Editor’s Note: I feel some level of smug satisfaction that for the first time in a while, I remembered to change the author to Mark Terry and properly credit him for his post!
In my preaching ministry, I’ve mainly preached series of sermons. Of course, I’m not alone in this. Many pastors do, I’m sure. I once asked Mark Dever if he preached sermon series, and he replied, “I only preach sermon series.” It’s clear that the big name preachers do this because their sermon series become published books.
What are the advantages of sermon series? First, the preacher does not experience Saturday night panic—“Oh no! What will I preach tomorrow?” When you preach a series, the next sermon is already determined. Second, preaching a series cuts down on preparation time. In my experience, the study I did for one sermon in the series produced a ripple effect. The study for that sermon spilled over to the next and the next. Third, sermon series demonstrate the connectedness of the Scriptures. The sermons show how the biblical texts connect with each other. Many preachers like to preach through a book of the Bible, and this enables them to address a number of doctrinal and ethical issues in a natural way. Last, a series of sermons helps to build strong disciples.
Here is a list of sermon series that I have preached or heard:
- Great questions in the Bible
- The 7 churches of Revelation
- The 7 “I am” statements in the gospel of John
- The 7 “signs” in the gospel of John
- The 10 Commandments
- The 12 Apostles
- The parables of Jesus
- The miracles of Jesus
- God’s Little Books (the five one-chapter books in the Bible)
- The Southern Baptist Statement of Faith and Message (I picked a Bible text each week from the list of Bible references below the article.)
- The Prodigal Son (When I was in high school our pastor preached a series of three sermons—on the father, on the younger son, and on the elder son.)
- The Sermon on the Mount
- Persons around the cross
- Life of David
- People who met Jesus
So, dear readers, what is your opinion on this? If you are a pastor, do you favor sermon series? If you are a layperson, do you like to hear a series of sermons? If you have preached a series not mentioned above, what was it?
Thanks for the post and for the list of sermon series. Most pastors have done a series of some kind that the rest of us haven’t thought about. I find this interesting and helpful. Having grown up in a church where I heard primarily topical sermons, it was refreshing when as a new believer in college I heard someone preach expository sermons on particular books of the Bible. I would be interested to hear of from other pastors on this subject.
I’m not a preacher but I have always heard “Use all the brains you have, and all you can pick”. Sounds like series stuff to me.
Jerry, yes, that is exactly the point. Many of the series listed above I borrowed from other preachers. I heard Bob Batchelder preach a series on Great Questions in the Bible. The series–God’s Little Books–was borrowed from Wade Freeman, who was Evangelism Director for the Baptist General Convention of Texas 45 years ago. I’m hoping our Voices readers will share some new ideas that I can use.
One of my favorite series is a character study of each of the 12 disciples.
I prefer sermon series, especially when they are verse-by-verse expositions of the Scriptures.
I usually just preach through books of the Bible, though I did do a series on the parables of Jesus a couple of years ago. I typically do a “series break” sermon every once in a while–a “stand-alone” message. Sometimes it’s because I feel the need to address a specific holiday like Christmas or Easter (I usually don’t change the message for other holidays).
Kevin, you make a good point. When I was a pastor, I preached “break” sermons, too, especially on holidays like Thanksgiving. Also, during December I always preached on missions to promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Thanks for your article Mark. It is important how we handle God’s Word and how we share it with His people. The series you listed are excellent for teaching the unsearchable riches of the Bible. My approach is to use a topic like those you listed and then present exegetical sermons that cover the selected passages, tying them together with the theme of the series. I think our people can better remember our messages when presented in this way.
Thank you again. God bless.
Thanks, Aubre”. What you describe is what I did, also.
I like going through the book line by line better but since December of 2016 I have been going through the chronological life of Jesus. I have called it “The Life of Jesus: From Creation to the Cradle to the Cross to the Crown” I thought the title was original and extremely clever and smart until about a year ago when I saw someone else had that also. I think it was a sermon not a series of sermons. I have enjoyed preparing for the sermons. I am sure someone else has done that also but I haven’t seen it anywhere. It has awaken me to the countless times that Christ taught on making sure you are in the faith. Explaining what true and false faith looks like.
Yours is a great idea. The International Mission Board teaches missionaries an evangelistic presentation called From Creation to the Cross. In regard to preaching through a book of the Bible line by line, I believe that Dr. Criswell preached verse by verse through the whole Bible during his ministry at First Baptist Church of Dallas. Perhaps someone can confirm that for me.
I populate my preaching calendar with a variety of series every year. I usually preach through a book, a section of a book, one verse dissected over several weeks, and an occasional topical series. The last three years I’ve preached extended Thanksgiving series that have been pretty popular with my folks. Giving thanks through the 23rd Psalm, Thankful for His blessings (The Beatitudes), and Giving Thanks for Who He Is (the I Am statements in John). I strongly encourage any pastor that has not preached through the BFM 2000 to do so.
Bryant, these are great ideas. I never thought about preaching a series on Thanksgiving. I don’t preach regularly now, but that would be good for November. I have a friend who preached a series on the Lord’s Prayer.