The Impact of the Lectionary

How much does the lectionary impact your Sunday School?
Here at Concordia Publishing House, we have crafted our lesson sequence with two things in mind: (1) biblical literacy and (2) the three-year lectionary. The result is, of necessity, a compromise.

In pursuit of biblical literacy, we depart from the lectionary in significant ways. The readings of the lectionary do not incorporate a chronological look at the Old Testament; in fact, large swaths of the salvation narrative from the Old Testament are not included in the lectionary at all. In order to expose students to the key events in the salvation narrative, we teach Old Testament lessons in a chronological sequence in each fall quarter, dividing the Old Testament into four very unequal parts. Other departures from the lectionary occur in the spring quarters. The events of Holy Week cannot be adequately taught in just one Sunday School lesson, so some lessons before Easter often depart from the appointed Gospel reading. Similarly, the Book of Acts contains many events worth teaching in Sunday School, so other Gospel lessons are sacrificed. When all is said and done, students will study the appointed Gospel text about seventy percent of the time in our winter and spring quarters. And we've worked hard to have even this degree of congruence with the lectionary.

But then we have to ask: what about those who do not use the three-year lectionary? A portion of our LCMS congregations have retained the one-year lectionary. Another portion still worship out of an older hymnal, while our Sunday School lessons are pegged to the lectionary as revised in the Lutheran Service Book. And there are a fair number of congregations where the lectionary is unique to that congregation, where the pastor preaches series of sermons that do not use the historic lectionary and then chooses readings that support that sermon topic.

When it happens, teaching the Gospel lesson for the Sunday in Sunday School provides powerful reinforcement. It connects the worship and education experiences and allows them to support one another. It gives the family a solid core on which to build with devotions and discussions through the week. When it does not happen, the students still get a solid lesson, rooted in God's Word, that teaches salvation through faith in Christ each and every week. We seem to be on target for a lot of congregations. How about you?

Does your congregation use the three-year lectionary in your worship services? Another version of the lectionary? No lectionary at all?

What do you like, or not like, about the sequence of lessons in your current Sunday School curriculum?

What aspects of the curriculum are equally or more important than lesson sequence?

God's blessing as you teach His children His Word!