The daily readings were recently a topic of conversation on the Internet ecclesial discussion group. The basic comments are from one brother with additional thoughts contributed by a variety of people [which are placed in brackets].
We recently had a class discussing how to get the most out of the daily WE I thought the conclusions of the class were worth sharing
Self-governing Rules to Follow
- Do the readings even when you don’t feel like doing them.
If we only did the readings when we felt like it, we wouldn’t feel like doing them much The best way to get to feel like doing them is to do them.
- Do them every day.
There’s no direct command to do this But we’re creatures of habit, and our strongest habits are daily habits So we should have a regular time slot for the readings.
- Don’t do the readings in a hurry.
We should never let ourselves be rushed through the readings to get them out of the way (see also #5)
- Start the readings with a prayer.
Like we give a prayer before meals, we should also give a prayer before our spiritual food for the day Plus, it helps set our mood correctly.
- Always have discussion, don’t just shut your Bible.
This just makes sure that you were paying attention It’s pretty easy to read it without listening to it A rule that you can’t shut your Bible till you’ve had at least five minutes discussion on something you read will help you to pay attention (Reading by yourself? see below )
- Do the readings at a table
Don’t know why this is so useful Just seems to encourage the right approach to the readings
Tips for getting more out of the readings
General
- Read in the mornings if possible Everybody seems to agree that this is better (But rarely practical )
[Use public transport, then you have half an hour or so to do the readings m the morning I always try to have my pocket-sized NIV with me for this purpose ]
- Use the Bible Companion It’s a good idea to have an ordered approach so that you read the whole Bible It’s a good idea to use the standard Christadelphian companion so that we get a sense of coherence as a group On the other hand, there’s some frustrations with the companion A whole chapter of Proverbs is too much at a time It would be nice to read a Psalm and a few proverbs every night And it would be nice to have more continuity and read a whole book at a time.
We felt it would be good to do these things in addition to the companion readings (but rarely practical).
[I much prefer to do a whole book at a time to get continuity Your either miss bits or feel pressured to “catch up” following the plan From Genesis to Kings/Chronicles is especially suitable to this You can read it like a novel, picking up from where you left off last time and stop when you’ve had enough for that one session If you are really enjoying it, you don’t have to stop at the end of the chapter because “the plan says so” — you can read six chapters if you want ].
As a family
This is one of the hardest things to accomplish You can have kids who are too young and bored Or kids who are old enough to be really anti-readings (or you can have both)
- Always share the readings with the whole family.
- Don’t make the readings the battle ground of parental authority (with older kids) It’s a bad thing when kids confuse having to do the readings with having to do as they’re told (Hard, though, since that’s actually how it is) In practice this seems to mean things like having the readings at a regular tune so that kids can plan around them and helping them video their favorite TV shows (Nothing is more frustrating to kids than missing TV shows to do the readings — you can read anytime, but TV doesn’t wait ) Also, parents can dig m over the readings and be (deliberately) stubborn This can be counterproductive.
- Make the readings interesting and fun (for younger kids) Play a game over the readings Have a quiz at the end or a game to find the most important verse.
- Use modern versions Kids can really enjoy the readings more with modern versions Kids can read the KJV — most of us did — but they will learn more with (some) modern versions
- Also — we talked of a family who had its (young) children read two chapters with them then play quietly in the corner while they read and discussed the last one themselves The kids knew this pattern and the parents got “real” discussion on the readings.
Some families read from picture Bibles with their young kids.
There was a fair bit of uncertainty in how to deal with the “yuckier” bits, such as the divided concubine, when reading with young children Naturally, one doesn’t like to read these things with young kids, but one doesn’t like to censor the Bible.
[6 Children too young to read often enjoy and get a lot out of “reading” a verse by having it said to them phrase by phrase so that they can say it aloud, in turn with the others who are reading ].
By yourself
Use the exhortations series There is a series of books you can get through Christadelphian sources which contain an exhort on subjects from the daily reading for every day of the year This can be really useful.
[Look for first principle proof passages in each chapter Mark themes such as the characteristics of God Read aloud to enhance comprehension Do the readings with a friend over the phone ].
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One