Why I (Usually!) Preach Through Books of the Bible

This week, I’m doing something that I don’t often do—I’m preparing a series of sermons focused on a topic rather than a specific book of the Bible. The topical approach has not been the norm for my preaching ministry, though I do like to preach a topical series from time to time—usually when I’ve just wrapped up one book and just before I start another. It’s a good way to deal with a subject that might be a common struggle, a hot-button issue, or a very thought-provoking question.

I’m going to venture to say that preaching through books of the Bible is not as common as it used to be. I might be wrong, but I’d be surprised if I am! In light of that observation, I thought I’d offer a brief explanation as to why I stick with the book-focused approach most of the time. I have two main reasons why.

#1—Everything God said is important, and preaching through books will force me to teach on all of it eventually.

Focusing on topics leaves a lot up to the wisdom and discretion of the preacher. While that doesn’t have to be bad, it certainly could be—and I think it’s more likely to be problematic than a book-focused approach. If I consistently focus on topics, I have to frequently decide what is most important for my congregation to hear. But what criteria should I use to make that decision? Do I go with whatever people want to hear? Do I go with what I think they should hear? Do I go with what seems to be most interesting to the broadest group of people? Of course, I do have to ask those questions when I decide which book to preach on next, but they tend to come around less often with a book-based approach, and once I’ve answered them and selected a book, the content of my sermons is guided by whatever is in that book. Thus, there is less that is simply up to my discretion.

The topical approach can also suffer somewhat from the personality, interests, and—frankly—the boldness of the individual preacher. For example, I tend to think that apologetic topics are more interesting and important than most people do, so I’m sure I would gravitate toward such topics more often than what might truly be helpful for my congregation. Also, with the topical approach, controversial subjects can be easily avoided. Do you dread the thought of preaching on hell? Then simply never bring it up as a topic!

Avoiding controversial subjects is much less likely with the book-focused approach. For example, I’ll be starting a series through the Book of Romans in a few months, and in the very first chapter I’ll have to deal with the subject of homosexuality! Later on, the book will force me to talk about the proper response to government, and it will take me through a passage that is hotly contested in the Calvinism-Arminianism debate.

I suppose you could say that the book-focused approach is simply an attempt to offer my congregation a well-balanced diet. We all know how important a well-balanced diet is for our physical health; as it turns out, it’s vital for our spiritual health as well. There is purpose and value in everything that God inspired in the Bible. We might not easily see the value in each passage, and so we might neglect some of them—which would end up being to our detriment.

#2—Preaching through a book helps my audience learn how to study the Bible for themselves.

As I preach through a complete section of a book—whether a paragraph or a whole chapter—my audience gets to hear how I make observations about the passage and then draw those observations together to form an interpretation. Though they don’t realize it, they get to hear the proper process of Bible study presented to them week after week, and eventually they start to catch on. As they learn by example, over time they start to internalize some of the training that I’ve been blessed to receive at a seminary—and all without having to attend classes themselves!

This learning-by-example happens on a grand scale as a sermon series winds its way from the first verse of a book to the last. The book-focused approach highlights and illustrates what might be the most crucial interpretive principle of all—keeping statements in their original context. As I move though a passage, my audience gets to hear the full context of each statement—and not just on any given week, but from week-to-week as well as I simply pick up where I left off last time!

This learning process is much harder to replicate in a topical series since these series tend to draw from all over the Bible—and not just from week-to-week, but sometimes within the same sermon. Now to be sure, sometimes it is very important to see how various verses from different books fit together. Topical sermons can be very useful for presenting such connections, but it is rarely possible to touch on the context of all the various verses that I might pull together. Thus, my audience is left a bit more in a position where they just have to take my word for it that I’ve interpreted those verses correctly. By tracing one context through the course of a book, there’s a greater likelihood that they can see the correct interpretation for themselves.

And so, while I appreciate using the topical approach from time to time, chances are that if you ever catch one of my sermons, you’ll find me working through a book, saying things like, “As we saw last week in the previous verse.” If you didn’t catch the previous week’s sermon, you’ll know just where to look to get caught up!

What to Think When a Pastor Commits Suicide

It’s happened again—a pastor has committed suicide. In this day of social media, news of such tragedies travels quickly, especially since these stories have a certain shock factor to them (“A pastor? Really? How could that happen?”).

