Dear Friends
Matthew 4 v4
Jesus replied, “It is written in scripture: ‘You must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
I wanted to share something that genuinely warmed my heart recently. I learnt of a teenager who’d bought their first Bible.
It is a leather-bound modern version from a charity shop. The teen loved the weight of it, the feel of its pages, the sense that it had been read and treasured before. They said, “I just thought, maybe it’s about time I tried reading it.”
That young person is not alone. New data from Nielsen BookScan shows that UK Bible sales in 2025 have reached their highest level since records began in 2008.
Annual sales have more than doubled — from £2.69 million in 2019 to £6.3 million in 2025 — and the number of copies sold has risen by 106 per cent in just five years.
Booksellers are saying that many of these buyers are young people, some exploring faith for the first time, others wanting to go deeper as they struggle with the meaning of life in a chaotic world.
A recent Bible Society study even found that Christians aged 18–24 are currently the group most likely to be reading the Bible regularly.
What’s more, despite being the digital generation, they’re choosing physical Bibles almost as much as apps.
In a world rediscovering vinyl records and other “analogue” pleasures, perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that young people are also rediscovering the beauty of holding Scripture in their hands.
But this feels like more than a trend. It feels like hunger — a longing for meaning and something solid in uncertain times.
As we journey through Lent, that longing resonates deeply. Lent leads us into the wilderness with Jesus. When He was tempted, He answered simply, “It is written.” He leaned on Scripture. He trusted it. He lived it.
Throughout His life He fulfilled the words of the prophets, and even on the cross He prayed the Psalms. God’s Word shaped Him — and through Him, it reshaped the world.
Perhaps this quiet turning towards the Bible is a gentle nudge for all of us. Lent invites us not just to give things up, but to take something up — to open the Scriptures afresh, to sit with them, to let them speak to our fears and our hopes.
May this season be one in which we, like that young person with a second hand – well-worn Bible, rediscover the joy of reading God’s Word — and, like Jesus, seek to live it out with love, courage and grace.
Lenten blessings,
Reverend Gary
PS below are the dates and venues for or Lent meetings when we will be looking at some of the words Jesus spoke to his followers.
LECTIO ECUMENICAL LENT GROUPS 2026
Wednesday 25th February 2026 – 7.00pm
Blessed William Richardson Catholic Church
Wednesday 4th March 2026 – 7.00pm
Wales-Kiveton Methodist Chapel
Thursday 12th March 2026 – 7.00pm
St John the Baptist Parish Church
Wednesday 18th March 2026 – 7.00pm
All Hallows Parish Church, Harthill
Wednesday 25th March 2026 – 7.00pm
St Peter Parish Church, Thorpe Salvin
Welcome to Wales Parish Church 