A Lector's Guide and Commentary to the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A) - Softcover

J. Ted Blakley has given us another of his helpful lector guides. Readers will find material to understand each text in the commentary section and performance suggestions for reading the texts with understanding. This is an indispensable resource for congregations who follow the lectionary and desire to let people hear and understand The Word of the Lord.
The Rev. Dr. Clayton J. Schmit
Professor of Preaching, Fuller Theological Seminary; Pasadena, California
Author of Public Reading of Scripture: A Handbook and Too Deep for Words: A Theology of Liturgical Expression

--Book Jacket

The Lector's Guide and Commentary is an amazing gift to those of us who preach, teach and read the Scriptures in worship. The most difficult task of the scholar is to be succinct yet thorough, and Dr. Blakley has done this. In the Introduction, he says his aim is 'to make the Bible accessible so that people might more easily enter into the biblical narrative and be encountered by the God of the Bible.' An ambitious goal, but one that the book accomplishes. In addition, the pronunciation guide is a great help to those of us who, even after years of study, struggle to say strange names and places correctly. This book is a blessing in so many ways.
The Rev. Dr. James Bryan Smith
Assistant Professor of Theology, Friends University; Wichita, Kansas
Author of several books in Christian spirituality, including The Apprentice Series

--Book Jacket

It is a wonderful privilege to belong to a church that uses a lectionary rather than relying on a narrow range of scriptures chosen by the pastor, but the other side of the privilege is that we read all sorts of passages without being sure what they are about. It is a huge privilege to read scripture in church, and these introductions will help readers do so in a way that brings the passage home to the people. They will help preachers too.
The Rev. Dr. John Goldingay
Professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary; Pasadena, California
Author of Old Testament Theology: Israel s Gospel

Dr. Blakley provides an invaluable resource for the Church. With masterful brevity and just the right amount of scholarship, he locates the assigned text within its literary context, the biblical narrative, and the liturgical theme of the day. After identifying the salient thoughts, he prudently suggests where and how to bring the text alive for the Church. Finally the scholar, the liturgist, the rhetorician, the lector, and the pew sitter are united! All of our lectors will have a copy.
The Rev. Jim Clark
Rector, Saint Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Parish; Scottsdale, Arizona
Author of The ART of Engaging Holy Scripture Study Series

--Inside Book Cover