Since many people might be wrestling with what to think in response to such news, I thought I’d write out a few thoughts that could serve as a guide for your thinking. This post is by no means a comprehensive discussion of suicide, anxiety, depression, counseling, or any other related issues, so please don’t read it as the last word on any of those subjects. I am also writing generally in this post—I’m not trying to analyze why any particular pastor may have committed suicide.

Here are a few thoughts for you, in the format of some do’s and don’ts.

DON’T be astonished

You might be thinking to yourself, “How could a pastor reach such a point of despair? You guys draw close to God all the time through the Word and prayer.” Yes, we do—and who could possibly do that so often without being frequently reminded of his own failures and sins? Many times as I read the Bible I’m reminded of a sin I need to forsake or a virtue I need to develop—and I read the Bible a lot! A pastor can end up feeling like Isaiah when he had a vision of God in Isaiah 6: “Woe is me! I am undone!”

Pastors face two related temptations as we go about our ministry. The first is desensitization. This is when Bible study, preaching, prayer, counseling, etc. become all-too-routine, too commonplace. Someone said it well: “He is most unholy whose hands have been cauterized by holy things.” (I would gladly give credit for that quote if I could just remember where I read it!)

The second temptation is despair. This is when the whole process of ministry becomes too raw, when our every act of ministry is like re-opening a fresh wound. When this happens, we give our own failures too much weight and the grace of God too little.

Pastors are like all Christians in this regard—we must build our identity on the work of Christ and constantly seek refuge in Him. It is a tricky balancing act to deal with your own sins and insecurities while developing a genuine confidence to lead others at the very same time. And as we all know, maintaining balance in life is a challenge.

DON’T be discouraged in your own struggle with suicidal thoughts

If you struggle with suicidal thoughts, it may be very easy to think, “If a pastor gives in to those thoughts, what hope do I have?” You look up to pastors—and that’s not inappropriate according to Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Pastors are supposed to be spiritually mature, and so generally speaking they will be setting a good example. But spiritual maturity is not the same thing as being perfect. Pastors still have temptations and struggles, and we don’t always respond to them in the best of ways.

Also remember that each person’s struggle has unique details to it. I suspect you’ve heard examples of pastors embezzling money from their churches, but you probably didn’t think, “If a pastor does that, what hope is there for me to avoid stealing from my employer?” The difference in your response could be in the details—some pastors have considerable access to and influence over church funds, whereas you may not have much access at all to your business’s finances. Due to this difference in details, you don’t despair when you hear about a pastor committing that act of theft.

So if you struggle with suicidal thoughts, there could be significant differences in the details of your struggle versus those of any individual pastor, so don’t despair! Don’t lose confidence or give up hope on the basis of someone else’s choices.

DO acknowledge that suicide is sinful

As we seek to deal compassionately with anyone who is contemplating suicide, I fear we face the temptation to stop short of calling it a sinful act. I don’t believe the Bible allows us to evade that conclusion. Suicide is an act of murder, even if the perpetrator is also the victim.

We should acknowledge that suicide is a sin, but at the same time we must resist putting it in a special category of sins and making it worse than all others. Suicide is not an unpardonable sin—the Bible never calls it such, nor does it hint that murder is unforgivable. Some people have thought that suicide might be unpardonable because you don’t get a chance to ask forgiveness for it before you meet God, but this view is built on a faulty understanding of salvation. Our salvation is not based upon our faithfulness to ask forgiveness for every act of sin we ever commit. And thank God that it isn’t, because who among us could have any assurance of salvation on that basis?

So if someone commits suicide, we ought not damn that person to Hell in our words or thoughts (I should also add that we should not use the threat of going to Hell as a counseling tactic to encourage someone not to commit suicide). But we can and should still acknowledge that suicide is sinful. Though it sounds impossible to modern ears, it is possible to acknowledge that an act is sin yet still maintain love and compassion for the person who has committed it or is considering it. This is the delicate but necessary balance that a Christian must maintain in any discussion of suicide.

I will say it again—don’t read this post as the final word (not even MY final word) on suicide, depression, counseling, or any related topics. But if it stimulates or even clarifies your thinking in some way, I am grateful to God.