God's word is living and powerful. It goes forth and accomplishes what God has intended it to do. When the church, or a family, gathers together for worship often the acts of singing and prayer come to mind as acts of worship. But reading the scriptures is equally an act of worship. God is pleased to hear his word read to his people in an act of devotion, calling the people to obedience and faithfulness.

The National Center for Family Integrated Churches welcomes Marcus Servin with the following message entitled, Reading the Word of God as worship. Thank you all for coming out early this morning especially for this particular topic on reading the Word of God. I think if you look over the whole survey of different topics you'll find that there's like three or four on on regulative principle there's three or four on music but there's only one on reading the Word of God and so I'm happy to be able to bring that to you this morning and and to challenge you a little bit and maybe broaden your horizons a little bit about why this is an important topic and why it's considered one of the essential aspects of the worship of God. That's really what we're all about at this conference, isn't it? We're trying to find out, Lord, what pleases you?

What is the way you want us to worship you, Lord? That's what we're after. And so, doing so, we have to begin to expand some of our thinking and think about this issue of reading the Word of God. Let me just start by saying this. The Word of God is powerful to convict and to convert.

Why would we think it shouldn't be in the worship of God? When the Word of God does that, when it convicts us and it converts us, then of course it should be in the worship of God. In some way, it's a simple question to answer. We find lots of places in the Bible where we're exhorted to read the Word of God and also where we see the example of the reading of the Word of God have such a profound and powerful effect. So think about back in the end of Deuteronomy when Moses instructs the people of God that every seven years there is to be a public reading of the Pentateuch, of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, every seven years of public reading.

Or in 2 Kings 23, when the workers of King Josiah find the manuscript of the law in the walls of Jerusalem, in hidden places they had forgotten about, it's found. And so the word of God is read and the people weep because they haven't heard it for so long. Some of them in their whole lifetime, or 185 years later during the time of the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem. Nehemiah has come back to Jerusalem. The wall is rebuilt.

They haven't had yet a celebration or dedication, but they determined that not only are they going to reconstruct the wall and and bring some sort of physical protection for the people of God, but they also needs to be a moral transformation as well, because the people have been corrupted by idolatrous ideas. And so as they come back to Jerusalem, the wall is rebuilt, then they have a public reading of the Word of God. And you can read all about it in Nehemiah chapter 8, where Nehemiah asks and instructs Ezra the priest to stand on a platform, and he reads to all the people. It takes him a long time to read through the whole text and again the people are so struck they weep and fall down on their knees and before the priest as they're convicted of how they've neglected these things in the Word of God. And so the reading of the Bible publicly is a very significant and important aspect of our worship.

Now, you can think about how the Word of God strikes you. How does it strike you? Well sometimes it brings me to the point of trembling And I use that word very purposefully. I'm thinking of the text in Isaiah 66 verse 2. But this is the one to whom I will look, who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at My Word." What do I mean by tremble?

What does this text mean by saying that? It's talking about that whole issue of being convicted by the Word of God, of becoming acutely aware of your own sin, things that perhaps you've just buried down in the deep recesses of your mind. You don't even want to think about those things anymore. You're ashamed of them, you're guilty of them, and you read through the Word of God and it brings it all bubbling to the surface and you're convicted that's one of the meanings of the word tremble and and it's that idea of being convicted of your sins. Another would be the whole idea of being struck with awe at the presence of God, for after all when you're reading His Word, you're reading the very words of God.

That's why we affirm in the historic Protestant Reformed churches the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture. We understand that God has inspired not only the very words, but all of them. Not just a few here or a few there as if there were some passages that were inspired and others are not no they're all inspired by God and so in that sense when we when we read the word of God, then we're struck with the presence of God, who's manifesting himself through the written word. And so those are ways that the Bible, when I either hear it or read it, it makes me tremble, because it speaks to me about the presence of God or it brings me to the point of convert point of conviction Let me tell you a little story about Joe Moorcraft. Joe's always telling stories about everybody else.

It's good in turn to tell a little story about him. I think he would like that. When Joe was in seminary, he went to a particular school. And it was Columbia Theological Seminary down in the Atlanta area. And he had a professor there by the name of Dr.

Ronald E. Wallace. Dr. Wallace is a Calvin scholar and that's why I know him because I've been interested so much in Calvin and he's written a number of fine books on Calvin's ministry in Geneva. But When Dr.

