By Herb Reese
One year? Two years? Ten years? Never? Pastors, how long has it been since you preached that dreaded sermon on widows?
The topic of widows is ubiquitous in Scripture. There’s enough biblical material on widows for a month of Sundays, so to speak. I count over forty scriptural passages relating to widows, with major sections dedicated specifically to them, such as Acts 6 and 1 Timothy 5.
Add to the subject of widows the related subjects of orphans, fatherless children, aliens (What could be more relevant in today’s America than that?), and the poor and you’d have a year long series.
Not that you’d want to stretch things out for a year. But couldn’t you at least preach on these topics once or twice a year, with an emphasis given to widows?
It’s not like the need isn’t there. Most churches do almost nothing for their widows. Try asking a few of your own widows how your church is doing.
Be prepared for an earful.
So the next time you work on your sermon calendar, how about scheduling a widow sermon in there somewhere?
Come to think of it, how about scheduling it right now?
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Published: July 23, 2020.
Updated: August 29, 2026
Teams of four men serving widows, single moms, fatherless children and others with long-term pressing needs in their churches and communities.