Sermon series ideas by book of the Bible, with artwork for each

A sermon series through a book of the Bible needs one design that lasts as long as the series: a title slide shown every week, a notes slide with that Sunday's passage, a social post and a story each week, and a lower third for the livestream. Below are series ideas for 21 books, how long each one usually runs, and templates that already have every one of those pieces.

What a series needs from week one

• Title slide. The same every week, so people know where they are in the series.
• Notes slide. The week's title and passage, with the same art behind it. This is where most of the weekly work goes.
• Blank background. For lyrics, Scripture readings and anything else.
• Social post and story. One each week with that Sunday's title, so someone who missed it can catch up.
• Lower third. The week's title and passage along the bottom of the livestream.

For a long book, pick a design that wears well. A series through Acts or John can run three months, and the art will be on screen every one of those Sundays.

The Gospels

Matthew: the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 to 7 makes a seven- to nine-week series. Start with the Beatitudes, then salt and light, the Lord's Prayer, worry, and the two builders. The Beatitudes alone make a strong eight-week series, one blessing a week.

Mark

The shortest Gospel moves fast. Preach it in about twelve weeks, a chapter or so a week, or take its last eight chapters, from the road to Jerusalem to the empty tomb, as a series before Easter.

Luke: lost and found

Luke 15 gives you three stories about lost things: a sheep, a coin and a son. Three weeks, or four if you give the older brother his own Sunday. The parables throughout Luke make a longer series of their own.

John: I am

Seven "I am" sayings, seven weeks: the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life, and the true vine.

Acts

Acts covers thirty years in twenty-eight chapters, so most churches split it: chapters 1 to 12 (the church in Jerusalem, with Peter) in one series and 13 to 28 (Paul's journeys) in another, or a ten-week overview with one big moment a week.

Paul's letters

Romans

Sixteen chapters of dense teaching. Chapters 1 to 8 make a solid eight-week series on grace. Chapter 12 on its own makes a good three-week series on living it out.

Galatians: the fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 names nine fruit. Preach one a week for nine weeks, or pair them up for a five-week series.

Ephesians: the armor of God

Six chapters, six weeks, or take Ephesians 6:10-18 as a seven-week series, one piece of armor a week, then a closing week on prayer.

Philippians

Four chapters about joy, written from prison. Four weeks, one chapter each. It's a good fit for a hard season in the life of a church.

Colossians

Four chapters on who Jesus is and what difference that makes. Run it in four to six weeks.

The general letters

James

Five chapters about faith you can see: trials, the tongue, favoritism, wisdom and prayer. Five weeks, one chapter a week. We wrote a full plan for it: Book of James sermon series.

1 Peter

Written to Christians under pressure: hope, suffering, living as strangers. Five weeks, a chapter a week.

The Old Testament

Genesis

Chapters 1 to 11 (creation to Babel) make one series. The stories of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph each make another. Joseph alone, in chapters 37 to 50, is a good six weeks.

Exodus

Moses' call, the plagues, the Red Sea, the Ten Commandments. Run the first fifteen chapters as an eight-week series, then the commandments as ten weeks of their own.

Psalms

Psalms suits a summer series, a different psalm every week, so people who miss a Sunday don't fall behind. Psalm 23 makes a four-week series on its own.

Proverbs

Short, practical and easy to drop into for a week: money, words, friends, work. Another summer favorite.

Nehemiah

Rebuilding the wall in thirteen chapters. A natural fit for a building project, a new year or a vision series. Six to eight weeks.

Daniel

Faithful in a foreign culture. Chapters 1 to 6 are the familiar stories (the food, the furnace, the lions) and make a six-week series.

Jonah

Four chapters, four weeks: the run, the fish, the city, the argument with God. It's short enough to preach between bigger series.

Ruth

Four chapters about loss, loyalty and redemption. Four weeks.

Revelation

Many churches preach chapters 1 to 3 on their own: the letters to the seven churches, one a week for seven weeks, with an opening week on chapter 1. It's practical, and it avoids a series that becomes an argument about the end times.

Promote it like an event

A new series is a good reason for someone to try your church. Announce it the Sunday before it starts, with the title slide and a social post that says what the series is about in one plain line. "Five weeks in James: faith that works on Monday morning" does more than the book name alone. Each week after, post that Sunday's title with a verse from the passage.

Getting it done

Most of these templates come with a title slide, notes slide, blank background, social post, story and lower third, as ready-made images and layered Photoshop files in HD and 4K. Type the week's title and passage into the notes slide and you're ready. Edit in Photoshop, in Photopea (free, in your browser) or in Remix Studio, our browser editor, where 700+ templates open ready to edit on the Standard and Pro plans. Pro members can also ask us to retitle a template for them.

Browse every sermon series, or go straight to a book: Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, Ephesians, James, Psalms, Jonah or Revelation.