I am the worst

I cannot doubt Thy will

For if Thou had not loved me first

I had refused Thee still

🔊 allsonsanddaughters.com/listen

Old Man in Sorrow, Vincent van Gogh (1890)

When have you experienced great sorrow? Describe that experience. Were you alone? Were you with a friend or family member? In your time of sorrow, did you feel that God was close or distant?

What do you notice when you see this painting by Van Gogh? What does the man’s posture tell you about his story?

As you meditate on this painting, write down your thoughts and feelings.

Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

—William Cowper

Recognize that each limitation points toward something of value in your life. And remember, a limitation today may not be one tomorrow.

—Jamie George, Poets and Saints

Embracing limitations

Write or draw something creative with your nondominant hand.

William Cowper (pronounced “cooper”) was a preacher’s kid who became one of England’s greatest eighteenth-century writers.

Cowper hailed from a prominent family. His father was the rector of Saint Peter’s Church in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England, and his family abounded with lawyers. Cowper was about six years old when his mother died, and he spent his childhood in boarding school, where the older boys abused and molested him. This traumatic childhood experience seemed to lurk in the shadows his entire life.

Having struggled with severe depression for years, probably from his childhood trauma, Cowper had a nervous breakdown in his midtwenties. He was admitted to an insane asylum, where he spent the next two years. Cowper emerged from the mental hospital emotionally frail and continued to battle bouts of depression throughout his lifetime.

After Cowper’s stay in the hospital, a local retired clergyman named Morley Unwin and his wife, Mary, took him in. When Morley fell from a horse and died, Cow...

Table of contents

• Welcome: How to Use Your Particpant’s Guide
• Week One: William Cowper and John Newton - Embracing limitations
• Week Two: C. S. Lewis - Vulnerability
• Week Three: George MacDonald - Significance
• Week Four: Saint Thérèse of Lisieux - Love and the Little Way
• Week Five: Paris, France - Art and Architecture
• Week Six: Saint Augustine of Hippo - Longing and Joy
• Week Seven: Saint Francis of Assisi - Surrender
• Endnotes
• Recommended Reading