Learn how to Put together a Sermon: 32 Hacks for Preachers

There aren’t any shortcuts within the path that’s sermon preparation. It takes sweat, soul-level funding, and infrequently a little bit of anguish.

Nevertheless, after twenty years of preaching, I’ve collected a handful of insider “hacks” that may enhance your sermon preparation and aid you change into a more practical preacher. A few of these have been handed all the way down to me by different preachers; others I realized the arduous method.

We will arrange the following pointers and rules based mostly on the next steps within the sermon course of:

Approaching the duty

Earlier than we even start work on the sermon itself, we first have to get a deal with on how we’re to method the work of preaching God’s Phrase.

1. Preach God’s ideas, not yours

Some pastors really feel pressured to be intelligent or have one thing profound to say. Different pastors are assured they’ve one thing profound to say. Each err.

God is much wiser than us. He is aware of the wants of our individuals higher than we do. Thus, the job of the preacher is to not preach their very own ideas, however to “plagiarize” the textual content’s. We’ll be far more practical preachers if we glance to the Scriptures, research them to know what God is saying, after which talk that message.

2. Learn your Bible—lots

A well-known, albeit probably apocryphal, story tells of a large generator at Henry Ford’s plant that stopped working. Ford employed his longtime engineer, Steinmetz, to diagnose the issue. Steinmetz walked round and listened for some time, then positioned a chalk mark on the half that wanted restore. Certain sufficient, that was precisely the half that wanted fixing.

Steinmetz’s invoice was a whopping $10,000. Shocked, Ford requested for an itemized breakdown of the invoice, which learn, “$1 for the chalk mark; $9,999 for figuring out the place to place the chalk mark.”

Likewise, our data of God’s Phrase, constructed up over time, is a priceless asset within the pulpit. Thus, a strong asset for preaching any specific passage is a deep data of the entire Bible. Nevertheless it’s a ability that takes years to construct, and it solely grows as we spend money on studying the complete Bible—Genesis to Revelation—recurrently. So, learn by the entire Bible. Usually.

3. Exegesis is the whole lot in preaching

Preachers generally ask me tips on how to enhance their rhetoric. They’ll say they’re robust in exegesis however weak in supply (generally others have informed them this).

Virtually with out exception, nevertheless, once I start working with them, it seems they don’t have any command of the textual content. They might make observations, clarify Greek phrases, or exhibit data of technical commentaries, however they fail to know the passage’s logic and motion. They don’t know what the textual content is definitely doing.

I discover that after a preacher grasps what the creator supposed to perform with the passage—how and why he wrote it—writing a strong sermon turns into the straightforward half.

4. Focus not simply on what your textual content is saying, however doing

When learning a passage, we regularly cease at what a passage is saying and go no additional. This results in poor preaching.

We should additionally ask why the textual content is saying what it’s saying. Put otherwise, the important thing query in sermon prep is, “What’s the textual content doing?”

Think about a preacher is given the textual content, “The constructing is on hearth. Please have everybody depart instantly.” One may think about that preacher waxing eloquent on the twenty-first-century makes use of of “on hearth” and the way the phrase can imply each “unstoppable” and “engulfed in flames.” He may riff on the constructing’s situation and the logic behind the decision to go away. He may even apply the passage to “poisonous relationships which are burning us out,” encouraging his listeners to go away them.

But those that observe such a preacher would die because the enflamed constructing collapsed round them. In distinction, the preacher who serves his individuals nicely is the one who will get them out of the constructing. So know what the biblical creator is doing along with his passage, after which let your sermon accomplish that very same goal.

5. It’s the Spirit’s sword

Ephesians 6:17 describes the Bible as “the sword of the Spirit.” Within the Spirit’s fingers, that Phrase can divide soul and spirit, drawing out the ideas and intentions of the center (Heb 4:12).

We preachers can’t change the human coronary heart, however God’s Spirit can. Because of this Spurgeon mentioned, “Defend the Bible? I’d simply as quickly defend a lion. Unchain it, and it’ll defend itself.”