Wallace was just a young man, and he wasn't called Dr. Ronald Wallace, he was just called Ronnie or something like that. He was a student at the university in Edinburgh, Scotland, and he wasn't really sure about all this Christianity stuff. He just didn't really know what to make of it. He had been to church a few times as a boy, and he had heard a little bit of the Bible and a little bit of the Gospel, but really wasn't sure, and like many young university students was skeptical.

So he went one night to hear an atheist lecture about why the God of the Bible was not true. So imagine this young man going into this great lecture hall. He's standing there before the speaker. He sits down. The atheist starts into his diatribe against Christianity.

And at one point in his whole presentation, he quotes a short portion of the Word of God, but he quotes it in derision and an antagonistic efforts to defeat it. But it was at that instant that God grabs a hold of this young man, Ronald Wallace, and convicts him and converts him. He went into that lecture hall as a university student. He went into that lecture hall not sure what he believed. He left the lecture hall as a man who was fervently and permanently converted to Jesus Christ's disciple.

How do you explain such things? Only by the power of the Word of God. Well that story of course made a big impact on Dr. Moorcraft and he loves telling it, probably tells it better than I do, but nevertheless it's a good story and a good reminder to us that God's Word is powerful to do what we don't even understand at times. You recall of course in Hebrews chapter 4 where the Bible describes the Word of God in this way.

It says, for the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and of the spirit of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and no creature is hidden from his sight. But all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. So the Bible in itself speaks of itself in a self-authenticating manner of showing how powerful and strong it is and how it pierces down to the inner man. It reveals those thoughts that are in the very bottom of our soul, so to speak, or in the recesses of our mind, and it exposes our motives for what they truly are. That is the power of the Word of God and why it should be read.

Now I thought like any thoroughgoing investigation, if we were having a criminal investigation or something like that, we want to talk about who, what, where, why, and how. Those five interrogative questions. And so I'm going to take them, not exactly in that order, but we're going to look at this question of the reading of the Word of God in worship and just go through each one of those questions. So the first one is why? Why should the Word of God be read in the worship service?

Why should it? Well, because God has commanded it. That's good enough, isn't it? If God has commanded it, we ought to do it. And maybe the first question that pops into your mind is, well, where?

Where in the Bible has God commanded it? Well, I'll give you a few examples of where he's commanded the reading of his word. And it follows along these lines as parents or as husbands or as leaders of the church, elders, deacons, pastors, and so on. God has commanded that his word shall be read. In Deuteronomy 6, 6 to 9, we're all familiar with this passage, where we're instructed, these words, you shall teach them diligently to your children.

The word of God ought to be read aloud in your household. And so as a parent, you have that obligation before God, He's instructed you, He's commanded you to do that very thing, to be reading the Word of God. Husbands, in Ephesians 5 verse 26, the husbands have the obligation and the responsibility before Almighty God to Wash your wife in the Word, that you might sanctify her, having cleansed her with the Word of God. So husbands have that responsibility. I didn't grow up knowing that as a young man.

I didn't know that hardly even when I was initially married. But as you study and you read the Word of God, it continues to speak to you and show you your responsibility. Another example in 2 Timothy 4 verse 2, Paul writes the letter to the young pastor Timothy as he's laboring in emphasis and and what is Timothy to do? How is he to preach? What's he to say?

So Paul says in 2 Timothy 4-2, preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, all of those exhortations are given with the Word of God in mind that there's to be a reading and a proclamation and a preaching of the Word of God. And so in that sense, it is to be read and it also is to be preached. Now another passage that you're familiar with I'm sure from Isaiah, Isaiah 55, The prophet there makes the point that the Word of God is powerful and active. And this statement is made in chapter 55 verse 11. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. It's a promise, really, That the Word of God does not come back void That is we read it proclaim it preach it It comes back and it bears fruit in a person's life. Maybe not immediately But there will be some effect in that person's life because it's more than just words of antiquity, it's more than just words of Aristotle, Cicero, and Plato, it's words that come from God. And so for that reason they ought to be read. Another passage that comes to mind as a reason is Romans 10 verse 17.

