Thematic and Topical preaching
What this module is about
We explore some ideas and outlines for thematic and topical preaching series, point to
the way to do topical preaching that is still grounded in the text of the Bible, and offer
some tips for getting the most out of the series.
Ideas for a thematic preaching series
A thematic preaching series follows a Biblical theme; for example:
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The world’s origins, revolt, redemption – Answering Life’s Big Questions –
Genesis 1-12
Your God is too small! Visions of God – Exodus 3:1-15; 33:17-34:9; Isaiah 6:1-13;
Ezekiel 1:4-28; Daniel 7:9-14; John 1:47-51; Revelation 1:9-20; 4:1-11; 5:1-14;
20:11-15
Great biblical prayers – for our encouragement & emulation – 2 Samuel 7:18-29;
1 Kings 8:22-30; 2 Kings 19:14-19; Nehemiah 9:4-38; Daniel 9:1-19; Mark 14:3242; John 17:1-26; Acts 4:23-31; Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Philippians 1:9-11;
Colossians 1:9-14
God with us – Genesis 2:1-25; Exodus 40:34-38; Joshua 1:1-9; 1 Kings 8:1-11;
Ezekiel 10:1-22; 43:1-12/47:1-12; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14/2:18-22; 4:16-26;
Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:12-20; Ephesians 2:17-22; 1 Peter
2:4-8; Revelation 21:9-22:5
Biblical Gardens – the Agony & the
Ecstasy – Genesis 2-3; Luke 22:39-46;
John 19:41-20:18; Revelation 22:1-5.
You could cover Genesis to Revelation
as suggested here, then have a postscript sermon on Jesus’ gardening
metaphor urging vital, fruitful
discipleship (while we wait for the
‘Garden-City’ of Revelation 21-22 to
come!)
Jesus’ claims and promises in the ‘I am’ statements of John’s Gospel
Discipleship in the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7
Discipleship according to the Upper Room Discourse – John 13-17
The nature and purpose of the local church – 1 Corinthians 11/12-14
Jesus’ commendations and criticisms of his churches – Revelation 2 & 3
Sample thematic series outlines
A thematic series on the ‘one another’ commands in the New Testament can work very
well. It could be entitled something like: ‘Loving one another in the way that Jesus loves
us (John 13:34)’ and it could look something like this:
How to love one another as Jesus loved us
Week 1
Jesus’ ‘new’ command – John 13:34-35
Week 2
Bear with one another – Colossians 3:13a
Week 3
Forgive one another – Colossians 3:13
Week 4
Submit to one another – Ephesians 5:21
Week 5
Love one another deeply – 1 Peter 4:8
Week 6
Offer hospitality to one another – 1 Peter 4:9
Week 7
Serve one another with your gift – 1 Peter 4:10-11
Week 8
Encourage one another – Hebrews 3:13/10:25
Here’s a mini-series outline with the biblical theme and title ‘Life-changing love’ that
stays within one biblical book:
Life-changing love
Week 1
God’s love for us and ours for him – 1 Peter 1:3-9
Week 2
Our love for the world – 1 Peter 2:11-17
Week 3
Our love for God’s people – 1 Peter 4:7-11
Topical preaching
An important qualification
Christian preaching must by definition always deal with the Bible. Our God-given task is
to preach and teach the Scriptures (2 Tim 4:1-2), as opposed to novel or soothing things
that people want to hear (4:3-4); or for that matter, things we want to speak on. It is by
the Scriptures that God speaks, revealing himself, his gospel and his will. The Scriptures
have been breathed out by God to bring salvation through faith in Christ, and for the
teaching, correction and training of his people (2 Tim 3:15-17).
By topical preaching, then, we mean preaching that either in a series or one-off sermon
deals with a topic by showing what the Bible says about the topic and by applying that
to the life of the church. Topical preaching will exegete both the topic (demonstrating
awareness and understanding of the topic as it intersects with our culture/world) and
the Scriptures on the topic.
Topic
Text
Application
Diagram taken from Peter Adam’s chapter, ‘Whatever happened to preaching?’, in
Please! No more boring sermons (ed. Keith Weller, 2007), p.19.
The point of the diagram is that topical preaching will begin with the topic but then
move to and be centred on the biblical text, before then applying this to the life of the
church.
