Introducing Canvas, a New Way to Work the Text

Canvas is like joining your paper Bible, a whiteboard, and the power of Verbum all into one to help you interpret and internalize Scripture.

It’s a brand-new Verbum feature that lets you work the biblical text in incredible ways.

So far, we’re thrilled with how customers are liking it:

“Canvas is eye candy. I can almost taste Scripture as I stare at this beautiful interface.”
— Pieter J. Kotze

“The new Canvas tool is so powerful that I’ve canceled my subscription to a specialist product I used to use for diagramming.”
— Mark Barnes

“A great, hands-on way to understand and present the truths of Scripture.” — Andrew Biddinger

We feel the same way, especially after our employee competition to see who could make the best Canvas creation.

Canvas examples

In the weeks leading up to the launch of Verbum 8, Faithlife hosted a friendly competition to get employees and early Verbum 8 testers exploring Canvas.

Here are some of my favorite submissions. I’ve selected ones that show the range of what you can with Canvas, from creating powerful word trees (1–2) to detailed graphs (3–5) to media-rich designs (6–8).

Word trees

Build elegant word trees that show the connection between words and phrases of a passage.

1. Psalm 136

By Richard Wardman, pastor. This Canvas creation takes the “His faithful love endures forever” refrain from Psalm 136 and relates it to the works of God, as well as to the proper response (“Give thanks to the Lord / God of gods / Lord of lords / God of heaven”).

2. Psalm 1:1–2

By Richard Wardman, pastor. This word tree presents the familiar contrast in Psalm 1:1–2 in a compelling way and then provides verse 3 below as a sort of moral principle or result.

Charts and graphs

Break down major themes and movements of Scripture with detailed graphs and charts. You can also insert cards from other Verbum tools, like the Word Study tool, to add critical information to your chart.

3. The Beatitudes, Outlined

By Liam Maguire. Liam’s propositional outline on the Beatitudes color-codes each one, shows how they relate via the conjunction “for,” and provides a Word Study card of the most important word in the passage, “Blessed.”

4. Exegeting 1 John 1:9

By Liam Maguire. This outline shows how detailed you can get with Canvas, and that it supports work in the original languages.

5. The Drama of Scripture

By Jeromy Blomquist, Faithlife employee. This outline shows how extensive you can be in your charts and graphs. You can move beyond one passage and outline the entire drama of Scripture.

Media-rich designs

Use Canvas to create screen-ready designs you can share in church or on social media, or even use as a children’s bulletin.

6. Psalm 104:14

By Fred Sprinkle, Faithlife employee

7. Do Not Be Afraid

By Natalie Winburn, Faithlife employee

8. Children’s Bulletin

By Todd White, Faithlife employee

How to get Canvas

The Canvas feature is available in Verbum 8 Bronze and above. Learn all your options for how to get Verbum 8 Bronze, whether as an upgrade or a first-time Verbum base package purchase.

Shop base packages and upgrades.

And if you already have Verbum 8 Bronze or above, learn how to use Canvas.

Get Canvas in Verbum 8.