Preaching is Freaky!

I have issues. I just wanted to get that out on the table. I am a sermon addict. I have listened too probably 1000's of sermons. Some have been good and some have been bad. What it used to do was feed my soul with God's word and inspiration to keep after Him. What it does now is confuse the snot out of me.

I get all caught up on stuff like: is it bad to preach topically? Are the best sermons just going verse by verse through a book. Is it the only way, God's way to take three months to go through a book or even a year. I have read a ton of preaching books, listened to a ton of sermon seminars, had a ton of conversations about this and read probably a ton of articles about this topic. I just finished Andy Stanley's book last night "Communicating for a Change". It was very helpful.

I think in the end I am somewhere in between John Piper's "The Supremacy of God in Preaching" and Andy's book. That sometimes makes me feel a little alone in the evangelical world.

As I have been praying about this, I have been convicted about many things....

1. I have been seeking men for God's word to the church instead of seeking God for His specific word for the church I pastor. I know that sounds mystical but that is how I am wired. What God seems to be teaching me, I seem to teach with passion and clarity. The Spirit seems to move as well.

2. As I seek God for His direction I find that sometimes He leads me to preaching through a book and sometime to preach on a topic. This past Spring I felt led to preach through the book of Colossians. I did it in ten weeks. Our team felt good about the series. This fall though I felt like I had to do a book study again because some of my heroes only do them. But I think God wants to say something else this fall. Jesus is the leader of this church, not my favorite Bible teacher, that I want to emulate or make proud of me. I have got to stop preaching for people that don't come to my church and preach for the glory of Jesus and the good of the people that do come to my church!

3. The Bible must be central and authoritaive in all of this! So as I am sensing God leading me to some topics, the Bible isn't an add on to what I want to say. The issue if what does the Bible say on this topic and let's unleash the lion to devour us!

So this fall we are going to do a series on handling temptation. I will be using Matthew 4 as my guide for this. We're calling it "Tempted...Everyone is". I have also been drawn to the book of Haggai. What an incredible little book! It speakes to suburb Christians in a powerful way. I was turned on to this book from Francis Chan who did an awesome talk on it at this years Thirsty conference from Passion Conferences . I might do three or four weeks on that. I am really praying through a study of the "I Am" statements of Jesus from the writings of John's Gospel and the Revelation. I want to do something with Galatians but I am not called to be a "talking commentary" of it. I also am praying through a series on how to practice the presence of Jesus through out the day. If I do that series I may call it "24"! - Oh yeah Season 6 coming in January!

Okay so what do some of you yahoo's think out there? Should we be only book by book, only topical, a mix or what?

Discuss!