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Archdeacon Simon introduces the Summer Reading Challenge

Welcome to the Summer Reading Challenge 2020. In the diocese of Liverpool we are #CalledtoRead, and this year, for the next six weeks, we are going to be reading the book of Psalms together.

The Psalms are the hymnbook and the prayerbook of the Temple, and of the Church. In these 150 songs the Psalmist explores the whole range of human experience, with all its highs and lows, of human life lived in the presence of God, and sometimes the experience of the apparent absence of God too.

In the Psalms God speaks through these experiences of the human condition, and reveals himself in his past acts of salvation and in his future promises. It’s a wonderfully rich book. I hope that if you already use the psalms in your bible reading and prayer, these weeks will renew your love and perhaps offer you some new perspectives. If you don’t already use the psalms I hope this will be the beginning of a relationship with this deep and powerful section of God’s word.

Psalms is quite a long book, so the reading challenge will have three different tracks, depending how much you want to read.

In Track 1 there will be two psalms each week, short enough to read in a few minutes. If you have time during the week you may want to read and reflect on these two psalms each day, living with them letting them become familiar during the week. Each Wednesday and Friday different members of the Summer Reading Challenge team will be offering a response to the two psalms of the week here.

In Track 2 we will offer you a new psalm for each day, including the two psalms from Track 1, so that you will end up reading about a third of the Psalms overall. In Track 3 you will read the whole psalter, all 150 psalms, and we have broken Track 3 into morning and evening parts each day so that you can use these psalms in morning and evening prayers.

Of course, you can jump from track to track, or take things at your own pace. You can read the Psalms in any bible or prayer book you like, of course, but below this post and every Monday I’ll give you links to texts online, and to YouTube if you would rather listen to psalms read.

But I hope you will let the word of God dwell richly in you through this challenge. May you be blessed as you read and respond to his call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZCXg_3reXM

Summer Reading Challenge – Week 1 (Psalms 1-31)

Week 1 Psalms can be found on YouTube here.

Track 1

Psalm 8

Psalm 19

Track 2

Monday Psalm 1

Tuesday Psalm 8

Wednesday Psalm 11

Thursday Psalm 19