Edit
The reading of the Bible is the high point of the worship service. It's the point at which we listen to God speaking to us via the scriptures he has breathed out. The Bible reading is NOT just "getting ready for the sermon"! So it needs to be done with care, for the nourishment of God's gathered people.
Top tips for quality Bible reading:
- Read the passage beforehand. Read it aloud. Read it slowly. Make sure you understand how each sentence fits together. Understand what it means.
- Look for any difficult words or names, decide on a pronunciation, and be confident.
- Work out which words should be emphasised.
Work out where you should pause.....
Work out which bits should be fast-to-bring-across-the-excitement,
or slow to make the most impact.
- Best way to introduce the reading: "Hello, I'm Tom, and our first Bible reading today is on page 1432 of the church Bibles. It's Matthew chapter 2, starting at verse 1". Then pause for 10 seconds while people flip pages. Then read. (There's no need to mention the end of the reading ("finishing at verse 30"))
- If the passage starts with a "he" or "she" you might like to substitute the name of the person. Eg if the reading starts at Mark 1:40 "A man with leprousy came to him Jesus and begged him..."
- Please don't read out the headings - just the actual text.