First, work hard on synthesis. That’s the genius behind preaching the Bible in a year. People need to see how themes develop in the Bible and how these themes are connected. It’s not enough to give people a handful of facts about each book. That’s analysis. Rather, people need to see how the various books and sections of the Bible contribute to the developing story. A year gives you enough time to go into some depth. A longer time frame – such as four or five years – will allow for more depth, but there will likely be some momentum loss as listeners lose track of the unfolding story.

Second, work hard on balance between preaching entire books and individual texts. This will keep the series from feeling like a fly-by which only gives you a brief view of the high points. Sometimes, an in-depth look at a particular passage will help unlock the message of an entire book. For example, you can provide a window into the book of Exodus (and the character of the God who redeems His people!) by preaching a message on Exodus 33:12-34:7 (with a focus on 34:5-7). Related to this, you might select a sermon text from a book which is a bit unexpected. This will alleviate the problem which one blog reader identified as ‘covering sermon topics which your congregation has already heard.’

One reader alertly observed how difficult it is to imagine preaching the wonders of a book of Scripture in only one sermon. While it’s impossible to mine the depths of a book and preach all its wonders in one sermon, it is still possible to preach some of its wonders. This reminds of what it was like to show my friends the wonders of Yellowstone National Park in a single day when I lived a couple hours north of its borders. I found it both impossible and possible to expose people to YNP’s wonders in only one day. While I couldn’t show my friends everything, I could show them something that gave them a context for future exploration and discovery.

In my current ministry setting, I’m not worried about being too superficial or too general. One reason is that some of the people in our community have never gone through the whole Bible. Another reason is that my usual style of preaching is take time to work through books and blocks of Scripture. Even the people in my church who know the trees well need to see the forest.

Thanks for wrestling with me over this issue. It’s worth our attention because we preach for life-change, trusting that God’s Spirit will use our proclamation of Scripture to lead people to Christ and to form Christ in them!