Every preacher knows the tension: we want our people to grasp the message of an entire biblical book, but week-by-week exposition can make it hard for them to see the big picture. How do we faithfully preach the text while also helping our congregations trace the major themes, movements, and arguments of whole books of the Bible?
That question led to my recent article, “High-Altitude Spiral Preaching: A Philosophy and Methodology for Preaching from a Whole Book of the Bible in One Sermon as Part of a Long-Range Plan.” In it I explore a way of preaching that periodically ascends to a higher altitude, allowing preachers to cover an entire book in a single sermon while still remaining tethered to careful exposition.
Rather than replacing verse-by-verse preaching, this approach is designed to complement it. Think of it as flying a spiral pattern over a book of the Bible, occasionally rising to a broader view so that your audience can see
- The book’s main structure and flow
- Its central theological themes
- How individual passages fit into the larger whole
My aim in the article is both philosophical and practical. I lay out the rationale for this kind of preaching and then walk through a proposed methodology for planning and delivering these high-altitude messages as part of a larger, long-term preaching plan.
If you’re reading this you probably care deeply about preaching and pastoring. You wrestle with questions like
- How can I help people see the forest without losing the trees?
- How can I plan my preaching more intentionally over the long haul?
- How do I keep a congregation engaged when working through longer or more complex books?
If those questions resonate with you, I think you may find this article helpful, or at least worth interacting with.
If you do read it, I’d love to hear from you.
You can read the full article here:
If you have a few minutes to engage with it, thank you. I hope it encourages you in your own preaching and teaching, and ultimately serves the people you’re seeking to shepherd.