Preaching

Ihave some questions, a number of “whys” for you to consider in this month’s “Worship Whys.” We have approached some of these before, but now let me push you a bit.

If you could start from scratch to design the “Liturgy of the Word,” would you include three readings plus a psalm (which unfortunately often turns out to be another reading)?

Would you provide one reading, read second, which more often than not has little to do with the others?

Would you have readings at all? Why not just a film or a lecture on some religious topic? Wouldn’t that be more useful?

Let me really push you: Why read the Bible at all? What are we trying to do? Is this section labeled “Word” a time of religious instruction? Then discussion groups, filmstrips, videos and other things would do the job better.