Devotional from Pastor Dave January 10, 2024

The practice of reading scripture aloud during worship goes way back, at least as far back as Jesus’s time.

We read in the fourth chapter of Luke that Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown, on the sabbath, as was his custom. In other words, he attended worship regularly. He got up that day to read the scripture, and he unrolled the scroll that was handed to him and found the place that we know as Isaiah 61, and he read from the first couple of verses:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Then he rolled the scroll back up, gave it back to the assistant, and sat back down. Everyone’s eyes were on him, waiting to see what he might say. Then he said, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Nearly every week here at Signal Crest, at least since the pandemic began, Allison Maynard has gotten up in both worship services to read the scripture for the day. She does a marvelous job; several people have commented to me how much they enjoy hearing her read the scripture. And when she is finished, she pauses, and then she says, while pointing to the congregation, “This is the word of God for YOU, the people of God.” And we all respond, “Thanks be to God!”

Allison knows that it’s a joy and privilege to read the scripture in worship. It’s one of my favorite things to do, too, and I know many others in the congregations I’ve served throughout my ministry who enjoy reading the scripture in worship.

Allison and I would like to share the gift of the opportunity to read the scripture in worship to you. I know this may not be something everyone would want to do; many are reticent to read or to speak in public. But there’s nothing to memorize, you don’t have to come up with anything original to say, and we will also help you find a way to pronounce the strange names and weird words that are in the Bible (I always say just say it boldly, however you pronounce it, and everyone will just think that’s how it’s pronounced!).

If this is something you would be interested in trying, please let either Allison or myself know. You won’t have to read it for both services; you can read it for the service you normally attend. And trying it once doesn’t commit you to a lifetime of doing it.

One of the words for worship is “liturgy.” It’s a word that literally means “the work of the people.” It’s not just the work of the preachers. We want to involve more people in our worship services, and reading the scripture is one of the best ways to do that. I hope you will consider taking part in this opportunity to share the word of God with the people of God.