Feasting on the Word

Pardon my ignorance, but how do some of you use Feasting on the Word (included in Anglican Silver)? All I see is some "reflections" from 4 different perspectives (e.g. Theological, Pastoral, Exegetical and Homiletical) and they all seem like little "devotional readings." Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

DAL

Ps. Does anyone else find the Logos format a little annoying on this set?

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MJ. Smith

Think of it as a homiletic help on the Revised Common Lectionary - although we are still missing one track.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585922#Comment_585922

Think of it as a homiletic help on the Revised Common Lectionary - although we are still missing one track.

That explains it, I've never used a Lectionary in my life. I do either textual, expository or topical most of the time but never follow a lectionary. Maybe I'm missing out on something, but I like to have flexibility choosing my topics or texts. Maybe I should start forcing myself to use a lectionary every now and then.

DAL

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585925#Comment_585925

Maybe I'm missing out on something,

Or you congregation might be - how much scripture do they hear in a service? My guess is the average I hear is around 30 verses plus a psalm not counting any used in the service itself.[:#]

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585925#Comment_585925

I like to have flexibility choosing my topics or texts. Maybe I should start forcing myself to use a lectionary every now and then.

It's a good tool for make sure you cover the whole spectrum of what's in Scripture. At my church we follow the Lectionary some Sundays but not all the time. It's good to have the flexibility to choose for various reasons. The Lectionary is our default fall-back plan unless something emerges that seems to be of the Spirit's leading or there's an important topic given world events or we have a guest speaker who has a particular message to bring. We also sometimes like to do sermon series where we go through an entire book of the Bible over a few weeks. The lectionary can sometimes feel a bit scattered, though it is seasonally appropriate during the major seasons of the church year. Then again, the whim of the preacher can be awfully random too. We have no pastor, so we have a different preacher each Sunday. Either a member of the congregation (I sense I'm overdue to be asked to take a turn at it again...) or an invited guest, pulpit supply preacher, etc.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585928#Comment_585928

The lectionary can sometimes feel a bit scattered, though it is seasonally appropriate during the major seasons of the church year

This implies that the structure of the lectionary is not understood. Outside the seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Triduum, Easter) the structure is very simple:

The Gospel of the year is read straight through (semi-continuous to meet time and oral requirements). Mark is short so it is supplemented by the Bread of Life Discourse from John in the late summer.
The Old Testament reading is chosen for its relationship to the Gospel.
The Epistle is read straight through (semi-continuous to meet time and oral requirements).

Okay, Jesus didn't live His life in topical sequence so it is "a bit scattered" but the iconostasis of an Eastern Church should keep you oriented.[:D]

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585931#Comment_585931

The Old Testament reading is chosen for its relationship to the Gospel.

This is the part that's often scattered. It would be nice to get the sweeping story of the Old Testament, or at least whole books of it, in sequence via the Lectionary, but that doesn't normally happen.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585927#Comment_585927

Maybe I'm missing out on something,

Or you congregation might be - how much scripture do they hear in a service? My guess is the average I hear is around 30 verses plus a psalm not counting any used in the service itself.

Actually is more than 30 verses and sometimes a Psalm LOL. I like to quote several verses, but I also like for the church to read verses, at least when it's my turn to preach. Then again, how much Scripture is really needed for a sermon to impact the life of at least one person? Peter's sermon on Pentecost converted about 3000 souls and he didn't even have 10 verses in it.

Anyway, I'll give it a shot and see how it works out. I'll probably upgrade to Anglican Silver just to get Feasting on the Word plus other works included. I'm currently a Bronze Anglican and Reformed Silver which adds more than enough for now to my other resources.

DAL

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585931#Comment_585931

Okay, Jesus didn't live His life in topical sequence...

Actually he did! Topics:

1. His Birth

2. His Overall Ministry

3. The Beatitudes

4. His Miracles

5. His Parables

[:P] [;)] [8-|]

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585934#Comment_585934

I like to quote several verses,

Nope, I didn't count verses quoted or used - simply the passages read as Scripture prior to the sermon (lections, lessons ... whatever you wish to call them).

Anyway, I'll give it a shot and see how it works out.

Actually although it has become common in the local Churches of Christ, I don't recommend churches "trying the lectionary part-time". It's like taking random segments of a tapestry ... and then wondering why the beauty is not visible. Which is not to discourage looking at the lectionary for advice re: pericopes and relationships.

Ken McGuire

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585932#Comment_585932

The Old Testament reading is chosen for its relationship to the Gospel.

