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Bible Reading and Discussion

Scripture reading was a part of Synagogue worship when Jesus attended (Luke 4:16–17; Acts 15:21) and it still is today. Synagogues have a system in place whereby the entire first five books, plus parts of other books are read every year. On any given week, the same scriptures will be read everywhere throughout the world. However, if you use this system, you will never cover large parts of the Old Testament or any of the New Testament. Some people augment this system with other readings, but most Christian congregations simply set up another system of Bible reading that makes sense for them.

It is the belief of this writer that there are not any apostles (which means "one sent") of Christ alive at this time. That being the case, it is much more important that we read the words of Christ and the Apostles in our services.

Scripture reading can be the main part of a new service if there are few people with the gift of teaching. People who are used to "being preached to in church" may find some difficulty in going to church without a sermon, but this usually wears off after a few weeks.

If the topic is published beforehand, brethren can read the scriptures ahead of time and will usually be ready with questions and comments. Some groups have people stand to read, others remain seated. Some use a microphone, some do not. Some have only adults read, others see it as an important activity for children to participate in. Most importantly, the scriptures need to be read so that they can be heard. Some allow questions and comments after a few verses, others wait until an entire chapter or section is complete.

No matter what format is used, the congregation will learn truth—because they are reading God's words. Certainly, there will be some incorrect comments made, but this is a chance for the experienced person to gently correct errors, and a chance for everyone to exercise discernment.

There is no need to have everyone read from the same translation. It is an advantage for people to silently read along from different translations. That way, it is easy to notice and discuss places where translations are significantly different.