St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Which bit of the bible to read?

O.K. I went to church and they had this big thick book. Small print. Thees and Thous. Odd pictures. People begatting other people. How am I supposed to read this stuff?

Me on my own?

We all know that Christians are supposed to read their bibles, but sometimes it’s not just as easy as it sounds. Start at the beginning and you’ll soon get confused by obscure laws in Leviticus. Dot around and you’ll soon lose the thread of the plot. Yes, there are some really helpful bits, but there aren’t half some really puzzling bits as well. Help!

Help is at hand. There are lots of booklets to help us read a little bit each day, and understand it too. The most popular at St Luke’s is New Daylight, which takes a short passage of the bible each day and provides a comment to explain and apply it, and a short prayer to use. Various well-known writers contribute, and at Ł8.85 for the year (3 booklets) this works out at less than 3p a day. Sylvia Clough will be happy to help you if you’d like to try these.

Us as a church?

The Church of England has rules for bible readings in church services, so that congregations get a balanced diet. For many years these rules have been quite rigid, and many clergy (including our new vicar) have ignored the rules and invented their own series of sermons (like our recent focus on Ephesians). With the new Common Worship book the idea is that around Christmas and Easter there will be a “closed season” when all churches read the same readings (this year we will read Luke). For the rest of the year there are recommended readings but the minister can depart from these “for pastoral reasons or preaching or teaching reasons” (CW p540), provided he/she consults the PCC.

So the PCC can expect to be consulted regularly on the subject, so that we get readings which help us as a whole church.

Us in a group, helping and being helped.

On of the best ways to read the bible is to join a housegroup. Once a fortnight these meet to read and discuss a passage of scripture together (following the previous Sunday’s reading), and to care and share with each other. They’re very helpful and also very enjoyable.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. January 2001, Page 2.
Home Page. Index of articles. Bible & Sermons: index, Antioch, David, Ephesians, Bible reading, Pentecost. In this issue: (January 2001) Vicar's Letter, Read the bible? Question, Quiz answers, Jelley baby.	Which bit of the bible to read? O.K. I went to church and they had this big thick book. Small print. Thees and Thous. Odd pictures. People begatting other people. How am I supposed to read this stuff? Me on my own? We all know that Christians are supposed to read their bibles, but sometimes it’s not just as easy as it sounds. Start at the beginning and you’ll soon get confused by obscure laws in Leviticus. Dot around and you’ll soon lose the thread of the plot. Yes, there are some really helpful bits, but there aren’t half some really puzzling bits as well. Help! Help is at hand. There are lots of booklets to help us read a little bit each day, and understand it too. The most popular at St Luke’s is New Daylight, which takes a short passage of the bible each day and provides a comment to explain and apply it, and a short prayer to use. Various well-known writers contribute, and at Ł8.85 for the year (3 booklets) this works out at less than 3p a day. Sylvia Clough will be happy to help you if you’d like to try these. Us as a church? The Church of England has rules for bible readings in church services, so that congregations get a balanced diet. For many years these rules have been quite rigid, and many clergy (including our new vicar) have ignored the rules and invented their own series of sermons (like our recent focus on Ephesians). With the new Common Worship book the idea is that around Christmas and Easter there will be a “closed season” when all churches read the same readings (this year we will read Luke). For the rest of the year there are recommended readings but the minister can depart from these “for pastoral reasons or preaching or teaching reasons” (CW p540), provided he/she consults the PCC. So the PCC can expect to be consulted regularly on the subject, so that we get readings which help us as a whole church. Us in a group, helping and being helped. On of the best ways to read the bible is to join a housegroup. Once a fortnight these meet to read and discuss a passage of scripture together (following the previous Sunday’s reading), and to care and share with each other. They’re very helpful and also very enjoyable. John Hartley
Top of page.	This web page was last updated on 26th June 2002.