“I’m sorry, it’s a rather long reading this morning.”
If you have spent any time in evangelical churches, you have probably heard those words. Perhaps you have spoken them yourself. The Bible reader steps to the lectern, glances apologetically at the congregation, and warns them that what follows may test their patience. A chapter from Isaiah. A Psalm. An entire section from one of Paul’s letters. The assumption seems obvious: people do not really want this much Bible.
Yet it is worth asking a simple question – why are we apologising for the very thing God commands us to do?
Imagine a church service where the preacher stood up and said, “I’m sorry, this sermon is a bit long today.” Or where the worship leader announced, “I apologise that we are singing so many songs this morning.” We would immediately recognise the oddness. The elements of worship should not require apology. So why has the public reading of Scripture become the one part of the service for which Christians often feel compelled to say sorry?
Perhaps the answer reveals something uncomfortable about contemporary evangelicalism. We say we believe in the authority, sufficiency, and power of Scripture. We affirm that God’s Word is living and active. We insist that Scripture is central. Yet our liturgical instincts sometimes suggest otherwise. We often treat Bible reading as the necessary preliminary before the real event begins.
The Bible itself presents a radically different vision.
Scripture Reading Is Not a Warm-Up Act
One of the most revealing features of many modern churches is that Scripture reading is viewed as preparation for preaching rather than as an act of worship in its own right.
Certainly, preaching and Scripture reading belong together. The sermon expounds and applies the text. But throughout Scripture, the public reading of God’s Word possesses its own dignity, authority, and significance.
When Moses renewed the covenant with Israel, God’s law was read publicly before the people (Deuteronomy 31:9–13). The purpose was not merely information but transformation. Men, women, children, and foreigners were to hear God’s Word so that they might learn to fear the Lord.
Centuries later, after the exile, Ezra gathered the people in Jerusalem and read from the Law “from daybreak till noon” (Nehemiah 8:3). By modern standards, the reading was astonishingly long. Yet the emphasis of the narrative falls not on the endurance of the congregation but on their attentiveness. The people stood. They listened. They worshipped. They wept. They rejoiced.
The reading of Scripture was itself a moment of profound spiritual encounter.
The same pattern continues in the New Testament. Paul’s letters were written not primarily to be studied privately but to be read publicly in gathered churches. The apostle explicitly instructs the churches to read his letters aloud (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27).
Most strikingly, Paul commands Timothy “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13) Notice the distinction. Public reading, exhortation, and teaching are listed as related but separate activities. The reading of Scripture is not collapsed into preaching. It stands alongside it as an essential ministry of the gathered church.
The apostle does not merely permit public Scripture reading, he commands devotion to it.
The Reading of Scripture Is the Voice of God to His People
One reason we minimise public Bible reading is that we unconsciously overestimate the importance of our own words and underestimate the power of God’s. A preacher’s exposition may be faithful and helpful. But it is not inspired.
The reading of Scripture is different. When Scripture is faithfully read, God’s people hear the very words God has breathed out. The authority belongs not to the reader but to the text. The power lies not in eloquence but in divine revelation. This reality should profoundly shape our priorities in corporate worship.
Consider a typical service. Which words carry greater authority, the ten minutes of notices or the five minutes of Bible reading? Which words are infallible, the preacher’s illustrations or Paul’s epistle? Which words has the Holy Spirit promised to use for conviction, conversion, sanctification, and encouragement?
The answers seem obvious. And yet the practical emphasis of many churches often suggests the opposite. A church can survive a poor sermon more easily than it can survive a famine of Scripture.
The preacher’s words are valuable precisely because they expound God’s Word. Remove the Bible and preaching loses its foundation. Remove preaching and Scripture still remains God’s powerful, living revelation. The church is created and sustained by the Word of God.
God’s People Need More Scripture Than We Think
One of the common justifications for shorter readings is concern about attention spans. We are told that modern people cannot concentrate. We live in an age of smartphones, short-form video, constant distraction, and shrinking attention. Surely lengthy readings are unrealistic.
There is undoubtedly some truth here. Concentration is a challenge. But the solution is not less Scripture. Imagine applying the same logic elsewhere. Because people struggle to pray, we should shorten prayers. Because people struggle to listen, we should shorten sermons. Because people struggle with holiness, we should lower God’s standards.
