Scripture

The Scripture picker adds a passage as slides, one verse per slide. It opens from the Scripture card in the Add row (⇧⌘S), from Search, and from Present with S. The picker works the same way in each workspace.

The Scripture picker. The line under the field says what Return will do.

Find a passage

Type a reference

Type into the Reference or words field. Guidepost understands most ways of writing a reference:

You type	You get
john 3:16	John 3:16
jn 3 16-18	John 3:16–18
1 cor 15:58	1 Corinthians 15:58
ps 23	Psalm 23, the whole chapter
romans 8:28-31,38	Romans 8:28–31 and 8:38
first john 4:8	1 John 4:8

The line under the field explains what Return will do, for example “John 3:16–18 · ↵ adds 3 slides”. It also shows errors or asks you to clarify: “John has 21 chapters”, or “Philippians or Philemon?” when an abbreviation could mean either.

To use a different translation for one passage, add its abbreviation to the reference, for example john 3:16 WEB, or choose it from the menu beside the field.

Browse

Below the field, click Books, then a book, then a chapter. Click a verse to choose it, then ⇧-click another verse to choose the range between them. The passage text appears below the grid.

Search the text

Type words instead of a reference, such as faith hope love, and press Return to search the selected translation. Results show the reference and the matching words. Click one to choose it.

Recent passages

Your last few passages appear under Recent. Click one to choose it again.

Choose how it looks

The right side of the picker previews the passage’s slides with the selected theme.

• Theme: keep the presentation’s theme, or click another to give this passage its own look. Guidepost remembers your choice for next time.
• First slide: Verse starts straight into the text. Title card adds a slide with the reference before the first verse.
• Long verses: Shrink makes a long verse’s text smaller so it fits on one slide. Split spreads it across two or more slides, labelled 16a, 16b and so on.

The defaults for these options are in Settings › Scripture & Songs.

Add it

The footer summarizes what will be added, for example “Adding John 3:16–18 (KJV) · 3 slides · Quiet”. Click Add or press Return.

A passage of more than one verse becomes a group named after the reference.

Note

While live, the picker’s buttons are Add & Show, which adds the passage and puts it on screen immediately, and Add, which adds it without changing the screen. See Changing the service while live.

Translations

Guidepost includes the King James Version (KJV) and the World English Bible (WEB). You can add other translations you’re licensed to use. See Bibles and translations.

Translation copyright notices are shown on slides according to Settings › Scripture & Songs › Copyright display. See Copyright and CCLI.

Editing verse text

Select a Scripture slide to see its Passage, Translation and Verse text in the inspector. You can edit the verse text there or on the canvas; the slide is then marked Edited. Click Revert to source to restore the original text. To change the passage itself, add it again from the Scripture picker.