I am committed to preaching God’s Word “Book by Book” and “Doctrine by Doctrine.” A few days ago, a dear and very helpful friend asked about my current series, “Understanding Acts – Body #2 Takes Over!” They asked me if I might consider preaching some topical messages soon. I am fully aware of how much people need a break from time to time in the midst of a long series of messages; and, Acts has already taken sixty sermons with several more to go!

As you know, last Sunday I began a break in the series and we are doing six sermons from Mother’s to Father’s Day on “Marriage and the Family.” I hope that you will be blessed by this timely much-needed series! As the Lord allows, I hope to have the series of sermons on Acts completed by mid-November.

As I thought about my preaching pattern, I have done some “home work” and have discovered the following facts:

1. Since coming here (first as “Interim Pastor” in June of 2006, and as “Pastor-Teacher” since May of 2007) I have preached sixteen different series of messages!

2. Eight of them (50%) have been verse-by-verse through Books of the Bible: Psalms 1-16; Philippians; Malachi; Mark; Revelation; Daniel; Minor Prophets; and Acts. Note that four of them are from the Old Testament and four of them are from the New Testament.

3. Eight of them (50%) have been on various Biblical Topics: Doctrine of Scripture; Heaven; Prophecy; Lord’s Supper; The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts; The Gospel; Overview of Systematic Theology; and Marriage and the Family!

4. WOW! I am doing better at balance than I thought… 8 Bible Books, (4 O.T. and 4 N.T.); and 8 Topical Series.

5. But, the three very long series, “Mark” (66 Sermons), “Revelation” (30 Sermons), and “Acts” (likely to be 72 Sermons) demonstrate the reality that I am most often preaching through a Book of the Bible.

6. So, what is coming up after Acts? While I am always trying to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord – and sometimes my perception of His will changes with little notice – I believe that I will do two doctrinal series from January to June of 2013 on the subjects, “Why Should Christians be Baptists?” and “What do Baptist Christians Believe?”

7. As the Lord allows, from July through mid-November of 2013, I am planning to do a verse-by-verse study of “The First Eleven Chapters of Genesis” including several sermons on the Creation versus Evolution controversy. These three series in 2013 should take about forty weeks, which will leave twelve weeks open for messages on various subjects!

I deeply need and appreciate your prayers and helpful input about my preaching! Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me. I hope this post is helpful to you as you read, pray, and prepare to hear God’s Word each week.

Serving Jesus, serving you, study for preaching, and preaching are obviously four of the great loves of my life. I thank God and you for the opportunity to preach to you in this beautiful place!