Introduction
What’s Included?
What is the Narrative Lectionary?
Narrative Lectionary Readings
Other Resources
Ordering & Download Information
Letter for Congregational Leaders & Households
Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
Bring God’s story into your worshippers’ homes with our Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home (2023-2024) weekly, half-page devotional bulletin inserts! This devotional insert gives busy households an easy-to-use, flexible tool for seeking God and forming faith at home, every day. A practice of regular devotions together fosters deep, meaningful connections between all household members, which is important in the enduring faith formation of children and youth. In addition to home use, adapt this bulletin insert anytime you are called on to give a devotion.
Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home (2023-2024) follows the readings of the Narrative Lectionary, like our other Living the Word products. If you are using the Narrative Lectionary in worship, the bulletin insert connects Sunday to Monday and the rest of the week with a Bible reading plan that provides context and continuity to the Sunday readings. If you are not using the Narrative Lectionary in worship, these devotional inserts guide households through the story of Scripture from creation to the early church over the course of nine months. For more information, check out What’s Included and Ordering & Download Information below!
What’s Included?
Each downloadable bulletin insert includes:
- Scripture Verse for the Week: Provides a short, easy-to-memorize verse from the first Sunday’s reading.
- Mealtime Prayer: Suggests a different mealtime prayer each week that households can use anytime.
- Daily Bible Readings: Guides households from Sunday to Sunday with daily readings.
- Service Challenge: Encourages households to do a simple activity each week to spread God’s love to others.
- Devotions: Gives a suggested order for devotions, including prayers for Gathering, Caring Conversations, Daily Bible Reading, Praying Together, and Closing.
The devotional insert uses the “Four Key Faith Practices” framework (Caring Conversations, Devotions, Service, and Rituals & Traditions) developed by the Rev. Dr. David Anderson of Milestones Ministry, and is based on the Taking God’s Story Home inserts, previously published by Vibrant Faith Ministries. Inserts that follow the Revised Common Lectionary can be found at Milestones Ministry.
What is the Narrative Lectionary?
The Narrative Lectionary is a nine-month calendar of Scripture readings which focuses on one story or passage each Sunday or festival day. It starts in September with a story about creation and touches on the major stories, characters, and plot points in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) until mid-December. At that point, the lectionary picks up one of the four Gospels (one Gospel each year for a four-year cycle) and moves through many of the main stories or passages of that Gospel sequentially until just after Easter. From the second Sunday of Easter through Pentecost Sunday, the readings are pulled from Acts and the Letters. Read more about this on our What Is the Narrative Lectionary? webpage.
Narrative Lectionary Readings
For the full list of Narrative Lectionary readings, check out our Living the Word: Narrative Lectionary Readings (2023-2024) downloads.
The daily Bible readings provided in Sharing God’s Story @ Home are used throughout the Living the Word products and are additionally available as a free subscription for electronic calendars (Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, etc.). Find the calendar of daily readings at https://spiritandtruthpublishing.com/calendar/.
Other Resources
Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home is a perfect complement to all our Living the Word products, building on the deeper exploration of the Sunday readings for children, youth, adults, and everyone together!
- Living the Word: Kids (PK-2nd) – For lower elementary students.
- Living the Word: Kids (3rd-6th) – For upper elementary students.
- Living the Word: Singing God’s Story (PK-6th) – Original children’s music following the Narrative Lectionary.
- Living the Word: God’s Story @ Home – For home faith formation when you cannot get to church.
- Living the Word: Youth – For confirmation or youth groups.
- Living the Word: Small Groups – For young adult or adult small group discussions.
- Living the Word: Contexts & Connections – Bible background notes for faith formation leaders.
- Living the Word: Cross+Gen Education – For leading interactive, intergenerational learning experiences in a classroom setting.
- Living the Word: Cross+Gen Worship – For creating interactive, intergenerational worship experiences.
Ordering & Download Information
To order, go to the Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home (2023-2024) product page and select the season you would like to order: the Full Year, or the Fall, Winter, or Spring quarters individually. After you add the product to your cart and complete the rest of your shopping, you can proceed to checkout. There, complete the form and select your payment type.
All resource materials are available as digital downloads (PDF files) for printing or using electronically. The end user licensing agreement (EULA) allows congregations to download, print, and use the bulletin inserts as long as the use remains in the purchasing congregation. You may distribute the inserts electronically by email or other means. However, you may not post them in publicly accessible areas (e.g. church website, Facebook page). For more information, see our Customer Service FAQ page.
After your payment is processed, you can download the materials from your Customer Account as soon as each quarter is released (See the current Release Dates page for details). Each quarter purchased comes in a single compressed (ZIP) file, which your operating system should be able to open and extract the folders and PDF files, at which point you can print or share as you please!
For more detailed information on ordering, downloading, and other topics, please go to our Customer Service FAQ page.
Letters for Congregational Leaders & Households
Read and share these letters with congregational leaders and households to learn more about how to best introduce and use this resource to your congregation and homes.