Very Little Bible Reading In Church

[Praxeas]

So anyways. I disagree with the article. People want to learn. They want to grow in knowledge.

[CC1]

My church goes through the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. We typically cover one chapter each Sunday with the entire chapter having been read out loud by the pastor as he breaks it apart into sections and preaches / teaches his way through it.

The exceptions are quarterly baptism services and twice a year "vision" services where the pastor lays out the vision for the church for the next six months and on. Add in a couple of Sundays the pastor may be gone and you still have about 42 our of 52 Sunday's in a year being the Bible taught verse by verse.

it is amazing how when you teach and preach the word of God it draws people. Because our church has seen phenomenal growth since it started not quite five years ago (from a handful of people to averaging over 800 people each Sunday between three services) my pastor has a lot of people with young churches or plans to start a church contact him to find out his "secret" for success. They are pretty much underwhelmed when he tells them he teaches the Bible verse by verse and people respond.

[renee819]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

We visited a Calvary Chapel, and they teach through the Bible also, and every Calvary Chapel is on the same schedule of scripture teaching. I like their approach where the pastor takes the chapter, and teaches exegetically from it, and can add their own anecdotes and current events to make it relevant to the day, and most always they end with a call for repentance, and a re-comittment of your personal relationship with the Lord.

We currently are having "church" in our home with a group of people, and our approach is to take a chapter or two, and study through it, with discussion, thoughts, and references to other scriptures as well. It works very well for us, and it is amazing what our teenagers have brought up in the discussion, and how much they have learned being able to ask questions, and think about what we are reading. It has been a wonderful thing.

Most people want to be entertained, which is why the Bible reading is decreasing in churches. People want to laugh, or cry about a good story, but they really don't want to be challenged or changed, just entertained. Preachers have learned that to keep people coming back, they've got to tickle their ears with stories, anecdotes, and so on.

However, to find a group of people who don't want to be entertained, but who want to grow spiritually and have greater depth in their lives, they will seek after someone who can teach from the Word of God, and challenge them... and not be just another form of entertainment... that is tough, and hard to find in mainstream, mega church atmospheres, in my opinion.... which is why we have been blessed to grow much deeper in our relationship with the Lord as we meet in a home group.

Kept, You are blessed.

[CC1]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

However, to find a group of people who don't want to be entertained, but who want to grow spiritually and have greater depth in their lives, they will seek after someone who can teach from the Word of God, and challenge them... and not be just another form of entertainment... that is tough, and hard to find in mainstream, mega church atmospheres, in my opinion.... which is why we have been blessed to grow much deeper in our relationship with the Lord as we meet in a home group.

I think you can actually have services / sermons that are both entertaining and the word of God. As I mentioned in my previous post on this thread my pastor goes through the Bible verse by verse averaging one chapter per sermon but we also have a great praise and worship band that some would consider "entertainment" because they are pleasing to the ear. My pastor also has his personality, personal experiences, and knowledge that make the delivery of the word challenging, educational, spritually uplifting, and some would say entertaining.

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by renee819

Kept, You are blessed.

My prayer for you Sis. Renee, is that the Lord would bless you in the same way, I know your heart hungers and desires it!

There is no "perfect" church, home group, or fellowship... as long as humans are a part of anything, there will be things that aren't perfect... but I am thankful at least that those we fellowship with share the same desire... a greater and more personal relationship with the Lord, and based on that ... we can have fellowship that is meaningful. None of us agree completely on all things... and I don't even see that was necessarily what took place in the Early Church either, there was dissension even among the early church brethren too... so that reassures me that we can have somewhat different doctrinal stances, but as long as the Spirit of the Lord is leading and guiding our families, there is a core bond there that sustains us.

I pray that the Lord would answer the cry and desire of your heart for this kind of fellowship!

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by CC1

I think you can actually have services / sermons that are both entertaining and the word of God. As I mentioned in my previous post on this thread my pastor goes through the Bible verse by verse averaging one chapter per sermon but we also have a great praise and worship band that some would consider "entertainment" because they are pleasing to the ear. My pastor also has his personality, personal experiences, and knowledge that make the delivery of the word challenging, educational, spritually uplifting, and some would say entertaining.

From what you have spoken about your church CC1, it sounds like an exception to the rule of the churches that I have associated with throughout my life. And I am so thankful that you have a place to go that meets your spiritual needs and desires! I praise God for this! Be very thankful that you have such a blessed way to worship the Lord!