Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the final post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part, the second part, the third part, the fourth part, the fifth part, the sixth part, or the seventh part of this series.

As we move into the last post in this series, I want us to finally ask what ‘public’ reading involves.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the seventh post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part, the second part, the third part, the fourth part, the fifth part and the sixth part of this series.

We are in deeply serious trouble if I have to justify the need for devotion to the public reading of Scripture. They sound like fighting words, don’t they? But they’re not. They’re words of plea, with tears in my eyes, that you let God be heard. He doesn’t need us of course, but surely the sheep who know their shepherd’s voice would want to hear that voice as often as they can.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the sixth post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part, the second part, the third part, the fourth part, and the fifth part of this series.

In my last post, I made one observation about why we perhaps don’t change in this matter: fear. There is another, although not one I say easily. It’s a simple reason, if appalling; perhaps some aren’t devoted to the public reading of Scripture because they no longer believe it’s worthwhile. The next post will dwell much on the infinite worth of reading the Bible to each other. But first, to our possible unbelief.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the fifth post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part, the second part, the third part or the fourth part of this series.

We’ve already touched on some reasons why we may not be devoted to the public reading of Scripture, especially in the second post. Nevertheless, in this fifth post, I want to draw some of these out and push us further.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the fourth post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part, the second part or the third part of this series.

In this fourth post, we turn to think about the implications of devotion to the public reading of Scripture for readers and congregations.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

This is the third post in Scott’s series on the public reading of Scripture. You may want to read the first part or the second part of this series.

In this third post, I would like to start exploring what ‘devotion’ looks like in general, but particularly for elders and preachers.

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Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. (1 Tim 4:13)

In my first post, I asked whether there is a disparity between our esteem of Scripture, and our devotion to seeing it read publicly. In this second post, I’d like us to explore some easy ways to restore church life to be reflecting this imperative, if not encapsulating it just yet.

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In 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul instructs Timothy as follows: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching”.

In a series of posts, I’d like to explore what this verse might mean and look like in our lives. Similar to my post on whether we believe in the clarity of Scripture, I’d like to take a look at the difference between what we may think we believe, and what our practice actually testifies to. Like previous posts, I can only speak of my experience of church life: that of Sydney Anglicanism. I trust, however, that this will be of benefit to others.

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