In that passage it talks about how the preachers are to be commissioned to be sent out, and beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the Word of God. But it also goes on to say in Romans 10 verse 17, so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. And so God uses his Word as a means of grace. So that's why you'll find, for example, in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, There'll be question 89, how is the Word of God made effectual to salvation? And then the answer is that the Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

And so again we see that basic emphasis that the Word of God is a means of God ministering to us. It's a way in which he shows his grace and demonstrates it to us in our life. In 1 Timothy 4 13, Paul gives the admonition to Timothy. He says, until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture to exhortation and to teaching. Now here's a direct command right from the Apostle Paul to the young pastor Timothy that he needs to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture.

Again, just reading chapters of the Bible so that people can interact with the Word of God without any comment, just hearing it and allowing it to penetrate into your soul. Timothy, I think, would be very open to this. It wasn't like Paul was asking him to do something he was unfamiliar with. For how did Timothy himself come to faith in Christ? How was it?

Well, the Bible tells us that it was through his grandmother and his mother. And so, in 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes, But it's for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is breathed out or inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for corrections, and for training of righteousness that the man of God may be competent equipped for every good work." So not only is Paul giving Timothy an exhortation here, but he also is reminding him, look brother, remember your past. Remember how God spoke to you, how God brought faith up in you. It was through the readings of the sacred writings.

I would submit that this is a wonderful example. When you look at Paul and you look at Timothy, two men who were deeply saturated in the Word. Paul comes to Christ much later in life in a real crisis conversion. I don't know what else you call the conversion of the Apostle Paul than a crisis conversion. But Timothy, on the other hand, is an example of what I would call covenantal evangelism.

Here's his mother and his grandmother reading the Word of God to him, speaking to him about the things of God, telling him about all the great deeds of God, and in time God brings him to the point of faith and awakens that faith in Timothy. Now the interesting thing is you have Paul on the one side who has this very dramatic crisis type conversion, and you had Timothy on the other side who seems to have just a organic sort of slowly coming to Christ over the years through the witnessing of his mother and grandmother, and they both get along just fine. They're not quarreling about this. Paul's not looking down on Timothy saying, you need something else. Timothy's not looking on Paul and saying, well, this is just an emotional thing, but they both accept one another perfectly.

So from the earliest days, Timothy had heard the Word of God read to him. And the Bible says in Paul's next verse here that all Scripture is inspired of God and is profitable, it's sufficient, it's useful in a number of different areas. And he gives us four areas that he lays out here. For teaching and reproof, those two go together, they both have to do with doctrine and false belief. And Paul's saying that the Bible is useful and profitable for telling us what to believe, the right things, and also to correct those wrong things that have come into our thinking.

And so we see both sides of that coin in terms of doctrine. And then he deals with the issue of behavior on the other side. When he talks about corrections and training for righteousness, we see how we're to be built up in training in righteous ways of living and there are corrections to help us reverse our course when we go astray and the Bible is useful for all of that and so another compelling reason why it should be read in the worship service. What passages may be read? What passages?

The Lord Jesus actually speaks to this question. And he speaks about it in an unusual situation in the Gospel of Luke, the 24th chapter. He's on the road to Emmaus. And the disciples are walking along with him. And in verse 27, and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

We see here from the example of our Lord's what we should be reading. We should be reading all the Scriptures, not just the New Testament, not just our favorite books. We should be reading it all. We should be reading the genealogies. We should be reading the prophets.

We should be reading the wisdom literature. We should be reading all these different parts of Scripture because they're all illustrative and they're all beneficial for us as Christian men and women. Jesus goes on after that walk on the road to Emmaus and then He appears to His disciples and in verse 44 He says this, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you. That everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled and He opened to their minds to understand the Scriptures. Jesus gives there in that short little sentence in the words that he covers.

The three major divisions of the Old Testament. He talks about the Law of Moses or the Pentateuch, the Torah, and all the historical books that go along with them. He talks about the prophets. And then he also talks about the Psalms and the Wisdom literature. That's the whole Old Testament.

And all of that, Jesus is saying, points to Him. It speaks of Him. And so we ought to be reading all those portions of Scripture. Even though we might find, well, we're not all that interested in this part of scripture or that doesn't quite minister to my soul. I have to say that from a pastor's point of view, there are times where I have preached through different books.

I'm an expositional preacher. I like to preach books of the Bible. And I've come to those portions of those books where it has lists of names. For example, in the book of Nehemiah, where it just lists the names of all the returning families and all the different Levites and various people who helped in this or that. And my tendency, and I have to admit I did this about 20 years ago preaching through the book of Nehemiah, I just skipped over that.

