Preaching through the book of Psalms. Suggestion needed

Our church wants to start an evening series on the book of Psalms. We (several preachers in row) have finished Isaiah after about a year, every Friday evening, at the prayer meeting. Now we would like to go through the book of Psalms.

Counting by chapters, it would take three years within in the same book. I am not sure it is good to be so long in the same book. However, each psalm is different from another.

What do you think? Do you have such an experience of covering the book of Psalms, chapter by chapter?

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Comments

TCBlack

Haddon Robinson (I think) issued the directive: in addition to exegeting the text, you must exegete your audience. IOW, you should know the audience enough to tailor the message to their situation. Sometimes this means breaking it up.

Case in point, I spent about three years in Romans with some mini-series interspersed to chase down timely issues. I have no idea how long I'll be in Luke, it's been several months and I'm in chapter 3. I've already had my first external to Luke mini-series on praying for the Lost and there will be more I'm sure.

If, in the midst of the series you discern that the congregation is yearning for a change, interrupt the series for a few months with a separate series and return afterward. Of course, if you're doing the work of exposition well, what you preach in the Psalms will be relevant to the gathered saints.

[quote]

At the third stage the expositor has finished his deep study and asks himself, “How can I blend my findings in such a way that my flock will understand the Bible and its requirements for their lives today?” In a sense, the art of exposition commences here.
Nolan Howington uses a graphic description to relate exegesis and exposition: “Thus an exegete is like a diver bringing up pearls from the ocean bed; an expositor is like the jeweler who arrays them in orderly fashion and in proper relation to each other.”
Titles, outlines, introductions, illustrations, and conclusions enter the process at this stage. The message moves from the raw materials mined by exegesis to the finished product of exposition, which the hearers, it is hoped, will find interesting, convicting, and compelling. The key to this step is remembering what distinguishes exposition: explaining the text, especially parts that are hard to understand or apply. It is equally important to remember not only the text, but the audience as well.
F. B. Meyer offers this advice when thinking of the listeners and what sermonic form the message will take:

There are five considerations that must be met in every successful sermon. There should be an appeal to the Reason, to the Conscience, to the Imagination, to the Emotions, and to the Will; and for each of these there is no method so serviceable as systematic exposition.

John MacArthur, Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Pub., 1997), 17.

Nord Zootman

I have done a Prayer meeting read-through of the Psalms (more devotional than serious study) and have also taught through Isaiah in a Sunday evening Bible study. Our folks stayed interested and connected much better in the Psalms than they did Isaiah. That may have been as much my presentation as anything, but in retrospect I would not go straight through Isaiah again, but I would the Psalms. Since the Psalms are divided into several books you could just do it a section at a time with other studies interspersed.

Nord Zootman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168090#Comment_168090

Excellent response Thomas.[Y]

Timothy Ha

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168098#Comment_168098

Our folks stayed interested and connected much better in the Psalms than they did Isaiah.

I hope it will be the same with our gathering. And Psalms are quite suitable for prayer meetings.

Timothy Ha

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168090#Comment_168090

Thank you, Thomas, for such a comprehensive answer! And thanks for pointing to the book by MacArthur (and others?) that I have (both in Logos and paper), but haven't read it through yet.

I will suggest to our pastor and other preachers on breaking the book of Psalms to several parts, according to our yearly schedule (we sometimes have conferences).

May God bless your Luke series. I've heard MacArthur telling that people died and were born during his series (it took him 5-7 years, or even more). [:)]

Randy O'Brien

I have enjoyed preaching through the Psalms over the years. I tend to break them up and do mini-series based on Psalm types (e.g. thanksgiving, trust, etc.) That gives continuity and allows for variety. You may decide rather than 150 chapters, you can group some together by type. It's your call, but that's what I've done.

Floyd Johnson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168111#Comment_168111

Timothy:

One thing I did this summer was on themes in the Psalms - for example, "Joy in the Psalms", "Anger in the Psalms", "Faith in the Psalms". Rather than exegeting individual Psalms, I looked at a series of recurring themes that ran through a number of the Psalms. Some of the focus was on the themes, other times I looked at the vocabulary of the theme used by the various authors represented in the Psalms.

The series did conclude with a four week walk through the 23rd Psalm using Max Lucado's Traveling LIght as a guide.

Randy O'Brien

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168114#Comment_168114

A basic search on "psalm types" yielded some good categories in my library.

Timothy Ha

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168116#Comment_168116

One thing I did this summer was on themes in the Psalms - for example, "Joy in the Psalms", "Anger in the Psalms", "Faith in the Psalms". Rather than exegeting individual Psalms, I looked at a series of recurring themes that ran through a number of the Psalms.

Thanks. I also had about three months doing for our small children in church a series called "Psalms of a blessed/happy man" - there was Ps 1, of course, and psalms of confidence in God, psalms of prayer in trouble, etc. It was good for myself as an experience of choosing a topic and going through Psalms. And I think the language of Psalms was quite easy for the children to understand.

I am not sure our team of preaching brothers will do likewise, so we will have to consider several options.

Timothy Ha

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/168117#Comment_168117

A basic search on "psalm types" yielded some good categories in my library.

Yes, my library also offered some books I didn't know I have :-) like "Exploring the Old Testament" by Samuel J. Schultz and Gary V. Smith, published by Crossway.

Will also check whether large commentaries have good introductory articles on Psalms. They could also help.

Thanks.

Dr. Charles A. Wootten

Timothy, I don't know whether this further suggestion will help you or not, but here is a copy of a layout I use for a study through the Psalms:

I specifically pulled up the Summarized Bible just for this screenshot.

God bless

{charley}