I attended a highly recommended church in a major city recently — a church that’s grown into multiple campuses. In fact, the campus I attended met in a popular movie theater in the city.
When the pastor began his message, he asked everyone to turn to a particular chapter in the Bible, so I opened my Bible and found the Scripture reference. Then I looked around, and to my surprise, out of about 400 people in that theater, I was the only one I could see holding a Bible.
Granted, there may have been a few people using YouVersion or another digital Bible app, but honestly, I didn’t even see many using their phones or pads. And I’m not criticizing that particular church, because I’m seeing it at churches of all sizes, theological perspectives, and worship styles.
The fact is, people don’t even value their Bibles enough to use them during church services.
Think about it. God has given us a revelation of who He is, who we are, our purpose, destiny and the key to salvation and eternal life, and we don’t even think enough of it to read it.
‘Critical importance’
If I were a pastor, I’d preach on the critical importance of Bible reading every week. I’d also talk about it on social media, on podcasts—literally, anywhere I could.
I’m reminded of the classic quote from Charles Spurgeon: “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”
Believe it.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by philcooke.com.
