A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series

A Preacher’s Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series by Jessica Miller Kelly is a compilation of thematic plans for Years A, B, and C of the lectionary. The premise of the book is simple. Take the Scriptures that are used for sermons for each Sunday and group them into thematic units that can help a pastor preach sermons in a series. The genius of this approach is that simplifies the sermon preparation process for the pastor. As the pastor looks forward to the following week, one has the head-start in preparation time because Kelly has already provided the direction for the sermon.

As a Southern Baptist, books are published to help the pastor preach throughout the year. The reason is because it is hard to be creative in preaching a series. One publisher creates a Pastor’s Annual for each year to help the pastor in sermon preparation. This book is written with a similar approach. Yet, instead of using the regular calendar, this guide uses the church calendar.

Since preaching through the Lectionary in the last year, I have personally found it difficult to preach in series. This book is a great help toward my effort to use the Lectionary more effectively in preaching. There are sermon series for each season of the Lectionary (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time.) Room has been made to preach a series between 3 and 12 weeks in length. The pastor can still have time for single topical sermons that are preached in between each of these series. Kelly provides a handy calendar at the end of the book that shows how to preach these series for nine years. In theory, one has a decade of potential sermon series.

The following titles are provided for potential sermon series:

Year A Sermon Series:
A Geography of Salvation
New Year, Same Promises
Boot Camp for the Soul
Closer and Closer
God’s Creative Connection
Broken
No Fair!
The Enemies of Gratitude
The Good News About Death

Year B Sermon Series:
Coming Soon
Jesus, Man of Mystery
Covenant
Belong, Believe, Behave
God At Work
No Longer Strangers
A Faith That Works
The Upside Down Kingdom
Gifts of Love

Year C Sermon Series:
Living “In Between”
A Light to Enlighten the Nations
God on the Move
Surprise!
Intervention
Action Required
Pillars of Faith
What Disciples Do

I have not discovered another book like this for the pastor. Therefore, I would highly recommend this for pastors who preach the Lectionary. The book is also valuable for pastors looking for a series to preach. This book will provide plenty of sermon starters and help the pastor in the sermon planning process.