Something Old and Something New - How to Read the Bible Using Your Computer

Last year I became a member of the Company of New Pastors. One of the commitments this group makes is to pray and read the bible daily. This is such a simple and yet difficult task to accomplish, even for those of us who serve as pastors. I know the Bible is very important to Presbyterians, but I also know that many of us have trouble reading it on a regular basis. While I do not have a perfect track record, I have found that I truly enjoy praying and reading from the bible (almost) every day. And I thought I would suggest everyone who reads this blog do it as well. For those of you who aren't sure where to start or how to keep track, here are a few amazing resources (one ecumenical and the others technological).

"Lectioary Readings" (the ecumenical resource) provide a disciplined approach to reading the bible. There are two cycles: the "Daily Readings" and the "Sunday and Festival Readings." The Daily Readings provide a means for reading through the New Testament every year and the Old Testament every two years. The "Sunday and Festival Readings" provide a method that allows for the fullness of scripture to be presented in worship every three years.

One of the technological resources is your email account! Through the Presbyterian Church (USA) you can receive daily emails with the "Daily Readings" absolutely free!!! Just go to this link and sign up, http://www.pcusa.org/devotions/lectionary/index.htm. This will allow you to keep track of the days that you have read and perhaps the days that you have missed. The trick is, reading the email before you delete it. If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it goes. Theoretically we will be reading the same scripture passages every day, so if you have questions, feel free to call (or better yet), email me!

The other technological resource is our website. We have updated our links page to include a link to the readings of the day on our "Links" page, http://www.pampapcusa.org/links.php. Also on this page you will find a search engine for the bible. Type in the word you are looking for and it will give you a list of every time that word is used in the bible.

We are a people of the Book and our culture is increasingly becoming a people of the world wide web. These resources will allow us to use modern technology to practice an old spiritual discipline. Let's read the Bible - whether it's out of your old family bible with the worn-out binding or on your computer screen!