Tag Archives: Bible reading

Dipping my toes in the waters of the lectionary

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(I try not to bore you with too much behind-the-scenes technical info. Let me just say that not everything is working as it should. For now, I can post, and you can comment; that’s the most important stuff, right?)

The other day I talked about the Christian calendar. Along the way, I mentioned that I’ve been following the lectionary. Let me comment on that.

  • To me, the lectionary is basically a structured Bible reading plan. At its core, it’s merely a listing of Bible verses to be read at a certain time.
  • At a deeper level, I think the lectionary provides me with a community to read and study with. It’s a broad community, made up largely of people I don’t know. Their views are widely divergent, which in this case I view as a good thing. I need to hear the views of people I disagree with, not just those that see things as I do.
  • The lectionary leads me to places in Scripture I wouldn’t necessarily go. I don’t mean interpretations, but parts of the text that I might not read otherwise. I’ve found the same to be true when teaching through a book or even teaching a book that I’ve never taught before. (Paul wisely observed the other days that there are holes in the lectionary’s selections; this is very true, as is true of every systematic approach to teaching Scripture I’ve seen)
  • So far, I haven’t seen much interest in those that fill in when I’m not preaching. However, the lectionary would provide continuity should they choose to follow the readings.

A couple of resources that I use are lectionarypage.net and textweek.com. Take a look at those pages if you want to learn more about the lectionary.

How should we then read

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Today is sort of a brainstorming day. I want to throw out some thoughts about reading and interpreting the Bible, hoping that you will be able to help me process some of these. Here goes…

  • We are too focused on individualized Bible study. We have lost the sense of community in Bible study. We expect every man to be able to sit down with his Bible and interpret it correctly. That’s not the imagery I see from the Bible. People heard the Word read aloud, then they interacted with one another to come to an understanding of what it means. (Maybe forums like this help us do some of that)
  • We are too individualistic in our application of texts. We focus our reading on what it says to ME, what it means to ME, how it applies to ME. We lose that sense of connection to the body of Christ. We lose our connection to the church throughout history.
  • We need to recapture “big picture” Bible reading. Texts should be read not only as they fit into their immediate context, but as a part of the continuing flow of the Bible.
  • We need to rethink how we read different parts of the Bible. Poetry is there not just to communicate ideas in memorable ways, but because of how poetry affects the whole man. Visionary literature is visionary to capture the imagination. Narrative exists not just to teach faith lessons, but to help us under OUR story. (How in the world did we ever come to think of the Old Testament as a “constitution” for God’s people? Seriously… what percentage of the Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures are dedicated to the giving of laws?)
  • We need to move beyond the idea that Bible study should be a simple endeavor. The Bible doesn’t make that claim. Some of our problems come from wanting to boil interpretative principles down to simplistic sayings that can be expressed in 25 words or less.

OK, a few thoughts for a Monday morning. Feel free to reflect on those, add some of your own, or suggest resources for study.

photo by Marian Trinidad

Why study the Bible?

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A friend who is a reader of this blog called me on Thursday after reading what I had posted. He felt that I had overlooked a basic question: “Why study the Bible?” His argument was that many conservative Christians have made a sacrament of Bible reading, feeling that they are somehow inferior Christians if they aren’t reading daily… and these Christians often try to pass that guilt on to others.

Though we differed on the direction that his question was leading, I think my friend raised a good point. At times we take Bible study and make it sound like an obligation, a duty to be grudgingly performed. We need to find a way to present it as an opportunity, a chance to continue to grow and understand the Word of God.

Years ago, as part of his work with Herald of Truth, Glenn Owen wrote a book called “The Adventure of Bible Study.” It’s an excellent little book that I have kept in my library for years. I love the whole concept of Bible study as an adventure.

I love growing to see connections between different passages. I thrill at coming to see more and more the unified flow that goes through the entire Bible. I love as the Word becomes part of me and comes to have more and more influence on who I am and what I do.

In our phone conversation, my friend and I discussed other ways in which God reveals Himself to us. I am a strong believer in God speaking to us through different media, be it nature, be it other Christians, etc. But, as I told him, I am convinced that the Bible is the most objective of those voices, the standard by which I can interpret the truth and validity of other sources of “God talk.”

Paul spoke to Timothy of the holy writings that Timothy had known from his youth. Timothy’s mother and grandmother had raised him in a context of Scripture. Paul tells Timothy that those writings, what we know as the Old Testament, were the perfect guide for the Christian, able to make him “wise unto salvation.” He also said that these holy words, breathed on by God, would equip the godly man for everything he needed to do. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

That’s how I want to know God’s Word. I want to know it so well that it not only helps me teach, but that it speaks to me for my daily life.

Why do you study the Bible?