Yesterday I outlined three of the primary ways a sermon series comes together for me. You can catch up here.
To be honest, I've struggled with the feeling that recon and leadership are less spiritual than download. I remember as a young preacher in high school and college, feeling like I wasn't qualified to preach unless I'd heard an audible voice from heaven. Talk about pressure! But I've come to see recon and leadership as valuable steps in the process of planning a balanced spiritual diet for our church.
Recon keeps me in touch with larger themes in the Body of Christ. if Jesus is not only building local churches, but THE Church as well, it makes sense that the Holy Spirit would be communicating broad themes to the Body of Christ as a whole. Tracking what's happening in the hearts of other pastors and the life of other churches helps me stay connected to those larger themes.
Leadership is a gift of the Spirit, which seems pretty spiritual to me. As we grow as leaders, Jesus gives us the insight and wisdom to recognize missional needs and to provide biblical, theological, and practical leadership through preaching.
Of course regardless of how the inspiration for a series comes, it's always my privilege to do the hard work of studying Scripture, mining illustrations, uncovering application, and bathing each message in prayer.