Easter and the Preaching Calendar

For those who do not use the lectionary and plan out your message series I learned what I think is a helpful thing for series planning when it comes to Easter. I learned it from Nelson Searcy.

My practice in the past was to do a stand alone message on Easter. I would finish up the previous series on Palm Sunday and then begin a brand new series the Sunday after Easter. While I have never done it, there are also people who end a series on Easter.

Nelson makes the point that it is best, in terms of retaining first time guests, to begin a brand new series on Easter. After all, any message can have Easter themes to it. By beginning a brand new message series on Easter you have the opportunity to pique the interest of guests on this high guest Sunday so that they want to come hear the rest of the series. This obviously cannot be done when you do a stand alone message on Easter or end a series on Easter.

Your series should be a felt needs series that you begin. At New Season we started "Overwhelmed" last Sunday with the message the "Victory Has Been Won." Upcoming messages in this felt needs series include:
Overhaul Your Priorities
Overcoming Family Frustrations
Overcome Over Commitment
Turn it Over to God