The occasional topical preaching series enables preachers to deal biblically and
pastorally with important issues affecting their church and the world.
One-off topical sermons
These can be planned in advance and inserted between preaching series or within a
series providing a break from the series (especially desirable if it’s a long series).
They could be planned to coincide with special Church and Community days such as a
sermon on:
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• Model citizens near Australia Day (1 Pet 2:13-17)
• Mateship, courage & sacrifice on or near Anzac Day (Jn
15:9-17)
• Godly mothers/wives on Mother’s Day (Prov 31:1031 or Eph 5:22-24, 33b)
• Godly fathers/husbands on Father’s Day (Eph 5:2533; 6:4)
• The Trinity on Trinity Sunday
The Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday
They could be on important topics that affect most people most of the time such as:
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God & Money – Proverbs 10:15; 10:22; 11:4;
13:7; 18:11; 23:5; 28:20; Ecclesiastes 5:8ff.;
Acts 4:32-37; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2
Corinthians 8-9; Luke 12:13-21; Matthew 6:1934; 16:1-15; 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19
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God & Sex – Genesis 1 & 2; Proverbs 9; 30:119; Song of Solomon; Matthew 5:27-30; 1
Corinthians 6:12-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
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Marriage & Singleness – Genesis 1 & 2; 1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 5:22-33;
Hebrews 13:4
One-off topical sermons can also be given spontaneously, in
response to a serious pastoral issue that arises within your
church and is impacting the whole church (such as an
outbreak of divisive conflict, a serious moral failure, or a
death) or in response to a significant national tragedy or
world crisis event (such as the Victorian bushfires, the
Queensland/Victorian floods, or the Boxing Day Tsunami or
the events of September 11, 2001). In the case of the latter
events, suitable Scriptures include Psalm 46, Luke 13:1-5,
Romans 8:18-27.
NOTE: The Bible references given above are sample passages. You would generally only
preach on one passage in each sermon.
Topical series
One helpful way to approach this is to work out your series structure around the topic,
then choose a Bible passage that will best deal with the topic each week. For example, a
topical series on the Bible itself could be entitled something like – ‘The Bible – what is it
and what’s it for?’ – and could look something like this:
The Bible – what is it & what’s it for?
Week 1
How do we know anything about God?
Psalm 19; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Week 2
God’s Final Word to us – Jesus
John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-4
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
What did Jesus think of the Bible?
John 5:36-47; Luke 24:25-27, 44-49
What did the apostles think of the Bible?
2 Peter 1:12-21; 2 Timothy 3:14-17
What about the New Testament?
John 14:23-26; 15:26-27; 16:12-15; 2 Peter 1:13-18; 3:13-18
A true and trustworthy word from God
Titus 1:1-4; Revelation 21:1-8
God’s words through human words
Hebrews 3:7-4:7; 2 Peter 1:16-21
How the Lord Jesus rules and sustains his church
2 Timothy 3:10-17; Matthew 4:1-4
All the Bible texts for each week could be read in church, but it is best (and easier!) to
preach on one passage with reference to the others. That way, you are still dealing
carefully with a passage in context.
In our secularized, sceptical society, an apologetics series is an important way both to
encourage God’s people and to equip them for answering common objections and
questions. For example:
Objections & Questions from the Sceptical & Searching
Week 1
Knowing how to answer the questions people are asking
Col 4:2-6; Matt 5:13-16
Week 2
How do I know God exists?
Rom 1:16-23; Mark 4:35-41
Week 3
You can’t trust what the Bible says, can you?
Psalm 19:1-14; John 14:25-31
Week 4
Is Jesus a legend, liar, lunatic or Lord?
Acts 2:22-36; John 19:33-38
Week 5
Can I trust God with so much suffering in the world?
1 Pet 2:18-25; Luke 12:54-56; 13:1-5
Week 6
Can’t we just be good enough to please God?
Rom 3:9-20; Mark 12:28-34
Week 7
Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?
Titus 2:11-14; Matt 25:36-51
Of course, church seasons such as Lent and Advent are very amenable to a topical
series. Lent lends itself to all kinds of series topics, from an exploration of the gospel
culminating with the cross and resurrection at Easter, to a series showing that Jesus
features in every part of the Scriptures.
