{"id":26185,"date":"2020-11-06T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2020\/12\/03\/preaching-on-1-chronicles\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:09:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:09:55","slug":"preaching-on-1-chronicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/preaching-on-1-chronicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Preaching on 1 Chronicles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cDon’t explain your author, read him right and he explains himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Mark Twain, in Letter to Cordelia Welsh Foote<\/em>, Dec. 2 1887<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mark Twain\u2019s quip about the ability to understand an author\u2019s writing almost seems out of place in a discussion about preaching through 1 and 2 Chronicles. Yet for two books of Scripture often overlooked as relevant material for preaching series, the challenge of preaching these books of genealogies and histories is reading them correctly even before preaching them powerfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Along with Ezra and Nehemiah, the Chronicles probably are the last books to be written in the Old Testament. The last dated event in 2 Chronicles is Cyrus\u2019 decree to grant the Israelites (Judah) permission to return from captivity and exile in Babylon to Jerusalem (c. 538 BC; 2 Chron. 36:22-23). Thus, the book is probably written within decent proximity to the return to Jerusalem, once the editor could settle into routine life in his homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unique to 1 Chronicles is what it includes and omits. First Chronicles places great emphasis on King David. However, it minimizes David\u2019s flaws, excluding stories like the adultery episode with Bathsheba. The reign of Saul receives only one chapter (1 Chronicles 10), whereas David\u2019s reign receives 19 chapters (1 Chronicles 11-29). This pro-David book would have been of great encouragement to a post-exile Judah\u2014reminding them that Lord\u2019s faithfulness had preserved them as a people, and thus his faithfulness would establish the Davidic throne, including their promised Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chart: Preaching Through 1 Chronicles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We know the weekly grind of sermon prep is hard, whether you are in the midst of series or planning a new series. Trying to find key verses you need to highlight in your sermon, finding the historical background to the book, discovering the flow\/structure of book, and even figuring out what is the theme of each section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we created this chart! This chart is designed to\u00a0save you time<\/strong>\u00a0as you prepare to preach a new sermon series from the Book of 1 Chronicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find a quick visual overview of the movement of the Book of 1 Chronicles. It will help orient you and your hearers as you preach through the entire book or sections of the book. It provides, at a glance, one way to divide the book into pericopes. The chart includes key verses in the book, an overarching title for the book, the overall message of the book, and some historical background. It is color-coded to highlight certain defining aspects of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chart could be used as a slide in your church service. It could serve as an introduction to a new series or a weekly check-in before you begin preaching. It could even be printed out and given to the members of your church, as a resource to help them grasp the message of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/span>
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Sermon Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In keeping with the Chronicler\u2019s emphasis on the Davidic monacrchy, I propose a six-week outline that would give a congregation a solid overview of 1 Chronicles without making congregants feel as if they are dragging themselves through twenty-nine chapters of the ancient history of Israel from Adam through David (cf. 1 Chron. 1:1; 29:29-30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title for this sermon series is: A Once Mighty People. This is the big idea for the Book of 1 Chronicles in my outline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The record of the rise, growth, and decline of the might <\/em>of the descendants of Israel in the face of their unfaithfulness<\/em> also reveals salvation by those who acted mighty <\/em>for and faithful <\/em>to the Lord, especially in the person and rule of David and his offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the preaching and the outline intend to declare how God\u2019s people go from being mighty in their surounding society until the time of the death of King David. Here is a suggested series outline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text: 1 Chronicles 1-9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n