Since September 2015, Yuxuan Church of Hunan Bible Institute preaches Sunday sermons on the Book of Mark in a unique approach in homiletics: the serial sermons. The series will last until early 2017.
CCD interviews Rev. Wen Shuangcheng, the senior pastor of the church in the said institute, to talk about the specific form and advantages of "serial Sunday sermons."
The pastor shares the church had preached short sermons in series about the Books of Jobs, Jonah, the Minor Prophets and Ephesians before the long serial sermons of Mark the first time.
Regarding why the church chooses the Book of Mark, he says it is because Mark, the shortest among the Four Gospels that are essential to Christians, takes less time to interpret and because its contexts are narratives, more acceptable to the congregation.
The specific form of the serial Sunday sermon
The church uses " induction" to summarize the core of verses. For example, Rev. Wen first divides the content into paragraphs and generalizes the theme. Then he welcomes any suggestion from the church co-workers.
He believes that comparing to deduction, by which the personal thinking is easily to be added on, serial sermons is a better to deliver the message.
Moreover, every sermon develops under a specific theme and frame. The preacher will tell the congregation the introduction including the theme and what problem in the church the sermon is targeted for on Sundays.
After sermons, believers continue to study the content of the Sunday sermons in discussion on how to apply the biblical truth into their own lives.
The advantages of serial sermons
In addition, Rev. Wen observes how the congregation react when trying the new approach. Feedback indicates that they love it. The pastor thinks that believers can have an understanding of Jesus to the full extent not in pieces like before.
As to why the serial sermon isn't scheduled into the Bible studies, Rev. Wen says the Sunday service matters the most important to a believer and it can have the greatest influence with the highest attendance on Sundays.
A large percentage of believers who only attend the Sunday services can't be nourished if the serial sermon is put in the Bible studies.
Besides, he tells CCD that the church will continue this style of sermons and determine the sermon plan of the next year within the half of this year. He plans to deliver sermons of Book of Acts or Romans related to ecclesiology instead of the Four Gospels in the following years.
