By Stephen Torhaus
Optional Kids Practice (if they read the Bible on their own)
Invite kids in your group to be with the adults for a few minutes. Once they seem ready to engage, ask them the following prompt.
- Describe a time when you meant to read the Bible but didn’t. What happened, and how did you feel when you realized you hadn’t read it? (If nothing comes to mind, have them think of reasons that could get in the way and how they might feel).
Be sure to clarify that God loves us, and He’s also never disappointed when we don’t read our Bibles. Reading God’s Word is a gift, not an expectation.
During this series, help the kids practice their memory verse for January and February.
The January memory verse for preschoolers: “A friend loves you all the time.” Proverbs 17:17, NCV
The January memory verse for elementary school kids: “Be strong, all you who put their hope in the Lord. Never give up.” Psalm 31:24, NIRV
Begin with prayer
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Take a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read Psalm 103:13-17 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Debrief the most recent teaching
- How did the most recent teaching reshape or enhance your understanding of the beatitude taught?
- How was your experience using a different translation this past week?
Read this first overview:
There sure are a lot of things that can get in the way of reading the Bible. For starters, there are kids, pets, lack of sleep, missed alarms, dead phones, human forgetfulness, various emergencies, a literal host of demons… and the list goes on. Sometimes, despite our very best intentions, our Bibles, devotionals, and scripture apps are “left unread”. Once we realize what happened, we’re often hard on ourselves for our failure or believe that our day will go poorly because we failed to spend time in His Word beforehand.
Sure, we know in our heads theologically that God is compassionate and knows that “we are made of clay” but our hearts often believe something differently, and, if something goes wrong, it’s easy to blame a missed “quiet time” as the reason. Of course, reading your Bible is good for you and may improve your mood or outlook, but God’s grace isn’t limited by how consistent you are with your Bible-reading plan. He is always speaking to us, regardless of whether or not His words are accompanied by verse numbers.
All that said, life happens, the Bible is hard, and sometimes all hell breaks loose (figuratively and literally), interfering with your time in the Word. And let us not forget that for one reason or another, there are those among us who are not reading the Bible at all, at least for this season. There is just as much grace for you, too. There is also an invitation to take up and read, but it is genuinely an invitation, not a loaded request.
Discuss the following prompts:
- Have each person share the most common reasons that make it difficult to start or finish their time in the Word.
- Ignoring the “Sunday School” answer for now, what does your heart believe God will feel or do if you don’t read your Bible?
Read this second overview:
Given how many possible barriers there are, below are some general categories to help think through what you might struggle with in particular. As a community, you will workshop together using these categories to help make Bible-reading easier. A few suggestions are offered, but please be creative and think of other possibilities.
Logistical Barriers: These are the when, where, and how of your Bible reading. Sometimes, we’re just trying at the wrong time of day or really don’t have enough time/energy to do it all. Your brain is tired. The caffeine hasn’t hit. The two-year-old just became your new alarm clock. Consider changing the time when you read, or perhaps shortening it. You could also consider integrating it with another part of your day, such as using an audio-Bible on the commute to school/work or if it’s too dark to read. Don’t sacrifice sleep as a first resort to make more room for the Bible, especially if you don’t already get enough rest.
Accessibility Barriers: These have to do with our ability to intake scripture meaningfully. All the logistics may line up great, and all possible interruptions accounted for, but somehow, the Bible just comes across like a dead ancient manuscript, and teeth-pulling strikes you as a far more exhilarating activity, even after the Adderall kicks in. Consider reading a shorter passage of scripture or maybe sticking with an easier genre. Different seasons of life may require avoiding certain books or genres of scripture (imprecatory what now?), or perhaps it’s time to try a different version of scripture. Don’t give yourself the expectation to be as good as someone else.
Circumstantial Barriers: Here, we’re talking about all the things that happen around us or to us that are outside the daily routine. Some of these cannot be avoided (e.g., a trip to the ER); others can be avoided (e.g., by silencing the phone). Sometimes, the most you can do is just try to anticipate the interruptions as best you can and hope for the best, but there’s only so much you can do. If you can, lock the door, hide in a closet, put the phone in another room, or enlist a spouse or roommate to play defense and distract the kids/pet/Mormon missionaries/whatever. Don’t forget to receive grace when a time is missed.
Spiritual Warfare: Yes, this is real and probably comes into play more often than you think. The Enemy doesn’t want you to read scripture, and he can interfere with your practice. This category requires some discernment, however, and should not be applied too loosely or too restrictively. Two key signs that can indicate spiritual warfare is at play are 1) the same barrier/interference repeatedly happens repeatedly (e.g., the dog always has to go outside whenever you grab your Bible) or 2) several unrelated or uncanny events occur simultaneously (e.g., last night’s power outage, a sick kiddo, and a coffee spill). Perseverance is generally the best response (“Resist the devil and he will flee from you” James 4:7), but you may find that some focused prayer (by yourself or a fellow believer) is necessary. Don’t be afraid to ask a friend or leader if they, too think something suspicious is going on.
Discuss the following prompts:
- What categories best explain the biggest barriers you face when reading scripture?
- What do you believe would make Bible reading easier?
Practicing right now:
Spend some time as a group “workshopping” a couple of ways for each member to get around one or more particular barriers. For those who aren’t experiencing any major barriers, consider whether it may be time to add some additional challenge to their practice. Over the next two weeks, you’ll be able to practice the adjustments recommended by your community.
If warranted, pray over anyone who feels as though they are experiencing spiritual warfare when they try to read scripture. Keep it simple for the community, but feel free to reach out to church leadership if you feel something more intensive may be required.
Practicing this week:
The Practice this week is to read each day from the Van City Lectionary while trying out the methods of avoiding barriers your community came up with for you. If you don’t have a physical copy of the lectionary, you can find a digital copy here. The Lectionary is a way we can be formed together by God’s Spirit through the Scriptures beyond the Sunday Gathering.
Don’t try to implement mulitple strategies at once; start with one and then integrate or switch to another one later on, etc. Be prepared to share with your Community in two weeks how your adjustments did or didn’t help your scripture-reading practice.
Close in prayer
End by having someone pray over the group.