In the midst of disaster, crisis, and discord, how do we preach hope to a world that desperately needs it? More importantly, how do we find hope when our own outlook is jaded by the challenges around us?

Perhaps many of us don't need Dr. Johansen to tell us what already looks to be a frightening and chaotic world is only going to get worse. 

What may be more surprising is to hear Dr. Johansen's outline for a counter-narrative: hope. The upside, he says, is that this time of chaos is fertile ground for creativity, innovation, and a world that can become better than it is now.

So how do preachers participate in this counter-narrative?

Whether we're in the middle of our own crisis and feel overwhelmed about what to do next, or we want to do something, anything!, to help someone else who is, here are four responses we can offer in our sermons at the intersection of the Gospel and experience.

We're 7 Sundays from Labor Day weekend. How do you feel about heading into the next program year?

Are you excited and confident in your routines and processes? Or are you dreading the increase in activity, the weekly scramble to get it all done, the seemingly endless demands on your time and energy?

If you're dissatisfied with the way your sermon preparation and preaching went last year, the slower pace of summer is a great time for reflection and change. 

A small investment of time over these next few weeks could transform your preaching life for the rest of the year. How do you make the most of the slower days of summer to make lasting change?

hether you're new to creating a series or an old hand at it, A Preacher's Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C * addresses these concerns, offering a thematic roadmap preachers can follow with little effort.