The idea behind ‘The Big Read’

The Big Read is a fantastic way to get stuck into the Bible through our small groups and our all age services – The Mix. The Briefing have recently released an article about the idea of reading big chunks of scripture.

Read the interview with Pete Woodcock. Here’s a brief extract:

“It’s not exactly revolutionary!” Pete says. “It’s just reading big chunks of Scripture, out loud, together. It’s reading the Bible as it was written to be read. So each month, we’ll read a book of the Bible in our midweek small groups. So far we’ve done Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and then we did Luke and Acts. Then we tackled Hebrews, which just comes alive if you’ve already read the Pentateuch.

“On the first Sunday of the month I preach on the book we’ll be looking at. And we basically look at how that book points to or reveals Jesus. Of course, you can’t do everything about Jesus from that book—but for the Old Testament books, I’ll pick on five or six different bits. It’s a really sweeping overview, seeing flashes of Jesus in that book. That’s our introduction to that month’s Big Read.

Phil Grout and Jackie Moralee have also given their thoughts on the Big Read. Here’s a quote from Jackie:

“One thing I have found when you’re reading a really big chunk is it’s harder to work out: how am I going to apply this tomorrow? But you do just end up having read a lot more of Scripture than you would ever have done, including the bits you naturally avoid because they’re hard or repetitive—and that’s great!”