HOW TO
READ THE BIBLE IN CHURCH / LEAD THE INTERCESSIONS IN OUR PARISHES
A
BEGINNERS’ GUIDE AND MASTERCLASS!
THANK YOU for being willing to do this!
What are your loves and hates?
You can’t please all the people all the time!
Threshold learning outcomes… Stand up, Speak up, Shut up!
In an ideal world…
Style of services: not a slap dash game show and not a stuffy
military parade?
Relax, enjoy it (but not too much!). It will be okay! You are
amongst friends!
Engage with the congregation before and after – try to make eye
contact etc.
Pray, prepare, think!
WHAT? / WHY?
(1) Worship of God
(2) Edification
Everything must be done decently and in order!
We are aiming to please God and help others. The congregation may
not like it but it might be good for them!
HOW? / WHO?
WHEN? The Rotas and arranging a swap if necessary
OTHER QUESTIONS / ISSUES YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS?
At Warbleton we aim to have a few moments prayer before the
service around the keyboard (say at 10:50am) for all those who are taking part
in the service. Please do join us if you can.
You might think some of this is stating the obvious but…
READING
THE BIBLE IN CHURCH
Of course, in a way it’s not rocket science but it does matter and
make a difference and can be done so badly or so well.
You are reading the Word of God! God is speaking, addressing us. We
encounter Jesus in the power of the Spirit here.
“This is the most precious thing the world affords. These are the
lively oracles of God!”
Pray. Think. Prepare. Practice?! Serve.
Please use the same New International Version as we have in the
pews. Either use the lectern Bible or a pew Bible or print it out or write it
out or bring your own! If you are feeling really keen and have the time and
energy you could even try to virtually memorise the reading so that you can
concentrate on your delivery not on reading.
There is no harm in checking you have the correct reading and that
there is a bookmark in the Bible and that you know where the reading comes in
the service. Does the other reader think they are doing your reading? You might
like to turn to the second reading after your reading if you are he first
reader. It is normally OT then NT or OT / Epistle / NT then Gospel.
E.g. Ephesians is a New Testament Epistle – Ephesians 2:1-10 / John
1:4, 6-9, 12, 14-end / 1 Kings 3:5-5:2
Or “v” / “vv”
The contents page is your friend!
We normally sit for the readings and stand for the gospel readings
at Communion services. Standing for the gospel is just traditional but it
perhaps is a way of recognising the centrality of Jesus and his incarnate
ministry?
Slow down a bit.
Speak up a bit. Use the microphone provided. You need to speak
into it and probably be closer to it than you imagine or really project.
Breath.
Try to begin clearly and strongly with confidence.
Do not under or over interpret especially if the interpretation is
unclear.
If there are rhetorical questions, do you know what answer they
are expecting? E.g. Romans 8
Try to think about the theme / tone / aim / genre etc.
Be yourself but you could probably put a bit more life and feeling
into it but don’t go crazy!
Your reading may be more dynamic if you slightly emphasise the key
verbs (and adverbs) of action etc. e.g. try this sentence: “Suddenly coming to
the house he threw them out with great force for he was angry with them beyond
measure”. If you print out the passage (e.g. from Bible Gateway) you can mark
on it where you plan to pause and underline words you wish to emphasise and so
on.
Think about how emphasis / commas (pauses) etc. can change the meaning:
“I am opening the door already (?)”; “Let’s eat Grandma”
Serve the text and the people. You wouldn’t be tempted to show off
of course.
Consider a suitable and sensible variety of pitch, pace, pause and
volume.
Plan your introduction and conclusion.
“Our first reading is taken from Acts chapter 7 verses 3 to 5 and
can be found on page 3333 in the church Bibles. Acts 7v3, page 3333.” Pause. Normally
no further introduction is needed. Or Marc might say something by way of
introduction.
If the first pronoun is ambiguous and you know to whom it refers
either change it or add in the correct answer e.g. not just “He said” but “He [that
is, Jesus] said:” or just “Jesus said:”
Give them a moment to find the passage if they want to.
Pause before the ending response.
Traditional endings (see Common Worship / Prayer Book / Service
sheet or book):
Either, This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Or, in a Communion service, This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you O Christ.
(Or, Here ends the second reading.)
“May God add his blessing to this reading from his Word”
Or just stop!
We never read the headings as they are not part of the original
text (except for the titles in the Psalms, which we should read, followed by a
pause.)
Come up in time so you are ready and go away afterwards (without
rushing)! You could sit on the end of a pew to make everyone’s life easier!
Tricky pronunciation: don’t worry! Just be confident. Virtually
all pronunciation is only a best guess / convention (Sheep noises and ancient
Greek!). Do ask me if you want to know my guess but don’t feel the need to
bother! Or copy a good audio Bible such as David Suchet’s reading on the NIV
which is available free online. Be consistent. (It is more distracting if you
mumble apologetically and say a name three different ways)
Anything else?
LEADING
THE INTERCESSIONS
(Marc will normally say the Collect and announce the Lord’s
Prayer)
There are many ways to skin a cat.
Be sensitive. Respect confidentiality. We should only mention
people by name if the thing in question is public common knowledge or we have
their permission. Do not announce that Smith has cancer in the prayers unless you
know for sure from himself Smith that he is okay with that and you think it is
helpful! (The people mentioned in the notice sheet will have given their
permission but that does not mean that we need a run down of all their symptoms
and issues!)
