Why I break books of the Bible into smaller series

(Note:  This is part of a larger series on the weekend messages. Click here to see the original post)

Why I Break the Books of the Bible into Smaller Series

As you look at the sample message schedule from 2011 (Above).  You can see that we spent the first 8 months of the year going through the book of Genesis.  When tackling a larger book, like Genesis, I’ll often break the book up into smaller series. In this case I’ve broken up the book as follows.

• Creation through the life of Noah - Genesis 1-6
• Life of Abraham – Genesis 12-22

• Life of Isaac – Genesis 24 - 26

• Life of Jacob – Genesis 27-35

• Life of Joseph – Genesis 37-45

If you look at the message schedule below, you’ll see that series are formed about the above sections.

• “Back to the Beginning”  Covered Adam and Eve and the beginning of creation

• “By Faith” is a six week series on the life of Abraham.

• “True Love” is a series on the life of Isaac

• “Epic Fail” is a series on Jacob stealing the birthright

• “Relationships 101” is Jacob starting a family and a new life.

• “Dreaming” is a series on the life of Jacob

I break larger books into smaller sections for several reasons…

1)   The book already has some natural breaks - Often a larger book (like Genesis) has natural occurring sections – In which case breaking it into smaller series makes sense.

2)   Eat the Elephant – How do you eat an elephant?  One bit at a time. It’s easier to tackle a large task in bit-sized chunks.

3)   It provides some natural breaks in the church calendar – Multiple series provides a natural rhythm into the church calendar.  It’s like a long driving trip cross country, rest stops are good.

4)   It provides multiple entry points for new people in our service.  The start of each five or six week series is a opportunity to invite new people, who will come in at the start a series, not the middle of a something that is already in progress.

5)   It mixes things up – This is maybe the least important, but for people like me who get bored easily, multiple series mixes things up!

Next Week’s Topic: “Why Guest Speakers are scheduled during the year”