I’d like to share about how I chose some of the topics I’m preaching on. For this post, I’ll share how I came up with idea of preaching on a theology of aging.
Back in July 2009, my mother-in-law visited for a few weeks. It was summer time, and I usually take extended time during the summer to plan out my preaching ideas for the next year. So there we were sitting around our dining room table when I was talking about some of my upcoming preaching ideas. “How about a theology of aging and getting older?” I said. “I’d love to hear some sermons on that!” exclaimed my mom-in-law. After that conversation, I knew I’d like to do a series on aging at some point. Eventually, I shared the idea with some of the staff who also thought it would be worth doing.
It’s not so much about “growing older” as much as it’s about “growing older.” The passage of time should not only bring physical aging, but spiritual aging and maturing as well. That’s why the full title is “Growing Older: Better With Age.” (Some of the other guys wanted to use the imagery of “fine wine” to convey getting better with age. It’s a good picture, but since a majority of our congregation probably doesn’t drink wine or is still underage, I balked at that otherwise great title.)
It’s a topic relevant for all ages. For those older, we (or they, if you don’t think I’m old) are more conscious of our mortality. We are become more aware how short and fragile life is. We want to make the most of our remaining days. For those younger, they (or we!) may not sense the urgency to learn how to age well. But if there’s any time to learn it, it’s while we’re young! After all, a wise king wrote “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Before the series began, I would test the idea on people to get their reactions. Almost every single person told me, “A theology of aging? Hm… that sounds pretty interesting…” Curiosity is good for sermon hearers. Those positive responses helped settle the idea for me. So if you’re interested what I and others in our preaching series have gained from Scripture, feel free to check out our sermon series at our church website. Also, you can always follow along to my sermons via podcast.
Speaking of curiosity, I’d love to hear how a series on aging well and growing older in Christ sounds to people (Christian or not). Have you ever read a book or heard a sermon series on this? And if you’re in our congregation, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how the Bible’s truths on this topic are affecting your lives.
12/02/2010 at 3:37 am Permalink
Hey E & K –
Great idea for a sermon series!! I hope people our age and younger are taking to heart your urging to learn how to age well NOW…I’m sure a lot of people our parents’ age can attest to the difficulty in changing the way you think of and view God, the world and life at a later age.
I don’t know if it would be of interest to you, but our church is starting a new ministry to people transitioning into “retirement” (reminding us that there isn’t any biblical example of our modern concept of “retiring from work”). Here’s the link: http://www.evfreefullerton.com/inprint/launch.html
06/03/2010 at 2:28 pm Permalink
So, this sermon topic came from you? I could have sworn it was from PT since he’s kind of at that mid-life stage :).
06/03/2010 at 10:38 pm Permalink
Hi Larry. PT was thinking about middle age and themes of disappointment, refocusing in midlife, etc. But the structure of overall idea of a theology of aging probably was my doing (or fault, if one didn’t like the idea). But the series may have been quite different in Newton since PT and I are different ages, different preachers, etc.