What is the lectionary? If you’ve grown up in a Baptist church, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of it. If you have heard of it, you may be a bit suspicious of it, thinking it sounds a bit formal and rigid; a bit too “high church”. But the lectionary is one of the most useful and simple educational tools Christians have, one that you might find useful if you are looking to expand your devotional life and scriptural knowledge.

Simply put, the lectionary is just an organized method to read the bible. It divides the scripture up and coordinates the readings with the Christian calendar. Christians have been using the lectionary for centuries to plan worship services and bibles studies, as well as to guide personal devotions.

It’s organized very simply. For every Sunday, the Lectionary lists four readings: one from the Old Testament, one from Psalms, one from the New Testament (from Act’s or one of the Epistles), and one reading from the Gospel. Because it follows the Christian year, theses readings are selected to match whatever is special about that Sunday. (For, example, during the advent season, the Old Testament readings tend to come from the texts that prophecy the messiah, and the Gospel readings come from the texts that anticipate Christ’s birth. It’s the same thing with Easter.). Because there is a lot of scripture to deal with, and relatively few Sundays in the year, the lectionary divides the whole bible up over three years.

Following the lectionary has many advantages. It’s a good introduction to the Christian year, and the scriptures that go along with them. Over time following the lectionary will guide you through all of scripture, exposing you to the rich tapestry that is the bible. And, because so many Christians have used it to guide their scripture reading, it has a way of making one feel connected to the whole Christian community.

If you’re looking for an easy to use, free, devotional guide for yourself or your family, you may want to consider the lectionary. To learn more about how the lectionary works, please visit these sites:

www.members.aol.com/ashes2fire/mss/lection.htm
This is an American Baptist version

www.io.com/~kellywp/index.html
This is a very user friendly version sponsored by the Episcopal Church. They provide both the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is the recommended version since the BCP is not in our tradition. Scroll down to the correct month and week and click on RCL . You will find all the scriptures with the entire text printed. This is useful for printing out and carrying with you during the week.