1. 66 books
2. 1,189 chapters
3. 31,476 verses
4. 2930 characters (persons in the Bible)
5. A variety of types of literature -

-- law -- history -- poetry -- wisdom literature -- prophecy -- narrative -- allegories -- parables -- apocalyptic lit.

-- biographies -- drama -- visions -- sermons -- riddles -- songs -- conversations -- letters -- teaching

6. A variety of themes or topics to choose from:

a. Attributes of God: holiness, truthfulness, mercy, etc.

b. Virtues to live by: honesty, love, patience, etc.

c. Sins to avoid: sexual immorality, pride, etc.

d. Practices to follow: prayer, soul-winning, fellowship, etc.

e. Examples to follow: Daniel, Stephen, Paul, etc.

f. Examples to avoid: Jehoshophat, Achan, Pharisees, etc.

7. How do you determine what to preach?

a.Devotions

Preach what God has taught you.

-- A message must speak to you before it will speak to anyone else.

b. Suggestion - Get a little notebook to keep a spiritual diary. When God speaks to your heart, write down your thoughts (this will provide seeds for future sermons).

c. Get ideas from other men's sermons

Warning! Do not preach the sermons of others. Do your own study! Don't follow a man, follow Christ!

Other preachers may spark ideas, but they should not write your sermons.

d. Preach on themes or topics

1) As needs arise

2) To correspond to a particular direction your church is heading in.
EX: If embarking on a building project - the book of Nehemiah might be just what the people need.

e. Preach on calendar events

1) Example: Christmas theme, Easter, Mother's Day, etc.
2) Be careful, this gets old after a while.

f. Preach book studies

1) This is by far the best method. Why?
a)You avoid ruts

b) You are forced to preach topics, etc., that you normally would not.

c) You stay off of hobby horses or pet peeves.

d) You preach "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

e) You avoid wasted time trying to decide what to preach each week.

f) You grow in your understanding of God's Word because you are forced to study passages of Scripture you might not otherwise study as diligently.

g) You preach only God's words, in the order that God put them (God's words are inscribed in the books of the Bible in a certain order and for a certain purpose).