The biblical response to weakness is rarely accommodation. It is discipleship. Part of Christian maturity involves learning to listen attentively to God’s Word.
Furthermore, many churches underestimate what congregations are capable of. People regularly sit through lengthy sporting events, university lectures, podcasts, documentaries, and business meetings. They binge-watch television series for hours.
The problem is not simply attention span. The deeper issue is often expectation. When churches consistently communicate that five minutes of Bible reading is excessive, congregations eventually believe it. When churches regularly read substantial portions of Scripture with conviction and reverence, people learn to listen.
Christians can grow in attentiveness to Scripture just as they grow in every other spiritual discipline.
Public Reading Accomplishes What Sermons Cannot
This may sound surprising, but there are things public Scripture reading can achieve that even excellent preaching cannot. For one thing, it exposes congregations to the whole counsel of God.
Every preacher has emphases. Every minister has favourite themes. Every church culture develops certain priorities. Scripture reading helps prevent imbalance. A church committed to substantial Bible reading regularly encounters difficult passages, unfamiliar texts, neglected doctrines, and uncomfortable truths. The congregation hears God’s agenda rather than merely the preacher’s.
Moreover, public reading immerses believers in the language, rhythms, and categories of Scripture itself. Many Christians today know Christian books better than the Bible. They are familiar with theological summaries but less familiar with the actual text. They recognise catchphrases from conferences but struggle to navigate entire biblical books. Longer readings help address this problem.
The people of God need repeated exposure to Scripture in its full context. They need to hear arguments develop, narratives unfold, and themes emerge across entire chapters rather than isolated verses.
The Bible was largely written as books, letters, poems, histories, and narratives – not collections of disconnected proof texts. Reading larger portions helps congregations experience Scripture as God originally gave it.
The Reformers Understood This
The Protestant Reformation was not merely a recovery of biblical preaching. It was also a recovery of biblical reading. The Reformers inherited a church culture in which Scripture was often inaccessible to ordinary believers. Their response was not simply to preach more. They worked tirelessly to place God’s Word back into the ears and hands of God’s people.
In Reformation worship, substantial portions of Scripture were routinely read. The public reading of God’s Word occupied a prominent place in gathered worship because Scripture itself occupied a prominent place in their theology. This was no accident.
The Reformers understood that the church is fundamentally a hearing community. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). God’s people are formed not primarily by creativity, entertainment, or novelty but by repeated exposure to divine revelation.
Modern evangelicals often celebrate Reformation theology while quietly neglecting one of its practical implications. A high view of Scripture should produce substantial Scripture reading.
Pastors Should Lead the Way
The responsibility here falls particularly upon pastors and church leaders. If leaders apologise for Bible reading, congregations will learn to view Scripture as an interruption. If leaders treat Bible reading as a formality, congregations will do the same.
But if pastors visibly delight in Scripture, read it reverently, and give it generous space within worship, the church will gradually learn its value.
Pastors should consider asking some searching questions:
– How much of our service is occupied by God’s words compared with ours?
– Could a visitor conclude from our gatherings that we genuinely believe Scripture is sufficient?
– Do we give public Bible reading the same preparation and intentionality that we give sermons and music?
– Are we helping our congregations hear substantial portions of God’s Word?
The goal is not legalism. Scripture does not prescribe a precise number of verses for every service. The issue is one of conviction. Churches that truly believe in the power of God’s Word should naturally want more of it, not less.
Let the Bible Speak
Perhaps the next time someone hands you a Bible reading assignment that spans an entire chapter, or even several chapters, you should resist the urge to apologise.
Instead, read with confidence. Read clearly. Read reverently. Read as though God is speaking, because he is. After all, no Christian has ever been harmed by hearing too much Scripture. Churches are weakened by many things – worldliness, false teaching, prayerlessness, compromise, and unbelief – but never by an abundance of God’s Word.
The church does not need less Bible. It needs more. And when God’s people gather, one of the greatest gifts we can give them is the opportunity to hear their Father’s voice.
So let us stop apologising for long Bible readings, and let us start recovering them.
Chalmers' Blog 