Blog | Where to Find Inspiration for Unique Sermon Series
Where to Find Inspiration for Unique Sermon Series
Anyone who works a repetitive job is prone to going through creative ruts at some point in their career. Obviously, no week is every the exact same as a pastor, but there’s no doubt that you deal with a lot of repetitive tasks on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. The most obvious task that falls in that category is sermon prep.
Sermon prep is the most repetitive task of a lead pastor at a church, but it’s also one of the most important. If you’re not putting your best foot forward to deliver unique, compelling, and thought provoking sermons, you’re doing your congregation a disservice.
But that task is difficult. When you’ve been at it for several years, it can feel cumbersome to always create a spectacular, unique, and incredible sermon series. If that’s where you’re at, read on.
Finding Inspiration for Unique Sermon Series
Sometimes it might feel like you’ve tried everything when it comes to sermon series preparation. If you’re feel like your ideas have gone dry and need inspiration for unique sermon series, take a look at some of these resources:
Varying Your Styles of Sermons
Yeah, we know it’s no news that there are various styles of sermons, but you can give a similar sermon message from so many different angles. And this isn’t about “maximizing content” or “being efficient”. Using varying styles of sermons can give your congregation a much more wholistic understanding of a topic.
Here are different styles of sermons that you can use when approaching the task of sermon series creation:
Narrative Sermon Series
A narrative sermon series usually follows the story of a specific character in the Bible. One of the most common examples is the story of Job. Obviously, you may teach a sermon series based on the principles represented in the book of Job in addition to principles found elsewhere in Scripture, but it’s most common for pastors to teach the story of Job through means of narration.
Topical Sermon Series
Topical sermons are not restricted to specific Biblical texts. These are probably the most “traditional” form of sermon, during which a specific topic – food, addiction, worship, etc. – is addressed using a variety of Scripture passages, analogies, stories, and philosophy.
Topical sermons can also deal with pressing issues in today’s culture. It doesn’t just have to be about ever-present
Need-Based Sermons
As the name implies, a need-based sermon focuses on a particular need within the church or surrounding community. These types of sermons may emphasize subjects such as giving or supporting missionaries. You’re conveying a need that is pertinent right now, as well as recommendations on how your congregation can help.
Keep Up with Trending Sermons
“Isn’t that the opposite of unique?”
Not really. Most of the popular, trending sermon topics (or actual sermon recordings by pastors) you’ll encounter aren’t repetition of the same generic sermons that have been repeated over and over. Most of those sermons don’t chart at all because they don’t catch peoples’ attention. Make no mistake – there are many “common” or “repetitive” sermons that are still incredibly important to give.
But if you’re looking for unique sermon ideas, pay attention to what’s trending. More and more pastors are giving sermons nowadays on the impact of iPhones and technology on the Christian life/initiative. Does your congregation need to hear about that? Seek out sermon topics that take a unique twist on classic issues – trending sermons are often a great way to start the search.
Neighboring Churches
It used to be hard to know what other churches were preaching on, but with livestreaming, it’s easier than ever. If you have neighboring churches you’ve wanted to visit, draw some inspiration for your own sermons from the livestreams they’re releasing on Facebook, YouTube, or their website.
This is especially nice when referencing bigger churches in the area. Often, larger churches will have several pastors, graphic designers, and others working together to build sermon series. The result is usually a quite elaborate, unique, and well-thought out series that can be used for inspiration in creating your own series!
Pinterest is a great source for design inspiration, but it has become increasingly popular for blogs and video links. Searching for sermon ideas will give you a ton of ideas on what your church can preach on next.
Often times, churches will upload their sermon graphics as well for inspiration which can be helpful in tying visual ideas to your sermon series. Spend some time digging in for sermon topics, sermon series, blogs, and videos on Pinterest! If for nothing else, it’s often a useful platform for finding other resourceful websites.
About the Author
Chris Fleming is a professional musician from Minneapolis, MN who has played with artists such as TAYA, Big Daddy Weave, and Jason Gray. He is actively involved with the worship music scene and has contributed as a drummer, music director, song writer, and producer for various worship artists and churches locally and nationally. Chris is the Motion Designer at Motion Worship, helping to create motion background collections and countdowns for our subscribers.