TN1 Preparing to read the lesson

First published on this website in January 2001 and last updated in August 2023

Synopsis

These notes provide the basis for a training session for lesson readers and give advice for preparation.

1. Pray
2. Note the type of literature
3. Study the context of the passage
4. Grasp the mood of the passage
5. Discover the meaning of the passage
6. Visualise your listeners
7. Consider practical issues
8. Practise the passage
9. Decide to review afterwards
10. Pray again

There is then a little more detail on No. 7. Points range from your own appearance, eye contact and nerves. The notes close with a questioning of why some churches encourage people to follow the text in Bibles or on screens. It is better to listen to the spoken word without at the same time reading the printed word.

These notes have been updated with minor amendments throughout the text in August 2023. They form a part of a fuller write-up of training for lesson readers at Article A49, How to read the Bible out loud.