Our confidence will not be in ourselves, however within the Spirit to make use of his Phrase. We should stay extremely acutely aware of this. Any good preparation have to be saturated with pleading prayers for God to make use of his Phrase.

Scheduling your preparation

As soon as now we have a correct perspective on the duty earlier than us, we will transfer to the sensible work of scheduling our preparation.

6. Work forward to organize the collection

Earlier than you start a collection, put aside time to organize the entire collection. This won’t solely make every sermon higher (your grasp of every passage improves as you perceive it in gentle of the entire), it’ll additionally prevent time every week, because you’ll have already got a way of the place you’re headed.

So earlier than you start preaching by a e-book:

• Learn it again and again, getting a way for its overarching message and construction. As you do, search for clues in regards to the scenario of the unique hearers, which helps uncover the “why” behind the e-book.
• Create a tough define for the e-book and plan your preaching calendar.
• Use this time to discover completely different commentaries, acquainting your self with their strengths and weaknesses, so you realize which to make use of afterward.

Arrange your preaching calendar with Logos’s Sermon Supervisor.

Earlier than you begin a thematic collection:

• Take time to rigorously choose the passages you’ll use. Be sure you perceive the argument and authorial intent of every so that you just’re not misusing them.
• Overview books or articles written in your collection’s theme.
• Create a tough define of the collection and plan your preaching calendar.

7. Know your self

I don’t discover it significantly useful when skilled preachers share their preparation schedule for others to emulate. Why? As a result of each preacher is wired otherwise.

Some love the research and writing course of. Others, like me, discover it daunting. Some minds are sharpest within the morning. Others, like mine, come alive at evening. Some work greatest with out stress. Others, like me, carry out greatest underneath the gun.

So don’t undertake another person’s schedule and power your self into it. The bottom line is to know your self and construct a schedule that leverages who God made you to be.

8. Allocate your time

How a lot time you’ll have for sermon prep will fluctuate based on context.

When you do this work follows from figuring out your self.

However how you allocate your sermon prep time ought to roughly observe this sample:

1. Doing your individual work within the textual content (25–35%)
2. Interacting with others (10–15%; e.g., use commentaries, research with others, get suggestions, and so forth.)
3. Plan out your sermon (10–20%)
4. Write your sermon (20–30%)
5. Refine your sermon and observe its supply (10–20%)

9. Pray by your sermon

Your schedule ought to embody enough time for prayer. After you’ve written your sermon, take time to wish by it, part by part. Take into consideration what you need God to perform by that part and pray to that finish.

It’s useful to consider particular individuals in your congregation who might significantly want that message and pray for them (and others like them).

Writing your sermon

Now that you just’ve performed the arduous work of learning and scheduling, it’s time to place pen to paper and start writing your sermon.

10. Write out a manuscript (sure, even you)

Not everybody preaches from a manuscript, however everybody, in my view, ought to write a manuscript. It forces your thoughts to decelerate and suppose by each element. It creates wanted area to wish and wrestle by one of the simplest ways to speak one thing. It clarifies for you what you’re making an attempt to say and the way you’re saying it.

Whether or not or not you are taking your manuscript into the pulpit, writing it’ll make you a more practical preacher.

11. Use introductions as hooks

The aim of the introduction is to persuade the congregation that they should hear. It’s to activate their brains, pique their curiosity, transfer them ahead of their chairs.

Actually an introduction ought to introduce your subject material. Ideally, it gives one thing memorable that helps individuals recall the sermon, maybe even a thread that seems all through the sermon. However good introductions accomplish these goals in a method that pulls individuals in.

12. Don’t deal with conclusions as summaries

After finishing the arduous work of climbing a mountain, you don’t conclude your journey by trying backwards over the path you’ve simply hiked. As an alternative, you look out on the lovely vista accessed by your arduous work.

Equally, your conclusion shouldn’t merely summarize what you’ve mentioned, reviewing your factors. It ought to put an exclamation level on the sermon, propelling and motivating the congregation towards its driving power.

13. Illustrations are higher than explanations

I as soon as handled illustrations merely as an opportunity to return up for air amidst the trials of sustained exposition. I now not suppose that method. That’s as a result of I’ve discovered that illustrations typically do a greater job of speaking a fancy or necessary level than extra didactic and logical explanations.

