Arranging Sermons

I do have hard copies of my sermons for the last ten years.  However, they have been put into notebooks by chronological, calendar years.  When it comes to locating a sermon to use as a possible resource,  that is not very helpful.  One encounters biblical text by liturgical year, not calendar year.   Those are Years A, B and C.

For the record, given the opportunity to preach I do always write a new sermon, because writing sermons is my most favorite thing.  But I would definitely use and old one as a resource, a starting place.  There might be helpful resources there.

So as a winter project, last year, I decided that I would try to arrange my sermons in Liturgical order, rather than in order by years.   It was really quite an undertaking and took weeks and weeks.   I spread it all out on the dining room table, which is a good place for a project, because it is not often in use.

This is what it looked like:   (though this is when it was all still in the basement, where books are stored)

Last night I got an email from a clergy colleague whose daughter is having a baby.  She wanted to know about my availability to be her Plan B, even though she does not know the exact date.  That means that I am likely to be notified on short notice that I am needed to fill in for her.

 I can look at the church calendar for the weeks around that time, see what the scripture selection is, and go to my B file box, and find a sermon on that exact text.  Of course, they are not all there.   I limited the sermons I put in the A, B, C boxes to Gospel selections.  I did most often use those, but not always.

So I just checked my system for the dates in question, and Eureka!  There are resource sermons for the exact three weeks in question.

It is so nice when the efforts of a winter project come to fruition!   It is probably 7 or 8 months later, but still......I am so proud of myself for creating a system that works just like it is supposed to!

Now I am ready, even if that baby comes on very short notice!