The third edition is updated to the Revised Common Lectionary.
Many of us have difficulty hearing the Bible as it is read to us in church Sunday after Sunday through the year. Even with the best intentions we come to the Word of God “cold” because we have not been given the skills and the preparation to hear and understand the content of Scripture.
These brief and insightful introductions to all the readings of the church’s three-year lectionary cycle are designed to sharpen our listening and increase comprehension of Scripture by summarizing each passage, setting it in a liturgical and historical context, connecting it to the season, and drawing out its relevance to our lives and faith, week by week.
This is an ideal tool for Christian formation as well as homiletical preparation. The style is clear, straightforward, well grounded in biblical scholarship, and Anglican in its theological approach. Extra features include an essay on the Bible and Christian formation, five brief use guides, an index to the biblical readings, and a summary of the seven most common Bible translations used in church services.
Frederick Borsch, noted scholar, retreat leader, and author of 17 books, is professor of New Testament and Anglican studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is a retired bishop, former dean of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and former professor and dean of the chapel at Princeton University.
"Learned without intrusiveness, pastoral without condescension, these beautifully concise introductions provide everything a congregation needs for a more thoughtful hearing and understanding of scripture."—Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography, and lay reader
"A wonderful resource that will help sharpen the reading and hearing of scripture in the assembly. The introductory materials offer valuable guidance for those who read the scriptures in public. By helping congregations better understand the Bible passages read in worship, this book will help build up communities of faith steeped in the living Word of God." —Ruth Meyers, Hodges Haynes Professor of Liturgics, Church Divinity School of the Pacific
"With accessible, clear and gracious language, each of the readings of the ecumenical Sunday lectionary is introduced here. As a focus for preparatory Bible study, as printed texts for the assembly, or even as a few simple words spoken before each of the readings, these introductions awaken our ears and hearts once again to the primary texts of the Christian faith."—Gordon W. Lathrop, Professor of Liturgics Emeritus, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