Well, I preached it again a couple years back, and this time I didn't skip over those. And there are so many different insights and different very special lessons that flowed out of those lists. When I started studying, well, who were some of those families? And what did they do prior to the time of exile? And what did they do when they came back?

And how did they relate to each other? And how did they obey God or disobey God? And all of that was tremendous. Right now, right now, true confessions, I'm preaching through the book of Romans. I'm at Romans 16.

Am I going to go through all the lists of those names? You betcha. I'm going to take every one of them. And some of the people who are in our congregation know that's true. Maybe it's stubbornness.

I don't think so. I think it's perhaps more just the cognitive realization that God uses every word, Even the little names here and there. There's a story behind each one of them. And we can benefit from that. So the whole idea of preaching the Word of God and All of it is the answer to the what question.

Paul in Acts 20 verse 27 says to the Ephesian elders, knowing he's not going to see them anymore, he says, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Just not a little part over here, not a little part over there, but everything. He taught them in public, he tells them, and he taught them going from house to house. Just a little side note, That's a beautiful picture of pastoral ministry right there. Public proclamation, but also at the same time going from house to house and truly shepherding the people.

And this means that Paul proclaimed the Torah, he proclaimed the historical books, he proclaimed the prophets, the Psalms and the Proverbs. He touched on it and dealt with the genealogies of Jesus. He dealt with the parables of Jesus. He dealt with apocalyptic literature and eschatology, all those issues concerning the end times, and he dealt with the sayings of Jesus. The Gospels at that time were in the process of being written.

Paul probably didn't have them all in front of him, but there were documents that contained the sayings of Jesus, and evidently he read and taught from those. And so those are all just examples here of the what should be read, and the answer is very simple. All of the Word of God. Every part of it. Now the Westminster Confession of Faith has a directory of the public worship of God.

It's a little addendum to the Westminster Confession and it says this about the reading of the word of God. Reading of the word in the congregation, being part of the public worship of God, wherein we acknowledge our dependence upon him and subjection to him, and it is one means sanctified him for the edification of his people and is to be performed by pastors and teachers. All the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, but none of those which are commonly called The apocrypha, so the Westminster Divines or the Reformers are saying, none of the apocryphal writings, only the canonical books, the 66 books of the Bible, shall be publicly read in the vulgar tongue. And the word vulgar means they're just the common language so that everybody can understand. Out of the best allowed translation and distinctly so that all may hear and understand, How large a portion shall be read at once is left to the wisdom of the minister.

But it is convenient that ordinarily one chapter of each testament should be read at every meeting and sometimes more where the chapters are short or the coherence of the matter requireth it. It is requisite that all the canonical books should be read over and over in order, that the people may be better acquainted with the whole body of Scriptures, and ordinarily where the reading in either testament endeth on the Lord's day, it is to begin the next. Besides public reading of the Holy Scriptures, every person that can read is to be exhorted to read the Scriptures privately, and all others that cannot read, or if disabled by age or otherwise are likewise to be exhorted to read and to have a Bible, or have the Bible read to them. So these are the Reformers at the time of the Puritans in the 1600s, and they're considering this whole issue of the importance of the reading of the Word of God. Not only should everyone have their own Bible, But if they can't read or somehow they're hindered from reading, then the Word of God should be read to them so they can interact with the Word of God and it can do its work in their life.

Now the next question, How should the Word of God be read? How should it be read? Well, perhaps you're thinking right off. Well, perhaps Pastor Servin is going to talk here about just reading in a Expressive voice in contrast to a monotone voice or something like that. Perhaps you've heard the story of Jonathan Edwards when he was proclaiming his sermon on the sinners in the hands of an angry God and how he has a monotone voice and looking down at his notes the whole time, but God makes that proclamation of his word powerful, whatever kind of voice you might have.

But nonetheless, there is the importance of reading in an expressive way. And then beyond that, there's the importance of reading in a comprehensive way and a reverent way of the Word of God. So an example of that takes place and I've already referred to this a little bit in Nehemiah 8. So if you want to turn there, you'll find a fascinating passage. I mentioned earlier that it had been 185 years since the public reading of the law of God in the times of Josiah.

