Back for another round of liturgical ponderings. This week: The Scripture in the service. I could go on and on lamenting the fact that the Bible is just not read in contemporary worship services. But I think most of you already know this. It's depressing. When pastors and church leaders wonder why their congregations seem so biblically illiterate, the first thing I think they should ask is, "How are we emphasizing the importance of Scripture in the worship service?" For this will inevitably set the precendence and the church will follow suit.

One of the primary things that the early church did was gather on the Lord's day to read the scriptures; it was a part of the attending to the apostle's doctrine (Acts 2:42). Thus as various liturgies developed over time a lectionary calendar developed with Old Testament Lessons, New Testament Epistle Readings, and a reading from the Gospels. Additionally, there was always a Psalm associated with each Sunday, though I prefer to put this in the beginning as a Call to Worship or a Collect that forms part of opening prayer. The Revised Common Lectionary with its variations is still a part of the formal liturgy for most Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Methodists, and Anglicans which covers the Bible in three years. Most independents, Presbyterians and Baptists have developed their own reading schedule that is normally nothing more than the text that the preacher is covering (at least this has been my experience).

Whatever tradition you hail from, I would encourage you to have a healthy dose of the word of God in your service. The bible is anything but boring. Yes, you may have lectors reading it in a boring fashion. Problem solved: get better readers or better yet, spend some time actually teaching people how to read the Scripture in public (enunciation, speed, projecting the voice with good and varied inflection, and definitely, make sure they spend some time learning the proper pronounciation of Hebrew and Greek names and places beforehand - a pet peeve of mine, sorry).

In my upcoming album, Divine Service, I set out to put music in the order of an actual liturgy. I thought of actually just recording a reading of Scripture to emphasize the place where this would occur, but instead opted to write a song that was preparatory in function and emphasized the word of God lyrically. It is called "Your Truth, My Light" and is sort of a summary of Psalm 119. This was the first song I've written where I only use a four chord pattern and it never changes throughout the song. All the goodness and variety comes from changes in melody and ryhthm. It was a fun experiment that turned out really well.

Great Memory Verse on this Subject:

"Your word is a lamp to my feet  and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105)

Great Book on this Subject:

Handling the Word of Truth: The Law and Gospel in the Church Today by John T. Pless