Lectio Continua
I am always looking to improve my preaching. On the bookshelf next to me are books on preaching by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Bryan Chappell, Haddon Robinson, John Stott, and Tim Keller. Occasionally I will peruse the web for tips as well. I quickly discovered online that many pastors devote a significant portion of time each week to determining their sermon topic. This task is done prayerfully and carefully as the minister considers his flock and their needs.
I’m not here to argue against topical preaching. I do believe there is a place for topical preaching within the church. However, I do not believe week-by-week topical preaching is healthy for the minister or the church. I may write on this in the future.
Early in my ministry, I decided to commit myself to Lectio Continua-Expository preaching. Some of you might be thinking Lectio huby-whatty?
Lectio Continua is Latin for continuous reading. This means each week I preach verse by verse through a particular book or portion of scripture. For example, I began preaching John in January and finished chapter 6 last Sunday. Some would say I’m moving fast, others might be wondering “What’s the holdup?!”
The decision to preach Lectio continua has benefitted me tremendously.
I do not have to sit down and determine what I’m going to preach each week. God does that for me. I am less tempted to preach on trending cultural issues or my own personal hobby horses. I am unable to avoid passages that are difficult to understand or controversial. I grow with my congregation by studying the text. I am less inclined to preach sermons looking for a text.
The Word of God governs the service. The topic of next week’s sermon is located in next week’s passage.
So, what is the topic of this Sunday’s sermon?
Well, whatever God teaches us in John 7: 1-24.
You've listed the pros. Here's a con to consider . . . preaching Sunday after Sunday from a single book rarely allows your flock to get the "gist" of a book, much less the overall thematic message of the Bible. Even moving by sections of a dozen verses at a time, you only have . . . what? . . . 52 Sunday mornings in a year? Many books of the NT won't be covered in that sort of time frame.
I've known pastors who preached out of Romans for years. What they might (on the most generous assessment) have offered in terms of depth, they lost in terms of scope.
Admitted, it's hard to find the balance between depth and scope. The best that I have found (being at this over a period of 50 years now) is this: a three-year lectionary that follows the historic church calendar seasons (Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, Pentecost, Trinitytide; rinse and repeat on a three year cycle).
For in-depth instruction, there's always Sunday school and/or Bible studies during the week or in homes. Moreover, if you simply declare that you're preaching texts are following a lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary has served me very well), then you are freed from the charge that you've picked your sermon texts in order to single out some topic, ignore other topics, etc.
Indeed, the RCL gives you a Psalm, an Old Testament lesson, another from the NT epistles, and one from one of the Gospels - FOUR passages, which you may weave together into a single sermon, or preach from any one of the four. Anglicans typically preach from the gospel lesson appointed for that Sunday, as it's the last one read during the liturgy of the Word. But, you can preach from one of the other passages if you please. I know some Anglican priests who - on a given year - will preach only from the epistle appointed for that Sunday. Or the Psalm(s). Or the Old Testament lesson.
I got my preaching sea legs by preaching through books. Had I to do it over again, I'd start with a lectionary, and devote preaching/teaching through books to smaller classes of more willing-to-be-discipled sheep in mid-week Bible studies.