And so it's been brought up prominently again. And in so doing, the people now are begging to be read the word of God. So listen to what happens. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could understand what they heard on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it, facing the square before the Watergate from early morning until midday in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law and Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they made for the purpose and beside him stood I'm just going to skip those names if you don't mind no just teasing just yeah I just had to get you there a little bit and beside him stood Mattathiah Shema Ananias Uriah Hilkiah, and Massasiah on his right hand, and Pediah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashim, and Habedah, and Zechariah, and Meshulam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people and as he opened it all the people stood and Ezra blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered amen amen lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground also jeshua bani cherubiah jamun achab shebethi hodaia masa saiya kelita azariah joseph ad hanin palaia the Bani, Cherubiah, Jaman, Acha, Shebethi, Hodiah, Massasiah, Calita, Azariah, Josabat, Hanan, Pilea, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law while the people remained in their places.

They read from the book, from the law of God, clearly. And they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading. Right there is an example of expository preaching. Reading of the Word of God, then the Levites, reading it again and commenting so that the people could understand it. It would be clear in their minds.

And so the Word of God should be read in such a way so that the people can understand it. That's really the fundamental answer to the question, how should it be read so that people can understand. That's how it should be read. And in Ezra's case, whether he had a monotone voice or an expressive voice, who knows? But God uses it.

And the Levites help them to understand it and they expound the text. Again from the Westminster Confession of Faith, the larger catechism this time, question 157. How is the Word of God to be read and the answer is the holy scriptures are to be read with a high and reverent esteem of them with a firm persuasion that they are the very Word of God and that he can only enable us to understand them. They should be read with the desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them with diligence and attention to the matter and scope of them, with meditation, application, self-denial and prayer." So this is how the Word of God should be read. Now who may read the Word of God?

And specifically, we're talking about who should read the Word of God in worship services? Who should read the Word of God in family worship? And who should read the Word of God in maybe more private or informal settings? And the answer to that is given in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 31, we find Moses giving some instructions here at the end of his life.

And in verses 9, and then also in verses 11 and 13, he has this to say, Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into all of Israel. Verse 10, and Moses commanded them, at the end of every seven years, at the set time, in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that He will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the men or assemble the people, men, women, and little ones and the sojourner within your towns that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to do all the words of this law and that their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live it in the land that you're going over the Jordan to possess." So Moses gives the instructions to the priests, the sons of Levi. And so when it comes to these issues of worship services and solemn assemblies, the Bible generally gives this instruction that it is those who are in that role of representing God.

In the Old Testament, the priests, the elders. In the New Testament, the elders, the deacons, the pastors, the teachers. Those are evangelist missionaries. In the public assembly, those ought to be the ones who read. In regard to family worship, who reads?

In Deuteronomy 6 verse 6 to 9, and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your children." The you there is speaking of a father who's leading his family and fathers have this special responsibility. Now I'll just say candidly I believe that the Bible allows for the Word of God to be delegated, the reading of it, to mothers and children and so on. Around our family worship table, we'll sometimes share in the reading of the Word of God. But nonetheless, It is my responsibility as a head of household and as a father before God to make sure that it's read reverently, to make sure that it's read in such a way that leads to understanding, to make sure that it is read clearly. And so in family worship, the fathers have that responsibility, but I believe they can delegate it out.

In Psalm 78, verses 5 to 7, he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel and he commanded our fathers to teach to their children that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God and not forget his commandments." And so here you see the duty of fathers more explicitly stated that the fathers had that special duty. And in essence, what are they communicating by doing the reading of the Word of God? What are they actually communicating? I think something along these lines. Wife and children, are we going to be a people who are a people of prayer, and we're going to submit ourselves to God and humble ourselves before Him through prayer?

Wife and children, are we going to heed and obey This book that I am reading before you, it's those kind of questions that the Father as a head of household, as really a covenant head, is taking that responsibility and fulfilling it before God and his family. And so they take the lead. They're supported by their wife and also in the church setting, it's the church officers who have that special responsibility. Now the confession And the catechism answers in this way the question, who shall read the word of God? In the larger catechism, number 156, is the word of God to be read by all?

