Moravian Texts: Sweet and Simple Bible Study

My family and I started attending a small Moravian church a couple of years ago, and one of the first things I discovered was a little book called the Moravian Daily Texts. I purchased some for my girls and myself for Christmas that year, and we have been using them ever since for our Bible reading in our homeschool. The Moravian Church is a “mainline Protestant denomination that predates Luther.” That’s the short answer you’ll get if you happen to ask in passing. You can read a bit about the history of the denomination here. The Moravian Daily Texts began as an oral tradition, sharing a “daily watchword,” a Bible verse to meditate on each day. It is intended to be a “daily message from God that is new every morning.” The first printed version came out in 1731. It is currently published in more than 50 languages in 250 countries, and read by 1.5 million believers around the world!

This a simple little book, and that’s what I love about it. There are two Bible verses listed each day. The first is from the Old Testament, and is the watchword (meditation verse) for the day. The second is the doctrinal text, which usually contains something to expand on the watchword. Each verse is followed by a verse from a hymn. At the end of each day’s reading is a prayer, related to the texts and hymn verses. There is also a “Watchword for the Week” given on each Sunday’s page, and there are special watchwords for holidays within the church year. We use the Moravian Texts as part of our daily morning time. We happen to own a Moravian hymnal, so we sit at the piano together each morning of the week, read the Daily Texts, sing the verses from each hymn, and read the prayer together. I print the Watchword for the Week, and set it on the piano beside the music, so we see it and are reminded of it each morning. My girls read the assigned Scripture readings each day, and that’s what we use for our Bible time. They do have a commentary they can use: Bible Reader’s Companion, which seems to be out of print, but we found used copies quite inexpensively. I chose this one because it was mentioned by another homeschooler; I don’t know that we have a particular attachment to it. I also have Nelson’s Quick Reference Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Commentary, which I like to keep handy when we’re reading together. It answers most of our questions.

That’s it! We do add Bible memory work, but otherwise, we’re not using a set curriculum. There is a plan, and consistency, but no workbooks or what have you. The best way to learn from the Word of God is to read it. This simple plan makes sure that we do. Moravian Daily Texts are available in print from the Moravian bookstore (2015 edition currently on sale!), and they are available digitally, for Kindle, Nook, and iBooks. Additionally, you can sign up to have them delivered to your email, although this version doesn’t contain the hymn verses. You can even find them on Facebook!

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