Summer Settings

Mountains, Lakes, Oceans, and Road Trips

Allen Thompson

Series Overview

Consistency during the summer is a challenge for pastors. Families travel, kids go to camp, and church often drops out of the schedule. Even with online streaming, people can let their connection to the church slip—and possibly even their connection to God.

Let's try to infuse the places our families are heading with spiritual significance. The Bible, after all, is also full of people on the go. It is full of landscapes just like today's vacation spots. The landscape of the Bible may be half a world and thousands of years away, but there is a spiritual significance to these familiar places in the story of God's work and salvation. Let's equip our people with a sense of the significance of their own summer settings and let's help them imagine themselves in the story of God's salvation through the experiences of the people of the Bible.

Summer Settings is a 6-to-8-week summer sermon series that looks at four common summer experiences that we have today, blending Old and New Testament themes to show how the ground we tread can point to the stories we cherish. This series, created by pastor and TPW contributor Allen Thompson, offers two guides each for familiar summer settings: mountains, lakes/streams, beaches/oceans, and road trips. Each setting has an Old Testament week and a New Testament week, complete with commentary, quotes, and illustrations, supplemented with liturgical resources to tie your message and worship together.

TPW puts you in the driver's seat. We want you to approach God's Word, prayerfully listen to the Holy Spirit, and create a message for your congregation. We don’t offer ready-made sermons. Instead, we provide resources and inspiration to help you craft your own sermons and services.

What is AIM Commentary?

AIM stands for Ancient context, the text through the lens of Jesus (Ἰησοῦς), and our Modern application. Understanding the Ancient or original context of the passage is necessary to inform and guide our interpretation. We also believe along with the Reformers that the interpretation of the Ancient context of the Hebrew scripture for the church necessarily flows through its Lord, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we affirm that the role of the preacher to bring the congregation from the Ancient context through Christ and to the Modern context, making the message real in our hearts and lives.

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