Now listen to their answer. Although all are not to be permitted to read the word publicly to the congregation yet, all sorts of people are bound to read it apart by themselves and with their families, to which end the holy scriptures are to be translated out of the original into vulgar or common languages." So again, a consistent picture there that there's to be a covenant responsibility of the men leading in this, and in particular, church officers in the public worship of the congregation. In the directory for the public worship of God, a similar comment. Reading of the word in the congregation, being part of the public worship of God, wherein we acknowledge our dependence upon him and our subjection to him, and one means sanctified by him for the edifying of his people is to be performed by the pastors and teachers." Or a little further in the directory for family worship, it talks about the responsibility of fathers over their families. The ordinary duties comprehended under the exercise of piety which should be in families, when they are convened to that effect are these, first, prayer and praises performed with a special reverence as well as to the public condition of the kirk of God and this kingdom." Kirk, by the way, is the Scottish word for church, if you don't know that.

And so the condition of the Church of God and this kingdom. As to the present case of the family and every member thereof, Next, the reading of the scriptures with catechizing in a plain way that the understanding of the simpler may be better enabled to profit under the public ordinances and may be made more capable to understand the scriptures when they are read. Together with godly conferences tending to the edification of all the members in the most holy faith, as also admonition and rebuke upon just reasons for those who have authority in the family." And there it's talking about private meetings that take place, where you say to your son or your daughter, hey, come with me and let's just talk about the things of God. Or, I have some things I want to talk to you about. Let's go into the other room here.

And no, you're not in trouble. I just want to talk to you about Some of these things that are on my heart that I want to communicate to you. And one last aspect out of the directory for family worship. The head of the family is to take care that None of the family withdraw himself from any part of family worship. And seeing the ordinary performance of all the parts of family worship belonging properly to the head of the family, The minister is to stir up such as are lazy and train up those who are weak.

And so the Scots and the Puritans took very seriously the reading of the Word of God, not only in churches, but also in families, and it was to be fulfilled by the covenant head. And from that, then they were in addition to catechize or teach or train their children or household members so that they would better understand the reading of the Word, for that is the goal. That's why we read it, so we'll understand it better. Where may the Word of God be read? Well in Isaiah 55, 11, so that my word, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The implication of that text is it's to be read everywhere. So in answer to the question where, well in all sorts of settings, all sorts of places, in the home and in the marketplace and in churches and in places of business and in places of service and mercy and tenderness, for example, at a hospital or a rest home or places where people are recovering from various illnesses and problems, those are places where we read the Word of God and in times of solemn assemblies in public. If there were to be a solemn assembly in our land think of this for a minute, And our political leaders all convened a solemn assembly and not just a multitude of different voices from different religious persuasions, but they became convinced that the God of the Bible called us to repentance. It would be appropriate to have a reading of the Word of God and preaching on that word. So that the people of our land could be convicted and converted by the reading and the preaching of the Word.

Now there are specific admonitions given or examples as well in the book of Acts and Acts 13 15 it speaks of how there was a practice in the local synagogues when Paul and Silas or Barnabas would go to various places they would oftentimes start first at the local synagogue and and they would hear there the reading of the Word of God and so it notes in Acts 13 15 after the reading from the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue in this case it was an Antioch the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them saying brothers if you have any word of exhortation for the people say it well we see the pattern here there's a reading of the Word of God and then there's an expounding of it or in Acts 15 21 From the ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues." In this case, that's contained in a letter that's sent out by the Jerusalem Council. It's just simply acknowledging the fact that on the Sabbath day, in this case, the old Jewish Sabbath, there will be a reading of the word of God in the synagogues.

And it is the church then that picks that same type or pattern up for their own reading of the Word of God in their churches on the Lord's Day. Or in Colossians chapter 4 verse 16, Paul tells the people at Colossae, He says, and when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and see to it that you also read the letter of the Laodiceans. And so there's these mutual letters, and we don't have the letter written to the church at Laodicea, but we do have the one written to the church at Colossae. So in God's providence, that's the one that's been preserved. But it's good for us to know that those two cities were neighbors.

They're in the same valley. If you visit Turkey or what it was called in the ancient times Asia, then you're going to find these two cities not very far apart. Both of them with churches, both recipients of letters from the Apostle Paul. And so for that reason, they both are going to trade letters and read them publicly. Also to the church in Thessalonica, Paul writes in 1st Thessalonians 5 27, I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

Here Paul is having them take an oath as it were before God that they're going to fulfill this responsibility and they're going to make sure the letter is read. Why? Well, because Paul's letter to the Thessalonians deals with some pretty thorny and difficult problems. Read it sometime. You'll see it's dealing with all sorts of people who have aberrant views concerning the return of Christ, some of whom have decided they're just going to stop working and not do anything productive anymore because Christ is coming at any moment.

