One of the first things I encountered preaching through books of the Bible was considering the option of selecting larger preaching portions. I was much more comfortable with preaching small sections of NT epistles. But, when I decided to preaching equally from both Testaments, it became apparent that larger-than-I-was-used-to portions were needed.

If you’re wondering why many OT narratives and some NT narratives call for larger preaching portions, consider:

• theology is being conveyed through a storyline, rather than through phrases in tightly packed NT paragraphs
• many narratives can be restating the same theology

Here’s an example from the book of Judges, a series I began a couple of weeks ago. Judges 3:7 begins the Book of Deliverers, what most of us think of when we think of Judges. I chose to cover the first four judges (five if you count Deborah and Barak separately) in one sermon. That meant covering Judges 3:7-4:24 in a 45-50 minute sermon!

There are three broad themes in these deliverance narratives: (1) our evil (2) God’s anger (3) God’s grace that raises up a deliverer.

Hardly any details are given about the first and third judges, Othniel and Shamgar. The stories of Ehud and Deborah/Barak contain tons of interesting details (the devious plan that led to Eglon’s assassination and Sisera being killed by a savage woman, Jael). However, most of those details do not contain theology. They do contain storytelling value and preachers have to decide how much time to devote to them.

I chose to highlight some things like God’s plan to use an unexpected deliverer that was left-handed and from the little tribe of Benjamin. Also, it was shocking that an enemy was dispatched by a woman, not Barak. Or, you might point out the incredibly power of God displayed in Shamgar’s military exploits (killing 600 Philistines with a cattle prod).

Anyway, consider the need to take larger preaching portions than you may be comfortable with for the sake of God’s glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal