lectionary

Preaching That Involves the Congregation

by

Preachers can prepare their sermons with respect to the needs of their people by engaging a representative group of people in conversation on Sunday’s text. Guidelines for group preparation and feedback are outlined below.

Method. A number of churches are offering Bible study on the texts their pastors intend to use in future sermons. Beginning ten days prior to the preaching of the sermon, the group meets to study the text. The preacher either leads the study or participates in the group, asking a layperson to lead. He or she listens closely to the questions and issues that emerge from the group’s discussion of the text. The minister listens for ideas and attitudes that will influence the development of the passage into a sermon. The preacher avoids explaining to the group the way he or she intends to treat the passage. The preacher is there to learn from the group, not to hint at a plan he or she has already developed for preparing the sermon.

In addition to the congregational study of selected texts prior to the sermon’s preparation, a sermon response group may also prove helpful. Members of this group should be chosen from a broad spectrum of the congregation and should meet at regular intervals—whether monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly—usually for about thirty minutes after the church service.

The pastor does not attend the sermon feedback discussion but instead asks that it be taped for him or her. A lay leader can enable the group to move through the process in the time allotted. Michael Williams, in his helpful book Preaching Peers (Discipleship Resources, 1987), suggests the following questions for the listening group to discuss: (1) What words, images, or ideas in the sermon had meaning to you? (2) Was there a clear relationship between the Scripture text and the sermon? (3) Did the sermon and the rest of the worship service tie together? (4) Was the sermon consistent with the person you have experienced the preacher to be? (5) Did the sermon’s delivery support or detract from its content? (6) What was the word of God for you in the sermon?

Using the Lectionary. The study groups and listening groups are especially fitting for lectionary preaching since the lectionary leads the congregation through the church year. For example, the study of Advent texts prepares the group both for the sermon and for the general celebration of Advent. If study group members use material based on the lectionary in their church school classes, this enriches their teaching as well as their listening to the sermon.

When the preacher and congregation follow the lectionary, they move together through the seasons of the church year, preparing for and celebrating the central events of the Christian faith. This is a learning opportunity for all ages as the congregation reflects on the two great cycles of salvation: Advent—Christmas—Epiphany and Lent—Easter—Pentecost. The congregation may want to learn more about the origin of these celebrations, and about ways to make them more meaningful today. Developed by Hoyt Hickman and other leaders in the contemporary liturgical movement, the Handbook of the Christian Year (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986) is a comprehensive guide to an ecumenical series of services for the renewal and deepening of worship. The book offers background, services for Sundays and special days, and texts and pastoral commentary. It can help each congregation develop its own traditions and unique ways of celebrating the various seasons of the Christian year.

The lectionary gives a focus and discipline both to preaching and to the church’s life. Unchanneled energy is easily dissipated, but energy channeled through the lectionary can enable Christians to relate their faith to the world in which they live, to relate preaching, worship, and the seasons of the church year, and more effectively to anticipate and celebrate the festivals of the Christian year.

Preaching Lectio Continua

by

Preaching through a biblical book, also known as lectio continua (Latin, meaning to read continuously) is presented here from the Reformed perspective as a viable option to preaching through the lectionary or preaching topical sermons.

The History of Lectio Continua. Almost five hundred years ago in the city of Zurich, Ulrich Zwingli, inspired by the preaching of early church fathers Augustine and John Chrysostom, preached through the Gospel of Matthew. Reformer John Calvin enthusiastically adopted Zwingli’s lectio continua approach to preaching. During his long ministry in Geneva, Calvin followed this ancient liturgical practice, preaching through most of the Bible. After eighteen years of using the lectio continua method of preaching, I am confident that this approach has as much value for our congregations as it had for the congregations of Calvin and Zwingli. I’m also convinced, however, that it is important for the twentieth-century pastor to carefully adapt this Reformed tradition to today’s culture.

Fewer Sermons. In the first place, I preach through a book of the Bible (or a major section of a book) in fewer sermons than most Reformers did. I rarely preach more than a dozen sermons on a book in a series.

It is important to remember that, because the Reformers often preached daily, they were able to accomplish in a month what might take today’s minister a half year to complete. For today’s congregation, a series of twenty-five sermons on a book like 1 Peter, for example—a series Calvin might have preached—is too much. It becomes the preacher’s job to interpret the book, outlining its major divisions and themes, and then to decide which of those themes are most appropriate to the needs of the congregation. One congregation might benefit most from sermons on the more theological concerns of the first chapter of 1 Peter, while another might appreciate the emphasis on the more practical moral concerns in the remaining chapters.

The first time I preached through 1 Peter, the congregation I was addressing had been long accustomed to a strong emphasis on Christian ethics and had little understanding of the basic affirmations of the faith. I, therefore, dwelt at greater length on the themes of saving faith in 1 Peter 1:3–9, the Christian hope in 1 Peter 1:13–21, the new birth in 1 Peter 1:22–2:3, and the spiritual worship of the royal priesthood in 1 Peter 2:4–10. In contrast, I covered 1 Peter 2:11–3:12, the long passage on rules for the Christian household, in a single sermon.

If I had been preaching to another congregation, my focus might have been altogether different. For example, I might have preached separate sermons on the Christian’s duty to civil authority (1 Pet. 2:13–17), working for hard masters (1 Pet. 2:18–25), and husbands and wives as heirs to the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:1–7).

Planning sermons according to the lectio continua approach, then, does not imply being insensitive to the needs of the congregation or plodding through a book three to six verses at a time without ever looking at the book as a whole. The approach has often been misused in this way, to be sure, but does not have to be. In fact, one of the greatest advantages of lectio continua preaching is that it recognizes that there is more than one way of dividing the Word of Truth.

Organizing the Year. Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost are poles around which I organize my preaching. Since Reformed tradition emphasizes Christian feasts rather than liturgical seasons, I often do a short lectio continua series for these feasts. For example, I have done four sermons on the nativity narrative in Matthew at Christmas and a series of six sermons on the servant songs of Isaiah at Easter. The use of the lectio continua approach, then, does not mean one has to neglect the evangelical feasts.

In the course of a year, I try to treat many different types of biblical literature. I always try to do a major series on a Gospel, a major series on another New Testament book, and a major series on an Old Testament book.

I have never been so bold as to try to preach through a whole Gospel in a single series. Instead I usually focus on a section of a Gospel—such as the ministry of Jesus in the Gospel of John, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, or the passion narrative in Luke. Also, I try not to let the Pauline Epistles overshadow the rest of the New Testament. Certainly one of the most positive discoveries of contemporary biblical research is the rich diversity in the various strands of biblical literature. All of the books have distinct messages that need to be heard.

One of the strengths of Reformed Christianity is its appreciation of the Old Testament. A minister needs to give much attention to the various genres of Old Testament literature. The insights of the historical books, the Prophets, and poetry all need to be explored.

Organizing a series on one of these books can be difficult. For example, how does one do a lectio continua series on Jeremiah with its fifty-two chapters? Again, selection is essential to interpretation. With the aid of John Bright’s commentary on Jeremiah, I selected the ten most important passages in the book—that is, the passages I thought had the most significance for my congregation, the most vivid and preachable chapters in the book.

I usually treat the historical books through personalities. I have done a major series on the Abraham cycle in Genesis and another on the David cycle in 1 and 2 Samuel. One time I did a short series of five sermons on Elijah. However, I’ve occasionally departed from this pattern. For example, after discovering Brevard Child’s commentary on Exodus, I preached one whole summer on the Christian interpretation of that book.

Discipline and Adventure. For me lectio continua preaching has been both a scholarly discipline and a spiritual adventure. It is the secret behind my enthusiasm for preaching.