Topical mini-series
Topical mini-series can be very effective, especially if they happen around significant
times of the year. For example, a post-Easter mini-series could look something like this:
The meaning of Jesus’ resurrection
Easter 1
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for the world?
Acts 17:22-31; Mt 28:16-20
Easter 2
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for the church?
Acts 1:1-11; John 20:19-23
Easter 3
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for me?
Col 3:1-4; Mt 24:21-31
Here’s a topical mini-series that tackles the important issue of God’s sovereignty over
the world and his people, from an Old Testament book whose three chapters lend
themselves to a mini-series:
Suffering, Doubt & Faith & the Sovereignty of God
Week 1
Doubting God in a world of evil & suffering – Habakkuk 1
Week 2
God’s mysterious sovereignty in a world of evil & suffering –
Hab 2
Week 3
Trusting God in a world of evil & suffering – Hab 3
Expounding the Nicene or Apostle’s Creed can be a helpful way to re-state and explain
the basic tenets of the Christian faith. Here’s a suggested way to do it:
Truths to die for
Week 1
God the Father
Week 2
God the Son
Week 3
God the Holy Spirit
Week 4
God’s church – its spiritual nature and physical future
A caution against making topical preaching the main diet
‘Whenever I find myself with a group of my ministerial colleagues, someone will say,
“We must make the message of the Bible relevant to our day”. This, in my opinion is
sheer nonsense. My task as a minister of the Gospel is not to make God’s Word relevant
to our day. It is already relevant; the Almighty has seen to this. My responsibility is to
study it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit seek to comprehend it, and then in the power of
the Holy Spirit declare it. I find that whenever I do this God takes care of the relevancy’.
Harold Fickett, ‘Preaching a series’, in Christianity Today, 11 (4), 1966, p. 37, quoted by
Richard Condie in Please! No More Boring Sermons, p.104.
A good yearly pattern for a healthy diet – a series of
series:
1. New Testament series (on one NT book)
2. One-off topical sermon or topical miniseries
3. Old Testament series (on one OT book)
4. One-off topical sermon or topical miniseries
5. Thematic or topical series
6. New Testament series (on one NT book)
Tips for building anticipation before and through a series
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Avoid overly long series that people will get tired with. For example, Joseph
Carryl took 29 years to work through the book of Job; but
that was relatively short compared to William Gouge of St
Anne’s Blackfriars, who took 36 years on Hebrews!
Work hard on creating a series title and individual sermon
titles that are arresting and engaging
Promote the series in advance (in church newsletters,
PowerPoint announcements, on church’s website), giving the
series title, dates and sermon titles/topics
In each sermon, raise questions and issues that will be
covered in future sermons in the series. This helps maintain interest and
momentum.
Getting the most out of the series
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In the same way that a sermon should have one main idea with sub-points that
develop that idea, we should see the whole series as one extended sermon with
one main subject or idea (captured by the series title) that is developed
throughout the series. This helps give coherence and unity to the series.
In each sermon, give a brief review of the main ideas covered in the series so far
or at the very least try to link each new theme or idea with those in previous
sermons in the series. This helps reinforce ideas as well as provides for people
who missed earlier sermons in the series.
Where possible, produce Bible studies based on the passage preached on each
week, even daily readings, that individuals and home groups can use. This
maximises peoples’ exposure to the passage/theme and facilitates more
thoughtful learning at church and home group.
Exercise
Try crafting your own thematic or topical series or mini-series or try adapting (making
your own) one of the sample series given above.
Helpful resources
Please! No more boring sermons: Preaching for Australians. Contemporary Insights &
Practical Aspects (ed. Keith Weller, 2007)
For sermons around Anzac Day or the topic of war
Better be a good sermon: Preaching for Special Occasions & Contexts (eds. Keith Weller
& Adrian Lane, 2011), pp.71-82
How to Prepare a Bible Talk (SMBC 2003), pp.101-07
For sermons in a time of crisis
Better be a good sermon: Preaching for Special Occasions & Contexts (eds. Keith Weller
& Adrian Lane, 2011), pp.83-90
Sample sermons on occasions such as a baby who lived two hours, a young man who
died from cancer, God and the problem of the existence of evil
Better be a good sermon: Preaching for Special Occasions & Contexts (eds. Keith Weller
& Adrian Lane), pp.189ff.