New Testament Textual Criticism

Sometimes I wonder whether it is worth my while spending Friday and Saturday on sermon preparation if I have to preach on a Sunday. I am not preaching tomorrow and today has been a most productive day in terms of catching up on reading. In the morning I spent 3 hours preparing for my lectures on 1 Cor 11-14. I read 3 articles alongside the Greek of 1 Cor 11-14. My 28th edition NA Greek NT has finally arrived despite my having ordered it before Christmas from Amazon. NT textual criticism is something I need to continue learning and often times when I am not preaching on a Sunday I will spend time reading on NTTC. Today I started reading afresh Bruce Metzger's The Text of the New Testament (4th Edition) and also JW Childers & DC Parker's Transmission and Reception: New Testament and Text-Critical and Exegetical Studies (Gorgias Press, 2006). At the end of the day, biblical scholars are textual critics. We are text analysts. It's our job to make sure that our understanding of the Bible is derived from the best traditions and ancient manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek.