Sermon Preparation

I spend a lot of time in sermon preparation – approximately 20 hours per sermon. If I get busy and neglect my sermon preparation I can tell the difference and I am not satisfied. So I plan to spend many hours in preparation. Most of the time I preach sermon series – a balance of expository and topical lessons. My favorite type of preaching is expository. I like to preach straight through books of the Bible. But I have also found topical preaching to be helpful for the church. I typically plan my sermons 3-6 months in advance. I email a copy of my “Sermon Series Planner” to Matt Hayes (our worship leader) and to Jeanie (my sister/secretary). During this planning period I am gather materials for study (books and tapes). After I have the series plan in place, each week I go through the same ritual that is described below. First, I read the text many times. I read silently and then I read aloud. I pray and ask God to open my eyes. As I read I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me. I want to know the answer to two basic questions: 1) What does Jesus want me to know? 2) What does Jesus want me to do? While I am reading and studying the text Jeanie takes my old sermon tapes and transcribes them. These are old sermons from Hurricane and Reynoldsburg where I used to preach. Jeanie typically stays one or two lessons ahead in my series. She emails them to me when she completes them (I really appreciate Jeanie’s time and work – she is invaluable!). I like it when I have already preached on the subject because I get the benefit of reminding myself of what I previously learned. I read the manuscript and see what I can use. I have to be fed before I can feed the church. So I like to have at least three commentaries and two taped sermon series on the subject from other preachers. As I ride in my car listening to these tapes I feel like I am have great teachers riding with me. I ride with Chuck Swindol, David Jeremiah, Beth Moore, Bob Russell, Rick Atchley, Rubel Shelly, and Alistair Begg. I love to ride with these great teachers and I learn so much from them. When I am in my office or at home I listen to these tapes at double speed (so I can listen to a 30 minute sermon in 15 minutes). I take notes from what I read in the commentaries and hear on the tapes. I put it all together in a manuscript, trusting that the Holy Spirit is leading me. When I get all my notes together – what Jeanie has transcribed from old sermons that I have preached and the new notes that I have taken from commentaries and sermon tapes – I frequently have 15 pages of notes. Then I follow the principle of parsimony i.e., using the least amount words to say the most. I limit my manuscript to 5 pages to stay within 30 minutes. I write down every word I am going to say. I rehearse each page five times aloud. I often tape myself as I rehearse and then play the tape for myself, listening through the ears of my audience. I am constantly editing the manuscript and making changes throughout this process to make improvements. Sometimes I get stuck and I have to walk and think. I like to walk in the cemetery near our church. Getting out, changing the scene, and moving around while I’m rehearsing seems to help me. I often pray “God help me. I’m stuck. Don’t let me spin my wheels. Speak to me. Insert thoughts and images into my mind. Give me insight. I am preparing to preach for your people. It’s important. I feel so urgent about it. Please help me!” And God answers my prayers. After I finish editing the five page manuscript I highlight all my scripture references and major points for Rob Durst, our AV man. I prepare power point slides with appealing background images. Then I email my manuscript and power point to Rob. He makes multiple copies of my sermon manuscript – some for people who work in the AV room and the other copies go to our international students who have some difficulty with English. I clip my manuscript in the Bible so that I can walk around while I deliver the message. I underline key words in my manuscript so that I can glance at it and know where I am at as I move through the manuscript. In addition to this, I meet with Matt Hayes our worship leader. The exchange with Matt is always energizing. We pray, review and evaluate the previous Sunday, and plan for the upcoming service. Matt is great to work with. He thinks in songs and I think in sermons. We work together and I love it. After our meeting Matt plans the praise and worship with the Praise Team. They do an excellent job leading worship. On Sunday morning I isolate myself away from all distraction. I want to be alone so that I can rehearse and pray. Sometimes I have to prepare props and run copies of the manuscript but most of the time is spent alone. I isolate myself in the Spirit of Jesus who frequently spent time alone before he ministered. Then, when the congregation begins to arrive before Bible Class I usually stand at the door and greet people. This helps me greatly because it makes me feel connected to the people I will be speaking to. If I feel unsure about my sermon I continue to rehearse and pray over it during Bible Class time. I struggle with this because I want to always be in class but sometimes I feel compelled to spend the final 45 minutes rehearsing and praying over my manuscript because I want to do my best for Jesus. After Bible Class I mingle and greet people warmly. I walk around from section to section and try to greet as many people as I can. Again, this connects me to the people. This process of being alone with God and being with people makes me feel connected to both. I am always nervous before each sermon but it’s a good kind of “nervous.” It’s not the kind that immobilizes me. It’s the kind that energizes me. I am nervous before I preach because I am keenly aware of how important my role is. It is an awesome responsibility and I want it to please God and encourage people to live for Jesus Christ. In the end I have four goals for each sermon. First, I want to be accurate – to interpret the Bible and proclaim God’s word accurately. Second, I want to be clear – to help people understand God’s word. I want my lessons to be simple, clear and concise. Third, I want to be practical – to show people how to apply God’s word in daily living. Fourth, most of all, I want to please Christ– to walk away from the pulpit knowing that I did my best for Jesus. To think that if Jesus was physically present in the audience he may have said “Amen.” This is how I prepare for sermons. This may not work for others. I sort of envy preachers who can speak extemporaneously and don’t have to spend this much time preparing. Some people have told me that I need to trust God more and allow the Spirit to work. But for me, I believe the Spirit works better when I have done my homework. I enjoy the process of sermon preparation. It is hard work but I like it. Plus, I believe it follows the directives Paul gave Timothy. 1 Timothy 4.13-16 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.