When we listen to the reading of Scripture, it is as if the Lord is present among us. For all the talk of “incarnational” ministry today, there is no higher privilege than to hear the Incarnate Word declared through the promise and fulfillment of the written Word as we gather for worship. The beginning of theology, exposition, and worship is the sustained public reading of God’s Word in the Church.
Thus, reading the Word of God becomes the very core of worship, affording each hearer an opportunity for ongoing, personal encounter with the divine. In essence, Scripture is God’s voice incarnate for the church in all ages (Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Worship, 220).
I grew up in a tradition that cherished the Bible as God’s inspired Word and rightly upheld inerrancy in its institutions and churches. Yet, it was rare to hear the Word of God read at any length from the pulpit of the church in which I was raised. This is an enduring reminder of the dichotomy that often exists between theoria and praxis. Too many evangelical churches are full (numerically) in the pews but empty in the pulpit because little attention is given to the actual words of the Bible. It is accurate to say “one of the striking things about evangelical corporate worship in our times is the evident paucity of Scripture” (Terry L. Johnson and J. Ligon Duncan III, “Reading and Praying the Bible in Corporate Worship,” 140).
Reading the Bible as we gather for worship is foundational to our ongoing personal and congregational reformation.
