Finishing sermon preparation this morning has me thinking about the process from start to finish. If time is no issue (and it almost always is), here is the full process I follow, with very little commentary, when preparing a sermon:
- Select the text – or better yet, have someone, or a team, or a sermon series, or the lectionary select it for you. A text of between 15-20 verses is about all most people can handle in a single sermon.
- Read the text several times, thinking primarily about its application to you, the preacher/teacher. Here’s where prayer is most important, although it should take place at every step.
- Think about the audience, their place in life, their needs, where the text will bump up against them.
- Outline the text – A, B, C, i, ii, iii. Often you’ll get your main points from this step.
- Diagram complex sentences, research unclear meanings, consulting commentaries, cross-referencing other biblical texts.
- Construct a thesis statement – the main idea or argument of your message. This should generally be a simple sentence.
- Select 3-5 main points, then consolidate them to 2-3.
- Fill out each point for clarity, listenability, understandability. Here I sometimes ask my wife, kids, or colleagues if I’m making sense.
- Tweak for “fix and flow,” in other words, the fixed points that the listener needs to follow, and transitions between those points.
- Add analogies, stories, illustrations to explain important or complex principles.
- Memorize, practice, edit. Repeat.
- Preach, get feedback, critique.