2009 Worship/Sermon Themes

I just got back from a week long 2009 worship/sermon personal planning retreat in the remote mountains of central Pennsylvania. This is the first time in my twenty plus years of pastoral ministry that I have been this intentional in planning out each Sunday's worship theme for the upcoming year.

In addition to quality sermon/worship planning time, I also was able to take walks in a park near where I stayed (see attached picture of sunset streaming through the mountain pines this past Thursday night.) A bounteous Amish meal, worship at a vital and growing United Methodist Church, receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and praying for the Faith Community congregation as we prepare to hear and respond to God's Word in 2009 were some other highlights of the week.

For anyone who may be interested, I highly recommend spending some time away from home each year in order to reconnect with God in an intentional way. Yes, I developed my own personal agenda before leaving for the retreat in order to keep me accountable to my primary task of working on next year's worship schedule, but I also allowed time each day to enjoy God's creation which wasn't difficult to do since it was all around me!

I want to say a big thanks to the several people who provided thoughts and suggestions on possible worship/sermon themes for 2009. While I wasn't able to incorporate all of the ideas, your input helped me to have a better idea of the needs of the congregation. Again, thank you for taking the time to let me know of your ideas.

Here are the upcoming 2009 sermon/worship themes: (Lectionary refers to the assigned texts for particular Sundays that may or may not be part of a multi-Sunday sermon series theme. I have found that it is good to incorporate the Lectionary throughout the year to allow for some spontaneity and to remind ourselves that these texts are also being read in churches throughout the world on the same Sundays symbolizing our unity in Jesus Christ.)

January

High Def. Christianity (Two Part Series based on the Lectionary)

Love for a Lifetime (Four Part Series based)

February

Love for a Lifetime (Continued)

Lectionary (Two Sundays)

March

Five Practices of a Fruitful Congregation (Five Part Series)

April

Lectionary (Two Sundays)

Though I Walk Through the Valley (Five Part Series)

May

Though I Walk Through the Valley (Continued)

Lectionary (Two Sundays)

June

Hitting Your Stride (Four Part Series)

July

Lectionary (One Sunday)

United Methodist Men (One Sunday)

The Letter of Ephesians (Seven Part Sermon Series based on the Lectionary)

August

The Letter of Ephesians (Continued)

September

Lectionary (Two Sundays)

Prayers, Presence, Gifts, & Service (Six Part Sermon Series)

October

Prayers, Presence, Gifts, & Service (Continued)

November

Lectionary (Four Sundays)

December

Lectionary (Four Sundays)