Emphasis Preaching Journal

This text redirects our priorities, pushing us toward more appreciation of receiving instruction in God's word. We certainly need this redirection, it seems, for Bible reading seems to be in decline in America. While a 1980s Gallup poll found 73% of Americans undertaking this task, in 2000 the number had dwindled to 59%. Since the elderly were nearly twice as inclined to read the Bible than those between 18 and 29 at the time, we must assume that the number of readers later has fallen even more drastically.