4 Reflections On Spending An Entire Year Preaching Through One Book

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Dec 3

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For most of 2019, New City Church has been in the book of 1 Corinthians (you can watch/listen to the messages here). In total, we spent roughly 40 weeks going through the entire letter.

Going into it, I didn't know what to expect. I had never been a part of a church that spent that long on a single book or sermon series. I didn't want it to become boring or stale, but I also didn't want to only preach through short books of the Bible. So we decided to go for it and see what would happen.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I am really glad we did it. Here are four reflections on what it has been like.

1. I learned a lot

Spending this much time in one book of the Bible and studying it week after week to prepare sermons, I learned a lot about 1 Corinthians. That might not come as a surprise, but there is a deepness and a greater understanding when you are taking the time to work through a 16 chapter book of the Bible.

Understanding the context and to whom it was written really helped me understand better how it applies to us. Because (like all books of the Bible) 1 Corinthians was written to a specific audience at a specific time, we need to know how they would have understood what they were reading. When we do that, we can better understand what it means for us.

All that to say, I really enjoyed it and it cleared up and even changed my understanding on a few theological/doctrinal positions.

2. We saw the relevance of Scripture

It is easy to assume that since the Bible is really old, and our culture today assumes old = not as good or even bad, that it isn't really helpful for us today. Spending a year in 1 Corinthians showed us that the opposite is actually true.

When we first shared we would be going through the entire book of 1 Corinthians and that it would take a while, there was a fear by some that it would get old or boring or too repetitive. That didn't happen (at least from what I have been told!).

We titled our series Masterclass because in some ways 1 Corinthians is a masterclass on life where Paul is teaching us how the Gospel impacts every area of our lives. In this series alone, here are just some of the topics we covered:

Hope
Love
Grief
Sex/Relationships
The Resurrection of Jesus
Holy Spirit/Spiritual Gifts
Wisdom
Communion
God's Calling on Our Lives

On top of that, we hit on issues that you would never choose to preach on, but because it was in the text, we had to deal with it. It all really was very applicable.

I would also say having been in 1 Corinthians all year that seemingly boring sermon series titles (or just long sermon series) are not what bores people. Boring preaching bores people. If the text is being preached in a way that helps people connect to its meaning and shows what it means for them today, it doesn't matter how long the sermon series is or what you call it.

3. We saw the importance of context

One of the problems we run into when reading Scripture today is thinking the Bible is saying something that it isn't. Some passages and verses can be easily twisted (often unintentionally) if we don't take the time to understand what issue the text is addressing.

Whether that is understanding the historical context it was written in, or taking into account the context of a single verse within the entire Biblical book itself. For example, in Philippians 4:13 Paul writes "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." On its own, it seems to be saying Jesus can give us the power to do anything.

That's not what it is saying. In context, Paul is talking about the suffering and persecutions he has experienced as a Christian, and that Christ has given him the strength to suffer well.

Even in 1 Corinthians, there are some interesting verses that on their own might appear to be saying something they actually aren't. In chapter 14 Paul writes, "women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says." On its own it appears to say women should never speak at church, but given the context of 1 Corinthians itself (i.e. 11:4-6) we know he doesn't mean they should never talk.

All that to say, context matters and helps explain a lot. So it is helpful to preach through entire books to better understand what each passage means.

4. It's ok to not understand what everything means

There are times where it is hard to know exactly what a Biblical author is saying. This occurs even a few times in 1 Corinthians itself. While Scripture is clear on a lot of things (particularly who Jesus is and what he has done for us), sometimes some passages or verses are confusing.

1 Corinthians was written to an actual church that was dealing with specific issues that Paul was addressing. This means there are times where Paul is writing instructions on something that is confusing to us but would have been clear to the original readers.

It's ok to admit that. In fact, I think it gives preachers more credibility.

For those that preach, there can be this self-imposed pressure or idea that we must know and understand everything in a text. Sometimes that simply isn't possible. We should be clear where the text is clear, and be honest when we aren't quite sure what the author is saying.

My rule of thumb is simply to give two or three possibilities of what the author is saying and move on. It's comforting for others to know that Scripture can be confusing to pastors as well sometimes.

I would do it again

Now that we are wrapping up our series through 1 Corinthians, you might be wondering if I would do it all over again.

Absolutely yes.

Not that I would preach through 1 Corinthians a second time, but we will do another long series in a longer Biblical book again in the future. Scripture is relevant and applicable even today, and I have heard from many people how much they have enjoyed going through 1 Corinthians.

People today want to know what the Bible actually says. Not a verse here or there, but what it means in the context in which it was written. People have questions and get confused when reading difficult passages and there is something really encouraging to know even the hard ones have things to say to us.

I'm glad we went through 1 Corinthians and thankful for everyone at New City who went through it with us!