5. Preaching a Biographical Series
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PREACHING A BIOGRAPHICAL SERIES
You have several approaches from which to choose when preparing to preach a biographical series. You could do a longer series on a Bible character such as Abraham, Moses, King Saul, David, Peter, or Paul, but don’t let the series go too long. Highlight the important events and experiences and leave the interesting details for another time. Each individual message must be complete and meaningful to the listener who hasn’t heard the entire series. If you want to alienate sporadic attendees and occasional visitors, start each message with, “You will recall that three weeks ago we found David in a cave.” They weren’t in church three weeks ago, so they conclude that they won’t get much out of the latest message.
There should be a theme for the series that ties the messages together and holds the interest of the congregation. Alan Redpath’s series on David preached at Moody Church—The Making of a Man of God—is an excellent example of a series controlled by an important theme. Each sermon has its own development and helps to explain how God molded David into an effective leader. A similar approach could be used for Moses or Peter. But you need not cover the person’s entire life; you can be selective. I enjoyed doing a series on the miracles in the life of Peter,[1] and another on the crises that led to the fall of King Saul (“Don’t Lose Your Crown”).
A second approach is to select several individuals who are linked by an important theme. A number of people in the Bible said “I have sinned,” and some of them meant it. This makes an interesting series, although Spurgeon put seven of them into one message, a remarkable feat for a preacher only twenty-two years old.[2] I once used this theme as a Lenten series. A theme such as “Great Affirmations of Faith” offers an opportunity to challenge the people to take their stand and do what is right. Consider Job (13:15), Ruth (1:16–18), the prophet Habakkuk (chap. 3), Peter (Matt. 16:13–20), the thief on the cross (Luke 23:33–43), and the apostle Paul (2 Tim. 1:8–12). Again, I refer you to the sermon books of Clarence Edward Macartney and Clovis Chappell, both of whom knew how to find the links that bound Bible biographies together.
A third approach is to borrow an idea from F. W. Boreham and deal with the verses that “belonged” to great personalities in church history and in literature.[3] In your daily Bible reading or in your sermon preparation, you might come across a text that sheds light on the character you are studying. For example, when I read Proverbs 28:13 I suddenly realized, Why, this text perfectly fits David! Later I also saw the connection between this passage and 1 John 1:5–10. Likewise, if you compare Acts 9:3; 22:6; and 26:13, you will see how Proverbs 4:18 applies to Paul’s life.
One final word: preach about the notable women of the Bible as well as the notable men. There’s a trend today to preach about the “bad girls of the Bible,” which is fine if you magnify God’s grace and not the women’s sins. Esther helps us better understand the will of God and the providence of God (especially 4:10–17); and before she became a sinner, Eve certainly pictures the ideal woman. In fact, using Eve as the key person, you can do a series of three messages on (1) what the woman ought to be, (2) what marriage ought to be, and (3) what the church ought to be (Eph. 5:18–33). Jesus admonished us to “remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:26–33), and Moses advised us to “remember Miriam” (Deut. 24:9). Both Isaac’s wife Rebekah and Samuel’s mother Hannah are choice personalities for sermon series, and no doubt you will see that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was familiar with Hannah’s song. Of course, King Ahab’s evil wife Jezebel is a woman whose deeds are so reprehensible that you marvel at the long-suffering of the Lord. But I hasten to remind you, don’t major on the sin and neglect the Savior from sin.
Our primary source of information about Bible characters is, of course, the Bible, but if you have the time, investigate what great literature has to say about them. A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature, edited by David Lyle Jeffery (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), can direct you to many literary treatments of Bible personalities. Chapters into Verse, two volumes assembled and edited by Robert Atwan and Laurence Wilder (Oxford, 1993), will give you the actual poems along with the Scripture verses on which they are based. However, not all your listeners will have an appetite for these literary treasures, and some will think you are “liberal” for using them, so handle with care. I find that a gifted poet can often bring out a point that I missed in my Bible research, so let’s be grateful for all the help we can get!