Do any preachers out there have suggestions for learning to prepare a biographical message? Book/article/website/audio suggestions are welcome, as are tips/guidelines/methods you have found helpful. I know how to preach expository messages taking a single unit of the Scripture in its context, but am not sure about a biographical message. I'd like to preach one on Peter (I know one could preach a whole series on Peter) as a prelude to preaching through 1 Peter in a few weeks.
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I will be looking at resources mentioned here: MacArthur, Meyer, and possibly Spurgeon and Whyte. But the most helpful thing I have found since I originally posted this thread is a book by R. Larry Overstreet, who taught at Northwest Seminary, entitled Biographical Preaching: Bringing Bible Characters to Life. He has a defense of biographical preaching, as well as a method and model for doing it. Very helpful. I hope to write a brief review and will post a link in case others may find it helpful.
And I probably will be doing at least two messages on Peter. One could easily spend a month or two on Peter, but I was only thinking of doing the messages on him in order to prepare us a little better to go through his first (and possibly second) epistles.
Other suggestions I received (from Facebook) - in bold are things I plan to incorporate into my message(s) some way or other:
* Just one on Peter? Have fun! ~ Do your Bible study & tell the story / his story. What themes emerge? What lessons? Which ones point to sections in his Epistles? Narrative preaching.
* On this particular case (Peter) I would use the gospel account descriptions of Peter...impulsive, etc., then look at the first five chapters of Acts. A stark difference in Peter pre and post ascension and Pentecost. As the other comment said, let Scripture tell the story.
* Want to be creative? Find a Bible costurme and tell Peter's story "in person."