Sermon Series Ideas: How to Plan a Year of Preaching (+ 24 Series Ideas)

Planning sermon series a few weeks ahead keeps a pastor afloat. Planning a year ahead gives your whole church room to breathe: worship leaders can choose songs, small groups can prepare, kids' ministry can align lessons and your communications team can create graphics before the deadline is tomorrow.

This guide walks through a simple planning framework and then offers 24 sermon series ideas you can adapt for your congregation.

Start with a balanced "preaching diet"

Many pastors think about a year of preaching as a balanced meal. Over twelve months, try to include:

• An Old Testament book or section (narrative, prophets or wisdom literature).
• A Gospel, or a large section of one.
• A New Testament letter.
• A topical series that meets a real need in your congregation.
• Seasonal series for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter.
• A short vision or identity series about who your church is and where it's going.

Look back over the last two or three years of sermons. What have you not preached in a while? That gap is often the best place to start.

A simple 12-month planning rhythm

1. Block the fixed dates first. Advent, Christmas Eve, Lent, Easter, Mother's and Father's Day, back-to-school and your church anniversary.
2. Place your long series in the "ordinary" stretches. Late winter, early summer and fall are natural homes for 6–10 week series.
3. Keep summer flexible. Attendance often varies, so standalone messages or a short series work well.
4. Leave margin. Hold one or two open weeks per quarter for guest preachers or a pressing need.
5. Share the plan. Give your worship, kids and communications teams the plan at least six weeks ahead.

24 sermon series ideas

Books of the Bible

1. "Unshaken" — Daniel. Faithfulness in a culture that doesn't share your values. (6–8 weeks)
2. "Wells and Wilderness" — Genesis 12–25. Abraham's journey of trusting God's promises. (8 weeks)
3. "Joy That Holds" — Philippians. Contentment and joy in any circumstance. (4–6 weeks)
4. "The Way of Wisdom" — Proverbs. Practical wisdom for money, words, work and relationships. (6 weeks)
5. "Signs" — the Gospel of John. The seven signs of Jesus and what they reveal. (7 weeks)
6. "Real Faith" — James. Faith that works on Monday. (5 weeks)
7. "Return" — Jonah. God's mercy for the runaway and the resentful. (4 weeks)
8. "Songs for the Road" — Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134). Honest prayers for the journey. (8 weeks)

Topical series

9. "Rest" — the gift of Sabbath in a world that never stops. (4 weeks)
10. "Every Table" — hospitality, from Abraham's tent to Jesus' meals. (4 weeks)
11. "Pray Like This" — the Lord's Prayer, line by line. (6 weeks)
12. "Anxious" — what Scripture says to worried hearts. (4 weeks)
13. "Home" — faith in marriage, singleness, parenting and family. (5 weeks)
14. "Spent" — money, generosity and contentment. (4 weeks)
15. "Neighbors" — loving the people next door. (4 weeks)
16. "Questions Jesus Asked" — one question each week. (6 weeks)

Seasonal series

17. Advent: "Waiting Room" — hope, peace, joy and love while we wait. (4 weeks)
18. Christmas Eve: "The Word Became Flesh" (John 1). (1 message)
19. New Year: "First Things" — beginning the year with God. (3 weeks)
20. Lent: "The Road to the Cross" — following Jesus through Luke 9–23. (6 weeks)
21. Easter: "Alive" — resurrection appearances and what they mean for us. (3–4 weeks after Easter)
22. Summer: "Stories Jesus Told" — one parable a week. (6–8 weeks)
23. Back to school: "Grow" — spiritual habits for a new season. (4 weeks)
24. Thanksgiving: "Grateful" — gratitude as a way of life. (2–3 weeks)

Make each series go further

A series is more than a set of sermons. Small touches help the whole church live it:

• A one-sentence big idea for the whole series that everyone can remember.
• A memory verse families can learn together.
• A consistent graphic for slides, social media and the bulletin.
• Weekly small group questions aligned with each message.
• A kids' version of each week's message so families can talk about it at dinner.
• A short devotional for the days between Sundays.

Related guides: Advent sermon series ideas for 2026 · Thanksgiving sermon ideas · Plan your social media around each series

Keep the content flowing every week

Planning the series is half the work. The other half is producing the weekly content that carries each message through the week. Amenflow turns each sermon into a small group guide, a kids' lesson, a five-day devotional, social posts and a newsletter. It even suggests a four-week follow-up series built from that week's message, which is a good way to spark your next planning conversation. See a real sample or start free with three sermons.