Reasons to Preach Each Book of the Bible
"All Scripture is breathed out by God . . . preach the word" (2 Tim. 3:16–4:2).
"All Scripture is breathed out by God . . . preach the word" (2 Tim. 3:16–4:2).
Genesis tells the story of a God who creates everything out of nothing in order to bless his people and glorify himself.
Exodus proclaims God’s great act of delivering his people from bondage, gifting them his law, and inviting them into intimate fellowship with himself.
How can a holy God relate to sinful people? Leviticus provides us an answer to that question.
The book of Numbers teaches us that when God is with his people, the only thing they need to fear is their own sin.
The book of Deuteronomy portrays God as King and reveals the way his people should live in covenant with him.
The book of Joshua doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.
Judges is the darkest book in the Old Testament. So why should you preach through it for your people?
There are dozens of reasons to preach through Ruth, but I’ll limit it to four.
These books help readers understand why Israel transitioned to a monarchy, how that monarchy succeeded and failed, and how that monarchy ultimately points to Jesus, who will rule one day with love and justice forever.
The books of 1 and 2 Kings teach us about a faithful God, his faltering people, and a future hope.
What if there was a book that provided us a concise review of the whole Old Testament? Well, there is—the book of Chronicles!
God used the book of Ezra to increase our church's hope in Jesus. So here are four reasons you should consider preaching through it.
Nehemiah has been used and abused for every kind of building project and capital campaign known to church. But the main point of Nehemiah is that in the face of opposition to the gospel, we should put our trust in God because he is unwaveringly committed to his glory and his people.
Esther may seem like a strange book to preach through, particularly for those who are keen to preach Christ from the Old Testament.
While God ordains that the righteous suffer, God is not indifferent towards our pain and suffering.
It’s been said that all of life with God is expressed in the Psalms. That’s true, and your people need the comprehensive discipleship course found in this book. Our own souls need it, too.
Proverbs makes for challenging preaching, but who else is going to teach our people how to read wisdom literature if we don’t?
Ecclesiastes surprises people. That’s partly because it says things you don’t expect to hear from the Bible.
The Song of Songs certainly is about marriage. However, since marriage is a window into the relationship between Christ and the church, the Song of Songs is about the gospel, too.
Here's the message of Isaiah: the Lord’s day of judgment and salvation is coming, and when it does, his glory will be revealed through his anointed Servant-King.
Four themes throughout this ancient book will particularly benefit your congregation today.
When you're preaching through the Bible, don’t neglect Lamentations.
Unless you’re one of those people that is into arcane prophecy and end-times speculation, then why should you preach the book of Ezekiel? Here are three reasons.
The book of Daniel isn't about Daniel. The book of Daniel is about Daniel’s God. If what you've taught or learned from this soaring book is that you should “dare to be a Daniel,” then I'm afraid you entirely missed the point.
Why should pastors preach through the book of Hosea? Consider these four reasons.
Joel reaches all the way back to the curses of the Old Covenant and then all the way forward to anticipate the fulfillment of the New Covenant. It walks us from the Pentateuch to Revelation.
Has anyone had a church member recently ask, “Hey, when are you going to finally preach a series through Amos?”
Why preach Obadiah? Because your people need to bask in the comfort that God will bring justice to those who target the innocent.
The sea Jonah faced looks so small as we consider Jesus standing on the shore looking out upon the seemingly unending sea of God’s wrath.
Just as sure as God used Micah’s words centuries ago, he promises to surely use them now. So you can't go wrong preaching this book.
You should preach through Habakkuk because of Epicurus, Luther, Leibniz, and Jesus.
You should preach Zephaniah for many reasons. But the greatest is that it will compel you at every turn to preach Christ—crucified, risen, and returning.
Haggai is a hidden gem that brings great encouragement for those prepared to dig for it.
Zechariah is the longest of the twelve Minor Prophets, and in my opinion it’s also the richest, most elegant, and most Christological, too.
Malachi was the last voice of God to the people of Israel before the heavens went silent for about 400 years. Such a voice must be significant, even if only for that reason.
Matthew’s Gospel reveals the wisdom of the gospel message and the new way of life that results as disciples discover truth through encounters with Jesus.
Preaching the Gospel of Mark as early as possible into my ministry may be the best advice I have ever received as a pastor.
Even though Luke is the longest book in the New Testament, I want to encourage pastors to preach through the whole book.
Preach through this Gospel and bring your people to the feet of the Messiah to understand his identity, his power, his mission, and their own mission.
The book of Acts is the narrative of how God’s end-times promises have begun to be fulfilled by the risen Lord Jesus through the Spirit-empowered apostolic preaching of the gospel to all people and the establishing of local churches.
John Piper waited until the end of his pastoral ministry before he preached through Romans. I didn’t have that much wisdom, so I dove in.
Let me give you four reasons why it’s worth it to preach through 1 Corinthians.
Our culture tells us to play to our strengths. But below the surface, the stubborn reality of our weakness remains. What will we do with it?
Many churches build up structures around the gospel that end up undermining the foundations of the gospel itself. If your church needs a major doctrinal cleanup, or if you’re concerned about a cracking foundation, Galatians can be the cautionary tale which your church needs to hear.
In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul shows how the grace of God in Christ empowers the church to basic Christian living in a broken world.
In Philippians, the apostle demonstrates how the fullness of the believer’s joy is rooted in his relationship to Christ—in the event of justification and in the progress of sanctification.
Preaching through Colossians is a privilege. Here are four reasons why.
First Thessalonians is immensely practical and wonderfully motivating. It paints the picture of the grandeur of God and the glory of the gospel. Your church will benefit greatly.
As pastors and preachers, the urgency of the whole epistle presses us particularly. It reminds us of the weight of responsibility we carry as we speak truth and press for a right response.
Brothers, preach 1 Timothy. And don’t wait too long. You and your congregation need its Christ-centered focus for the church.
Second Timothy is relevant today because it reminds us that the gospel must first be preserved in order to be proclaimed.
What should new churches focus on? What should their priorities be in their early years? Titus gives us an answer.
We love and forgive others because the Lord Jesus has first loved and forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). This is the heart and soul of the gospel, portrayed in the book of Philemon.
Perseverance is a drum pastors can always afford to beat, especially during a pandemic. And Hebrews tells us how to persevere: look to Christ who persevered before us, and for us.
The way that leads to trouble often seems harmless and at times helpful. The book of James brings sinners back from the By-Path Meadows of sin to the narrow way of Christ that leads to life (Matt. 7:13–14)
If you want to help your people prepare for our rapidly secularizing and increasingly hostile culture, preach through 1 Peter.
Growing in grace. That’s what 2 Peter is all about. Here's why you should preach through it.
The more I studied 1 John piece-by-piece, the more my appreciation grew.
The little books of the Bible like 2 John often get neglected, don’t they? But they shouldn't.
The book of 3 John is only fifteen verses long; it contains a grand total of 296 words. Pastors, you should preach through it.
Christians of every era must guard doctrine as they are guarded by God. That’s the message of Jude.
If you've never done it before, I hope that the seven reasons I give here encourage you to preach through the book of Revelation.