Preaching Through The Lectionary

Preaching through a series of given passages goes back to the Jewish tradition and to the tradition of the early church. In Christianity, the readings of the lectionary are ordered by the Christian year. Definition. The word lectionary is based on the Latin word lectus, which means "read. " From lectus, English speaking people have derived such words as lectern, a stand behind which one gives a lecture. A lectionary is simply an organized schedule of Scripture readings for use in Sunday worship. The Hebrews organized their readings for worship in this way, and the early Christians, following the Jews' lead, organized Scripture for Sunday readings in a similar manner. The Common Lectionary. In modern times, various denominations have developed their own lectionaries. In 1983, however, a Common Lectionary, the product of a number of denominations, was created for trial use, and in 1988 the accepted Common Lectionary was released. The Revised Common Lectionary, the fruit of research a…