Introducing the Lessons of the Church Year, 3rd ed.
Digital Verbum Edition
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Overview
Many parishioners have difficulty hearing the Bible with fresh ears as it is read in church each Sunday. Even with the best intentions, some come to the Word of God “cold” because they have not been taught the skills they need to hear and understand Scripture.
These brief and insightful introductions to each reading of the three-year lectionary cycle are designed to increase comprehension of Scripture by summarizing each passage, setting it in liturgical and historical context, connecting it to the season, and drawing out its relevance to life and faith. This is an ideal tool for Christian formation, as well as homiletical preparation. The style is clear, straightforward, and grounded in biblical scholarship. The third edition is updated to fit the Revised Common Lectionary and reflect a modern Anglican theological approach.
For more lectionary resources, check out the Lectionary Reflections Collection (3 vols.).
Key Features
- Discusses how Scripture reading is imperative to Christian formation
- Guides readers in the use of the Revised Common Lectionary
- Summarizes the approach of the seven most common Bible translations used in church services
Contents
- Hearing the Word of God
- How to Use this Book
- Suggestions for Reading the Bible in Public
- Why We Read the Bible in Church
- Bible Translations, Study Bibles, and Other Resources
- Using the Revised Common Lectionary
- The Readings of the Church Year
- The Season of Advent
- The Season of Christmas
- The Season of Epiphany
- The Season of Lent
- Holy Week
- The Season of Easter
- The Season After Pentecost (Ordinary Time)
- Additional Readings in the Revised Common Lectionary
- Alternative Readings in the Episcopal Lectionary
Praise for the Print Edition
Learned without intrusiveness, pastoral without condescension, these beautifully concise introductions provide everything a congregation needs for a more thoughtful hearing and understanding of scripture.
—Jack Miles, author, God: A Biography
A wonderful resource that will help sharpen the reading and hearing of scripture in the assembly. The introductory materials offer valuable guidance for those who read the scriptures in public. By helping congregations better understand the Bible passages read in worship, this book will help build up communities of faith steeped in the living Word of God.
—Ruth Meyers, Hodges Haynes Professor of Liturgics, Church Divinity School of the Pacific
With accessible, clear and gracious language, each of the readings of the ecumenical Sunday lectionary is introduced here. As a focus for preparatory Bible study, as printed texts for the assembly, or even as a few simple words spoken before each of the readings, these introductions awaken our ears and hearts once again to the primary texts of the Christian faith.
—Gordon W. Lathrop, Charles A. Schieren Professor of Liturgics Emeritus, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
About the Authors
Frederick Borsch is a noted scholar, retreat leader, and author of many books. He is professor of New Testament and Anglican studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is a retired bishop, former dean of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and former professor and dean of the chapel at Princeton University. He is also the author of Power in Weakness in the Augsburg Fortress Studies in the Gospels Collection (7 vols.) and The Christian and Gnostic Son of Man in the SCM Studies in Biblical Theology Series (19 vols.).
George Woodward is rector of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church in San Marino, California where he has served since 1995. He is chair of the Program Group on World Mission for the Diocese of Los Angeles and is involved in human rights and development work with the Anglican Church of El Salvador.
Sample Pages from the Print Edition
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