In recent years, I’ve noticed the absence of an element of worship that was once common in our churches.

A standard order of weekly worship among Pentecostals includes congregational singing, pastoral prayer, announcements, offering, sermon, altar response (which often involves additional prayer and singing), and benediction.

Public manifestations of spiritual gifts can occur anywhere within this order. Communion often happens monthly. Other events — such as water baptisms, baby dedications, and missionary spotlights — round out the schedule as needed.

Often missing, however, is the public reading of Scripture as a stand-alone part of worship.

Decades ago, pastors often read a select passage of Scripture in its entirety, prayed, and then preached on that passage.

Today, Bible reading falls within other aspects of the service, especially the sermon. Rather than reading Scripture before they preach, pastors now read it as they preach, interrupting the text’s flow with their own commentary.

God’s Word deserves a hearing without human speech interrupting it.

Why It Matters

First, Scripture reading should be a stand-alone worship element because the Bible mandates and models it.

The apostle Paul told Timothy, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13).

Widespread illiteracy and the high cost of publishing prevented most first-century individuals from reading books. Consequently, leaders read aloud in the company of others, so all could learn.

In the Jewish synagogue, a message based on Scripture typically followed the reading of a text. Jesus followed the synagogue model during His inaugural sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4:16–27). He read a passage from Isaiah, then showed how He fulfilled it.

The Early Church followed this model too. According to Acts 13:15, the synagogue leaders in Pisidian Antioch asked Paul and Barnabas for an “exhortation” (Greek, paráklēsis) following the reading of passages from the Law and the Prophets. Paul used the same Greek word in 1 Timothy 4:13, there translated as “preaching.”

Contemporary orders of service should perpetuate this model, following the template of Jesus and the Early Church.

A second reason to make reading a distinct element of congregational worship is the Bible’s nature. Consider how Paul described Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:15–17. It is “God-breathed” and “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” All Scripture is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

These functions inhere in Scripture. The reason God breathed out the Bible was “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verse 17). We don’t make Scripture useful by preaching it; we preach it because it is already useful.

On several occasions, C.H. Spurgeon compared preaching to defending a caged lion. He acknowledged the importance of apologetics but went on to make this suggestion:

Open the door and let the lion out; he will take care of himself. … He no sooner goes forth in his strength than his assailants flee. The way to meet infidelity is to spread the Bible. The answer to every objection against the Bible is the Bible.

Preaching plays an important role in the lives of believers. But reading Scripture publicly puts listeners into direct contact with God’s Word. That encounter alone can be transformative.

We don’t make Scripture useful by preaching it; we
preach it because
it is already useful.

A third reason for returning to Scripture reading as an element of worship is pragmatic. According to the American Bible Society’s 2024 State of the Bible report, only 38% of Americans are Bible users — the lowest share since the survey began in 2010.

The report defines Bible users as those interacting with Scripture outside of church at least three times annually.

When personal Bible engagement is lacking, reading Scripture publicly becomes even more important to Christian discipleship. Unless people hear the Bible during church, many will have no exposure to it at all.

Incorporating Reading

So, how do we devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture today?

Many liturgical churches follow the Revised Common Lectionary. It starts on Advent and offers three readings every Sunday, one each from the Old Testament, Gospels, and other New Testament books. Over the course of three years, listeners hear the entire Bible.

Although I follow a lectionary in my personal devotions, I don’t see this as a good solution for Pentecostal worship. Neither a strict observance of the traditional church calendar nor lectionary usage is part of our tradition.

Also, the weekly readings aren’t necessarily related thematically. This leaves listeners bouncing from one topic to another without a connecting thread.

A better option is reading aloud the main sermon passage before preaching. For example, I preach a sermon titled “Four People You Meet on Your Spiritual Journey,” based on Romans 16:1–23. Whenever I present that message, I do three things.

First, I introduce the text, saying something like, “Today’s Bible reading is Romans 16:1–23. Please open your Bible or Bible app to that passage and follow along as I read aloud.”

Next, I read the passage in its entirety, clearly and with emphasis. Because Romans 16 contains a lot of difficult names, I always practice the passage beforehand, making sure my pronunciations are correct.

Of course, the preacher doesn’t always have to be the one to read the passage. The public reading of Scripture offers a good opportunity to invite church attendees, including children and youth, to participate in the worship service from the platform.

There are other creative ways to read Scripture publicly. When the text is a narrative passage with dialogue, several people might participate. One serves as the overall narrator, while the others present the words of characters in the story.

Certain passages of Scripture can make for powerful responsive readings. Take Psalm 136, for example. The first half of each verse states something about God and His works. The second half repeats the phrase, “His love endures forever.” As the reader proclaims each opening line, the congregation as a whole can respond with the affirmation about God’s enduring love.

Finally, after reading, I offer a brief prayer, thanking God for His Word and asking Him to use the sermon that follows to help listeners grow in Christlikeness.

Reading the main text before starting the sermon is ideal for expository preaching, as you work your way through an entire book of the Bible, one passage at a time.

However, this approach also works well with topical sermons, as long as you choose a single passage as the main text of the sermon. That’s how my sermon on Romans 16 originated. I selected that passage for a sermon on relationships because it illustrates Paul’s interaction with members of his various churches.

Word as Worship

In Revelation 1:3, John writes, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

Notice that John says nothing about preaching here. His blessing falls on the one who reads God’s Word aloud and the church that puts it into practice. What a great reminder of the inherent power of divine revelation!

Yet this raises a question in my mind — and I hope in yours, too. There are some elements of worship we would never remove from a congregational service: singing, prayer, sermon, altar response. A worship service would seem less worshipful without them.

What, then, does it say about us that so many churches no longer read Scripture publicly as a stand-alone element of worship?

This article appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Influence magazine.