This is the part that's often scattered. It would be nice to get the sweeping story of the Old Testament, or at least whole books of it, in sequence via the Lectionary, but that doesn't normally happen.

There is a variant of the RCL that does this - allowing the OT to speak in its own voice. I seem to recall that Logos offers this somewhere - maybe the Methodist one?

SDG

Ken McGuire

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585938#Comment_585938

There is a variant of the RCL that does this - allowing the OT to speak in its own voice

Actually, it is the Lutheran track. There is also a narrative lectionary http://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_faqs.aspx It's a relatively new hybrid lectionary that hasn't proven itself yet. However, I have heard good things about it with regards to use in Lutheran schools.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585945#Comment_585945

There is also a narrative lectionary http://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_faqs.aspx It's a relatively new hybrid lectionary that hasn't proven itself yet. However, I have heard good things about it with regards to use in Lutheran schools.

Intriguing. Logos should get that. (EDIT: I see you're on that already.)

I only took an ever-so-brief glance at it, but it does appear to have enormous gaps. For example, in Genesis, the only texts it covers are:

Genesis 1:1—2:4a Creation

Genesis 2:4b-25 Humans to till the garden, man and woman in companionship

Genesis 2:4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8 Creation, Garden of Eden, Fall

Genesis 6:16-22; 9:8-15 Flood and Promise

Genesis 12:1-9 Call of Abraham

Genesis 15:1-6 God's promise of descendants to Abraham

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Promise of Isaac's birth

Genesis 21:1-3; 22:1-14 Binding of Isaac

Genesis 27:1-4, 15-23; 28:10-17 Jacob's dream

Genesis 32:22-30 Jacob wrestles with an angel

Genesis 37:3-8, 26-34; 50:15-21 Joseph sold into slavery, yet God works it for good

Genesis 39:1-23 Joseph in Prison

Major omissions that are covered in RCL: Cain & Abel; Tower of Babel; Abraham bargains with God for Sodom; Hagar & Ishmael; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob & Esau.

Ken McGuire

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585945#Comment_585945

There is a variant of the RCL that does this - allowing the OT to speak in its own voice

Actually, it is the Lutheran track. There is also a narrative lectionary http://www.workingpreacher.org/narrative_faqs.aspx It's a relatively new hybrid lectionary that hasn't proven itself yet. However, I have heard good things about it with regards to use in Lutheran schools.

I will have to look into that, but in the "Official" RCL, there are two different Old Testament tracks for the time between Trinity Sunday to the end of the church year. The ELCA (USA) took the one that connects the OT with the Gospel, like it was in the Vatican 2 lectionary, as well as the LBW lectionary, but the ELCIC (Canada) went with the "other" one with semi-continuous OT readings for much of the year. Having never been at a place that used it regularly, I can't say much about it in real life, but just know it is out there, and saw it in Libronix in the 3.0 days... More detail about this is in the official introduction to the RCL available at http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/RCL_Introduction_Web.pdf

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585995#Comment_585995

More detail about this is in the official introduction to the RCL available at http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/RCL_Introduction_Web.pdf

I think we agree on the history - mine is a wee bit older. The original Common Lectionary only had one track for the Trinity Sunday - Advent time. The addition of the second track was the major change in the Revised Common Lectionary. I know it was at the request of some Lutherans using the CL but don't know which Lutherans. Some groups have added their own modifications but I've never been able to find a full list of them.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/585969#Comment_585969

but it does appear to have enormous gaps

Do the math approximately 15 weeks (Sept-mid-Dec) per each of 4 years allows for 60 scripture passages from the Old Testament. One needs to move to one of the daily lectionaries, e.g. the Office of Readings two-year lectionary, to cover the entire Bible. Fortunately, not all OT stories have the same weight in being fundamental to understanding the unfolding of the plan of salvation so those deemed most important are selected.

Unfortunately, the original Logos 4 designer did not understand that the normal pattern is to use multiple lectionaries:

Sunday School Lesson lectionary (ISSL)
Sunday and Feast Day lectionary
Daily lectionary
Morning/Evening Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours) lectionary
Parish Bible reading programs

I've put them in sequence from least to most complete coverage of the Scripture.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/586006#Comment_586006

Do the math approximately 15 weeks (Sept-mid-Dec) per each of 4 years allows for 60 scripture passages from the Old Testament.

Why does it only have 15 weeks of the year?

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/586006#Comment_586006

see reading list at http://topics.logos.com/Narrative_Lectionary_Resources