Our church will begin a new sermon series through 1 Peter this Sunday. I am excited to share with you all that God has been teaching me through this fantastic book. As I was preparing, I spent time thinking through the mechanics of planning a series through a book of the Bible. I’ll probably post an article about that a little later, but it dawned on me that a sermon is not a spectator sport. Likewise, it is not simply an auditory exercise. Perhaps you are wondering what I mean. Consider what James wrote in the first chapter of his letter: “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We are called to do what the Word of God says. I have found the best way to understand and carry out what I hear from the word is to prepare to listen to it. Therefore, I want to offer you a couple of suggestions for preparing as we begin our new series.
Read the book in your devotional time.
The first way to prepare for a new sermon series is by familiarizing yourself with the material. In the days leading up to a new series, incorporate the book into your devotional time. You can do this in a couple of different ways. First, you can read a chapter a day. Since the Epistle of 1 Peter is only five chapters, you will have time to read it completely this way. If you want to devote more time to the book, you can read through the entire letter daily. This will help you see the book as a whole and trace the message of the author’s argument. As you are reading, I encourage you to make a note of any questions that arise as you read. This way, you can listen to see if these questions are answered. (If you don’t receive an answer to one of your questions once the sermon on that passage is complete, send me an email).
Consult other places in Bible that are connected to the book in the series.
A second way to prepare for our new sermon series is to consult other places in the Bible connected to 1 Peter. The Gospels and Acts are filled with stories about and sermons from Peter. One of the things we will see as we walk through the book of 1 Peter is where the epistle emphasizes themes found in Peter’s apostolic preaching recorded in Acts. This gives a sense of authenticity to the Petrine authorship of the epistle. This week, I’d encourage you to peruse those accounts of Peter and see how his life was changed because of his relationship with Jesus Christ.
I can’t wait to begin our time together in 1 Peter. See you on Sunday.