Last year, The Rev’d Dr. Tom Long spoke to Collective+ (one of our many inspiring guest lecturers). His topic was “Narrative Preaching Grows Up.”
In his talk, he reminded us that preachers cannot assume listeners are familiar with the Christian story.
Didactic sermons are more necessary now than at any time in recent years.
People don’t know bible stories.
They don’t know the characters.
They don’t know the story line of humanity’s redemption by God’s grace.
They don’t know who Jesus was, who Jesus is, or that he has anything to do with us.
Lent would be a great time to push back on this trend!
Below are suggestions for sermon themes to teach people they come from God—and why that still matters.
(If you’re a preacher working on a parish staff, you can still use the themes below for your turns in the pulpit, or suggest these themes to your head of staff. S/he might just be grateful for the idea!)
Lenten Preaching Themes
The Paschal Cycle
Take them through the Paschal cycle of Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Though each has its own focus, it’s telling one story. What is that story? What are its component parts? Who are the characters? Why is this ancient story still a thoroughly contemporary one? What are the church rituals and why do we still observe them? Why do we use Lent to prepare for baptism?
Penitence
Preach a series about penitence. What is it? Why do we observe it? How is penitence observed? Is this unique to Christians? In Scripture, who engaged in acts of penitence and why? How do our works intersect with God’s grace? Where roles do mercy, forgiveness, and gratitude play in penitence?
Suffering
Preach a series about suffering. Why did Jesus suffer? Why do so many characters and followers of Jesus suffer? Does suffering have a purpose? Why doesn’t God remove our suffering? Can suffering be redemptive? What are modern-day forms of chronic suffering and their consequences, like untreated mental illness, opioid addiction, effects of climate change, or geopolitical conflicts?
How to Find Your Own Themes
I found these themes during our Seasonal Sermon Prep session in The Collective+, where we look ahead to the coming season in the lectionary.
You can discern your own themes by setting aside a time to look forward into the preaching schedule to read and reflect on the lessons.
If looking ahead to liturgical seasons isn’t your practice already, I urge you to create one. One liturgical season in advance, set aside an afternoon to read through all the lessons of that season.
Make it special. Get out of the office and head to your favorite coffee shop or the library with your favorite view when you need to sit back and ponder.
With a general theme in mind, get the 10,000-foot view. See how each sermon’s lessons can be used to illuminate the theme.
Have a computer or notebook and pen ready. Pull out your bible or book of lectionary readings.
One sermon at a time, read the lessons. (If you don’t use a lectionary, start by choosing the lessons.)
Make notes after each lesson. Summarize the reading in a sentence. Note anything that jumps out at you.
After reading all the lessons for a sermon, consider the threads that run through all the readings. How do they fit together? What stands out? How do they illuminate your theme? (Don’t have a theme? Now’s the time to discern one.)
Repeat for each set of sermon lessons, but as each sermon’s notes are added, take one more step back to consider the whole. Are words, phrases, images, or ideas rising? How do they serve the theme?
The Benefits of Planning Seasonally
Prepare your sermons faster.
Having done the hardest work of all in finding a message for the season, you’ll know to read the lessons through that lens, narrowing your focus from the start.
There will be far less decision-making and time spent looking for that germ of an idea.
Plus, your exegesis time will be shortened because you’ll head into it with the theme mind, allowing you to home in on just the resources you need, decreasing the time spent on fruitless rabbit trails.
Decrease your stress.
With a big jump-start on your sermon prep, your stress will be less each week.
Decrease your staff’s stress.
By communicating the theme early, your staff will have plenty of time to prepare. A less stressed staff is a happier staff. And a happier staff creates a happier congregation!
Deeper congregational learning.
Hymn selection (or approval), liturgical observances, Christian education, bible studies, and children’s programs can all be shaped around the theme. As a result, the congregation will go deep into the biblical witness of the season, encountering it through a single idea or story arc told in music, ritual, education, and sermons.
Get on The Collective/+ Waitlist!
The Collective+ offers Seasonal Sermon Prep five times a year. In conversation with other preachers, preview all the text for the coming lectionary season, note running themes, and get a head start on sermon and liturgical planning.
This Collective+ feature is an excellent way to increase your efficiency in sermon prep so you have more time for the rest of ministry—so it doesn’t leak into your personal life!