What’s a lectionary? 

A lectionary is a selection of Bible readings appointed for each Sunday. The Revised Common Lectionary, which we have been using for 25 years, is a three year cycle of readings that provided four readings for each Sunday, an Old Testament, a Psalm, an Epistle, and a Gospel reading. Now there is a new lectionary to choose from called the Narrative Lectionary!

What’s the Narrative Lectionary? 

The Narrative Lectionary was created at Luther Seminary and has a four year cycle of readings. Each Sunday, one reading is provided, selected from the great stories of the Bible, beginning with Genesis in the Fall, and ending in the Epistles by the end of Spring. The goal is to read through the biblical narrative each year, centering our lives in God’s story. This lectionary has become popular across North America, and across many denominations!

How are the readings chosen? 

Each year, the selected readings trace the sweep of the biblical story. Readings are selected with these two goals: that they tell the overall biblical story, and that they lend themselves well to preaching. These are stories of hope and disappointment, suffering and redemption. The Gospel stories differ each year, highlighting the distinctive aspects of each Gospel’s telling of the story of Jesus.

Will we still follow the church calendar? 

Yes! The church year shapes the Narrative Lectionary, and will follow it chronologically, rather than skipping back and forth as previous lectionaries have:

• Fall-Advent: Old Testament readings move through the story of God’s dealings with Israel and culminate in Advent, with the prophets who speak of longing and hope and the coming of the Messiah.

• Christmas-Lent: Readings from the Gospels will trace the movement from the birth of the Messiah at Christmas, the public revelation of the Messiah during Epiphany, and the passion and resurrection through Lent and Holy Week.

• Easter-Pentecost: Resurrection accounts, stories from Acts, and readings from Paul’s letters tell of the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence through the Easter season to the Day of Pentecost.

What will we do in the summer? 

The summer will allow us to do some fun stuff like sermon series that dive deeper into a particular topic or Bible book that the regular lectionary didn’t cover! For instance, past summers they have done series such as: The Ten Commandments, 1 John, Ruth, and Generosity!

What else can we do with it? 

Sky’s the limit! Sunday school will follow the Narrative Lectionary as well, allowing us to expand on what we heard during worship. And each Sunday the bulletin will contain a devotional insert to be used at home or on the go, with daily readings from in between the Sunday’s readings. Plus, a children’s bulletin! If you have other ideas, let us know! We are so excited to be using this new lectionary here! We pray it will deepen our love of scripture, as we continue to live out God’s story of love for the world.

Check out the introductory video below!