Should you preach 2 Chronicles just… because?

 The gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

Acts.

James.

Ecclesiastes.

These are the regular wells we derive our sermons from.

If you walk into any five churches in Christendom, there will be a sermon on one of these books.

And it makes sense. They tell of the central truths of Christianity. They lay the foundations for the church. They touch on meaty issues.

They aren’t bad. By no means.

But, frankly, they can get tiresome.

There’s only so many sermons of James 3 you can handle over a decade…

So, what place is there for the minister to delve into the darker regions of the bible?

The minor prophets.

The book of Numbers.

The epistles to the Thessalonians.

The book of Jude.

In theory, the congregation should be taught from the entire counsel of God.

This includes the neglected sections.

But, should they be - inevitably - preached on… just because?

Because they are there…

Because God has, is and will speak through them…

Because they will be different…

Ideally, every sermon series is selected intentionally (I touched on how to do it here). 

Is a preaching challenge or interest a good enough reason?

I hate to say it, but no, it isn’t.

The pulpit shouldn’t be used as a device for the preacher to dive into dusty commentaries or research their next book.

The sermon should be a place of service towards the people. It is, by definition, a pastoral exercise. 

Does that mean that the sermon will never darken 2 Chronicles?

Maybe. 

Perhaps the minister just needs to realise they they are not the one to give them God’s message out of 2 Chronicles if they don’t need to hear it right now.