This Sunday I begin a new adventure. I am starting a new sermon series preaching through the book of Ezekiel. You read that right! Ezekiel. Crazy, I know. I am committed to preaching through whole books of the Bible and that includes the really hard and intimidating ones. This makes me think back a couple of years ago when I preached through 2 Samuel. I particularly remember preaching through 2 Samuel 11-13 because I was reminded of the challenge it is to systematically preach through whole books of the Bible in light of the painful content found there. And yet, in the midst of being reminded of these challenges, the reasons to continue to do so have been affirmed to me all over again as I prepare Ezekiel. These reasons apply just as much to the more difficult books of the Bible to understand, not just sections of difficult texts.

Here are 3 reasons I remain committed to preaching through whole books of the Bible, even the really hard ones:

1) You cannot avoid the hard passages

I remember clearly when I preached on David’s adultery and murder. I remember because it didn’t end there. Then, it moved to an interesting progression of rape, incest, and murder among David’s children. Let’s just say not what I would choose to preach if I was just picking a passage for the week. But our people need to hear these passages and we as pastors need to wrestle with them to figure out what God desires for us to learn from them. Preach the hard passages and even the hard books. If your congregation sees you are not afraid to wrestle with them, then they are certain to grow less afraid also.

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Brian Croft is Senior Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and is the Founder of Practical Shepherding, Inc. He is the husband of Cara and father of four children, son, Samuel and daughters, Abby, Isabelle, and Claire. He has served in pastoral ministry for almost twenty years, while serving the last eleven of those years as Pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church. He was educated at both Belmont University and Indiana University receiving his B.A. in Sociology. He also undertook some graduate work at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Brian has written or contributed to over a dozen books to help serve pastors and church leaders on the practicalities of pastoral ministry. Topics which include caring for the sick, training and identifying leaders, conducting funerals, dealing with issues of sin, caring for widows, and prioritizing the pastor’s family, as well as his own soul. He also writes a blog with links and re-posts on other blogs such as Tim Challies, David Murray, the Gospel Coalition, and 9 Marks. Brian co-wrote a book, The Pastor’s Family, with his wife Cara, which was published by Zondervan and has had a unique impact on the families of pastors around the world. In addition to his writing, Brian travels all over the world preaching at local churches, speaking at conferences, and training pastors.