Are there children present? If so, can you make your prayers
child-friendly without them being too childish! A shorter word might work just
as well as a bigger one.
Normal English and your normal voice are fine, please!
Read the Bible passages and allow them to influence your prayers.
Or you could base your prayers around some other passage of Scripture or
Scriptures. It is good if our words to God are a response to his words to us.
These are INTERCESSIONS.
What are intercessions? ________________________________________
You are talking to Almighty God our loving heavenly Father so be
respectful but not cringing. You come in Jesus, righteous in him, as a much-loved
child and the Holy Spirit helps you so be confident (bold in Christ!) rather
than self-confident.
You are leading corporate public prayer so “we” / “us” not “I”
Normally we do not need lots of extra CONFESSION, or THANKSGIVING,
or PRAISE or LAMENT or … We are not really looking for extra sermons, or poetry
readings or….
We want to pray according to God’s will with a sense of his
priorities. We ask for what we need not just what we want. We pray for the
progress of the gospel and the coming of the kingdom and our conformity to
Christ etc. The Lord’s Prayer is the classic pattern. There are lots of other
Biblical prayers we could read out or use as inspiration. See e.g. Don Carson, A
Call To Spiritual Reformation on Paul’s prayers.
It is traditional to pray for the CHURCH and the WORLD.
You could write out the prayers in full or have some notes, which
ever works better for you. There may be something you want to slot in on the
day if we find out the Queen or a key member of the congregation has died for
example! I do not suggest total winging it on the day improvisation!
You could use a mixture of set and extempore prayers, some more
formal, some more informal.
The Collects provide another kind of pattern:
1. The address - a name of God
2. The doctrine - a truth about God’s nature that is the basis for
the prayer
3. The petition - what is being asked for
4. The aspiration - what good result will come if the request is
granted
5. In Jesus’ name - this remembers the mediatorial role of Jesus
We might pray for all people and all Christians, maybe especially
those persecuted for their faith.
We might pray especially for the Anglican Communion, for
Archbishop Justin and for our own Bishops Martin (Mark and Richard). We might
pray for the deanery, benefice and parish. We have a special responsibility to
pray for the parish. It is fine to pray for ourselves and those whom we love,
but of course we also want to lift our eyes from the merely parochial.
We might pray for the Queen and her government and for the leaders
of this and every nation.
We might pray for those known to us who are in need and for those
who have asked our prayers.
We might pray for one or all of our mission partners (the partner
of the month) but not for all of them by name every time please.
We might pray about something significant from the news but not
everything!
We could have some silence.
We could use responses. Traditionally:
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Or, Lord hear us; Mercifully hear us.
And at the end maybe:
Merciful father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son our
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Or other appropriate responses, but maybe that is tricky and
distracting? The responses should fit the prayers. They could be planned in
advance and so included in the service sheet or on the screen. Or, when I say,
“Father in heaven” please respond “bring in your kingdom.”
You can say something by way of introduction if you like but keep
it brief: “e.g. A prayer for ourselves:”
It could be one long prayer but probably several with a chance to
say AMEN between them is better. Perhaps 3 longer prayers or 5 or 6 shorter
ones? It might help if we can see the AMEN coming e.g. “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Give some content. “We pray that you would give the PCC wisdom as
they plan the year ahead” is better than “We pray for the PCC” but too much
specific information and unnecessary information is off putting: “We pray for
the PCC which is meeting at 7:30pm tomorrow in the church rooms.” God does not
need your lengthy explanations. People might benefit from a bit of context /
info. but keep it short. You might even include why we are praying for this
stuff (e.g. the glory of God) and what we want to result (e.g. the praise of
his name).
God seems to welcome argument in prayer! Lord, we have no one else
to help us, remember your promises, keep your covenant, save your people,
honour your name etc.!
We could pray for some big broad-brush stuff (we pray for the
spread of the gospel) and some details (that Jimmy will be given a school
place).
We normally pray to the Father, through the Son in the Power of
the Holy Spirit: address God (the Father), do not swap around between persons
of the Trinity or you will likely get into a muddle and end up saying, “Father,
we really just thank you that you died on the cross for us”, which he did not!
Pray prayers that we can join in with – not too idiosyncratic or
sectarian e.g. avoid, “We pray that Wales would beat England…”
Less is more. 5 minutes maximum. 2 or 3
minutes is fine. Leave them wanting more not wishing you would shut up!
Not everything every time. No need to pray for all the PCC, their
partners and pets by name ever week!
Please avoid praying for the dead. If you wish you can say
something like “We remember with thanksgiving all those who have died in the
love of Christ and we pray that you would bring us with them to your eternal
glory”. Or “we give you thanks for all who trusted in Christ and for all those
whose faith was known only to you.” We of course pray for the family and
friends of those who have died and for all who mourn.
We pray in fellowship with all the church around the world and
down the ages.
Anything else?
RESOURCES
Common Worship
An English Prayer Book
The C of E website
Grove Booklets
This 5 point list of hints is a good and practical
beginning:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/.../5-tips-for.../
This longer interview from The Briefing is helpful on public bible reading:
https://matthiasmedia.com/.../how-to-read-the-bible-aloud/
Check also this helpful advice for choosing a public bible reader:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/.../5-tips-for.../
This longer interview from The Briefing is helpful on public bible reading:
https://matthiasmedia.com/.../how-to-read-the-bible-aloud/
Check also this helpful advice for choosing a public bible reader:
I am always happy to help and give training, feedback etc.
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