And Paul has to exhort them that if you won't work, you won't eat. And then give them more precise instruction as to the times and the ways in which the Lord Jesus will return so he exhorts them to make sure that they read it And so we've covered the five questions here. Why should the Word of God be read? Well, because God commanded it. What passages of the Bible should be read?

Well, the whole Council of God, all 66 books of the Old and the New Testament, they should be read ad seriatim, meaning one after the other after the other. How should the Word of God be read so that it can be understood. That's the primary reason and the primary way in which it should be read. So that it can be understood. Who may read the Word of God?

Well in a church setting, it should be those church leaders, those who have responsibility for the flock, those who are accountable to God for fulfilling the obligations of all the details of public worship. In a home setting, it would be the fathers who had that primary responsibility. They may delegate it out to others, but they're responsible ultimately before God to make sure it happens. Where may the Word of God be read? Well, in all sorts of general settings, in solemn assemblies, in synagogues, in churches, in homes, in private, in all sorts of places.

And what does it produce in us when we read it? As Isaiah said, but this is the one to whom I will look he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word they're convicted and they're convicted, and they're struck by the powerful all of God. I want to conclude with a story. I think most of you know the name of John Wesley. I don't admire Wesley for his theology necessarily.

I do admire him for his diligence. He was the most amazing itinerant evangelist you could imagine. He rode on horseback thousands of miles every year. Every day he preached upwards of seven, eight, nine sermons in various settings and locations, oftentimes with hostile audiences who were very difficult to preach through. Late one night after having a long day of preaching, he was riding back home.

And he was crossing a very remote area called the houndslow heath. He was riding on his horse. He was singing one of his favorite hymns when all of a sudden out of the darkness steps a man with a weapon and says halt your money or your life. So Wesley was startled but he begins to empty his pockets of whatever he has in there. He didn't have much.

He's a preacher. He doesn't have very much to give him. He has a few coins in his pocket, which he gladly gives, and then he opens his saddle's bag and all the robber finds is some Bibles and other theological books, and he's not interested in those. And so he turns away a little bit disgusted with himself and disappointed with the result of this robbery when Wesley cries out to him, stop, stop, I have something more to give you. The thief turns around and he comes back wondering at this strange call.

And Mr. Wesley, bending down to him in solemn tones, says, my friend, You may live to regret this sort of life in which you are engaged, and if you ever do, I beseech you to remember this, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us all from sin." And he quotes there 1st John 1-7. Well the robber goes off and the years go by and one night years later at the close of a Sunday evening service John Wesley is there greeting people who are still lingering to talk to the aged preacher when up steps a man with a very familiar face. It's the robber from Hounslow Heath. Only this time, he's a well-to-do tradesman in the city and better still, a child of God.

He takes Mr. Wesley's hand up to his face and he affectionately kisses his hand and he says in tones of emotion, to you dear sir I owe it all. And John Wesley replies, nay, nay my friend, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ, which cleanses us from all sin.'" see, that's an example of the power of the Word of God. Not everybody who sits in the assembly at your church or mine has been converted. There are children in our families.

They're covenant children. They're being raised up in our households. They're being taught the Word of God. They're hearing catechisms. They're hearing creeds.

They're hearing all sorts of talk about things that God has done but at some point their heart must be changed and God uses the means of his word to convict and convert let us not forget it let's pray together Lord we thank you for your powerful word. We thank you Lord for these testimonies from Dr. Moorcraft all about Ronald Wallace, his professor, and his conversion by hearing the Word of God. We thank you Lord for the testimonies of John Wesley and the robber of Hounslow Heath. We thank you Lord for the testimonies out of our own life when we've heard the Word of God read and proclaimed and it has hit us like a ton of bricks and convicted us.

And then as time went along, converted us and brought us to an understanding and faith in Christ. And so we thank you, Lord, that you use your Word. Not just ordinary words on the paper but the very words of God and all of them so we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. For more messages, articles, and videos on the subject of conforming the church and the family to the Word of God, and for more information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, where you