I have heard people remark that their church year consists of fifty-two unconnected sermons on disjointed themes. Being the son of a pastor and a pastor myself, I think this critique is largely unfounded.
Nonetheless, busy pastors desire to improve the quality, freshness, and variety of their pulpit ministry.
Early in my ministry I attended a young Timothy conference where one of the speakers challenged me to pray and plan through my preaching ministry a year in advance.
I was privileged to pastor a rapidly growing church and thus knew that weekly preparation time was sometimes difficult to find.
I took his advice to heart and carved out a week early in the calendar year to get away from the office for a few days and look at the coming year in terms of the major Christian holidays, the needs of the church, and major biblical truths that needed exposition.
I found myself drawn to short sermon series of four to eight weeks in duration—time long enough to fully develop a topic, yet short enough to keep interest at a high level.
We have chosen to organize this preaching resource book with attention to major events of the calendar year. The sermon series are all a month long. In most cases you will have the benefit of two contributors each month who have prepared sermons on the theme selected for that month.
We have not attempted to provide full manuscripts but have chosen to give the reader two expanded outlines, one approximately twice the size of the other.
These expanded outlines will allow you to personalize the message to fit your own preaching style and congregational needs.
As you pray and plan with this tool at your side, you may find that one message sparks your interest and better suits the need of the moment. You also may choose to use both sermons weekly in different services.
The contributors are men from varying size congregations who have proven to be effective pastors and effective preachers. I am honored that they have given of their time and energy to join me in this pastor’s annual.
They have done so because they desire to be of service to fellow pastors. You will enjoy the unique insights of two or three preachers each month.
The exception is March and December, when I have asked the contributing author to provide the entire month of preaching to help adequately prepare the congregation to consider the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord.
This book is dedicated to pastors who desire to declare the Word of Truth with integrity and power. It is our prayer that it will prove to be a resource that will minister to you as you minister to those whom God has put in your charge.
