On the very first Sunday of Christ Baptist Church, we read Psalm 1 together. Last Sunday, after having read a Psalm per Sunday, we read Psalm 150 together. It was a great experience that I want to commend to you to consider for your church. Here are some of my thoughts:1. The Psalms are designed by God to cover a wide range of the realities of life. Reading through the Psalms forces the church to think about specific attributes of God, sorrow, death, loneliness, joy, worship, and dozens of other real-life issues.
2. Worship is a response to God's Word. God speaks. We respond. We try to make sure our worship service reflects this pattern. So, before we sing any songs or pray any prayers, we listen to God's Word. We position ourselves under God's authority. What better way to do this than to begin the service by reading a Psalm?
3. Most churches don't read enough Scripture in the public gatherings. We are commanded to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13). And, even churches that do read some Scripture don't read enough Old Testament.
4. Reading the Psalms out loud together cultivates unity.
5. Reading through a book of the Bible, like the Psalms, is a pattern for consistent, devoted, disciplined faithfulness over a long period of time. Just think, in less than 3 years, your church can read through the longest book in the Bible together if you devote yourself to reading a chapter per week.
6. Psalm 119 was the most fun. Yes, we read the entire Psalm on that Sunday. In fact, we designed the entire service around that Psalm.
6 comments:
I am so thankful for CBCW to read the Psalm every Sunday! I do remember Psalm 119 too.
I am glad that we did it and am looking forward to do it again.
Hungry to eat His Word,
'Guerite ~ BoldLion
I guess I am surprised that weekly Psalm reading is considered a new innovation in Christian worship. The church catholic has been worshipping with the Psalms for centuries. All churches that use a lectionary read/recite/chant/sing the Psalms on a weekly, if not, daily basis.
As Eugene Peterson has noted, "The extravagant claim is that the Psalms are necessary....If we wish to develop in the life of faith, to mature in our humanity, and to glorify God with our entire heart, soul, mind, and strength, the Psalms are necessary. We cannot bypass the Psalms. The are God's gift to train us in prayer.... (Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer, pg. 3).
Be blessed as you guys continue to pray back to the Lord his own words.
I say amen to this wonderful practice, and the biblical thinking that drives it - that worship is a response to God! We too, at Rolling Hills Church, begin our worship time with reading a chapter of God's Word a week. We read through Genesis, and now we're reading through Matthew. I think you've influenced me to consider Psalms as our next book!
Thanks for sharing this, Justin. Curious...were these readings done in unison or by a leader and then 'read along with'? Or both? (and, yes, if in unison, how did the reading of 119 go?!)
As a family, we recently each wrote our own psalm. It was interesting to see each person's 'reality of life' come through as well as their personality.
Larry
This is a great idea. And Amen to #3:
"And, even churches that do read some Scripture don't read enough Old Testament."
Thanks for saying this, Justin. It's all too true. Pray with me that our churches in the U.S. will not be "New Testament" churches only, but full "Bible Churches." It's the whole counsel of God; it's Redemptive History; the OT was Jesus' and Peter's and Paul's Bible.
Good news!
I hope you can try singing (chanting?) a psalm sometime soon.
Responsive reading (on a parallel basis, not alternating verses) is a good thing too.
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