Saying, “A church ought to operate much less like a restaurant and extra like a potluck meal,” is fast, highly effective, and memorable. And it’s probably more practical than a exact rationalization of the priesthood of all believers or the pastors’s position in equipping the saints.

14. Deal with the entire sermon as software

Sermons that backload a textual content’s relevance till the top are sometimes boring. Extra importantly, the complete textual content is doing one thing. So when sermons fail to replicate this, they’re much less trustworthy to authorial intent.

All rationalization of the textual content ought to transfer to implication as a result of this mirrors what the textual content is doing. It’ll additionally make your sermon extra highly effective.

15. Preach the gospel, however not as a man-made add-on

I’ve heard many sermons that function what really feel like business breaks for the gospel. The fundamentals of the gospel are introduced, however in a method that feels disjointed from the textual content. Consequently, when disconnected from the textual content, such gospel shows find yourself sounding fairly the identical week after week. This trains individuals to tune out as soon as we begin speaking about Jesus.

There’s a greater method. Every passage within the Bible organically connects to the cohesive story of the Bible (see Luke 24:25–27, 44–47). Thus, we don’t perceive our passage till we perceive the way it contributes to that broader story of Scripture. As soon as we grasp that connection although, we’re in a position to preach the gospel in a method that’s native to our textual content. The facets of the gospel we spotlight are of 1 material with the passage’s personal emphasis.

16. Stand with the congregation underneath the textual content

Our most necessary id will not be because the preacher of the passage, however as its first recipient inside our congregation. Getting this proper makes all of the distinction within the tone and method of our sermon.

As typically as doable, substitute “you” with “we/us” (e.g., substitute, “Are you listening to what God is saying?” with “Are we listening to what God is saying?”). Speak actually (not with an exaggerated fake humility) about the way you want the passage’s message as nicely.

When our congregation’s hear us preach, they need to sense that we’re fellow sinners in want of the identical gospel as they.

17. Don’t simply give the context, use the context

Some of the primary rules of biblical interpretation is that context shapes which means. It’s been famously mentioned, “A textual content and not using a context is a pretext for a prooftext.”

Pushed by this conviction, many preachers use a portion of their time to offer the literary or historic context for his or her passage. I’ve come to consider that is unhelpful. The important thing query about context will not be merely what a passage’s context is, however how that context informs the which means of our passage.

Thus, as you search to drive house the which means of your passage to your hearers, draw from context to take action. For instance, if preaching in Philippians, you may say: “Perhaps you’re feeling like pleasure is difficult to return by. The very Christians who’re imagined to be the supply of our pleasure typically suck us dry. Curiously, that’s precisely what was happening in Philippi. Look forward at 4:2 …”

So be free of feeling it’s worthwhile to clarify the context. As an alternative, invoke the context to bolster your message and make it extra compelling to your listeners.

Logos contains Workflows that can be utilized to information your sermon prep.

18. Preach simply the passage earlier than you

It’s tough sufficient to evangelise the passage in entrance of you. But many preachers really feel obliged to discover a comparable passage elsewhere within the Bible and provides a mini-sermon on that passage, as nicely.

After all, when preachers do that, they’re typically trying to indicate how that further passage explains or develops an necessary level. However this method calls for a lot of the listeners (and far of the preacher!).

Restrict the variety of instances you level individuals to different passages. A superb information is simply to reference one other passage if:

1. It makes the purpose of your passage stronger with out having to spend further time explaining the referenced passage, or:
2. It’s explicitly cited or alluded to in your passage and subsequently necessary to the exposition of your passage.

19. You possibly can most likely say it higher

Some pastors like to quote others. However quotations are typically arduous on listeners—except they’re brief and punchy. The longer and extra complicated the quote, the extra demanding it’s to observe.

More often than not, you possibly can convey the purpose in your individual phrases higher than the quote you wished to make use of. Profit from the quote’s perception, after which say what you’ve realized in your individual voice.

20. Maintain your sermon focused

A shotgun and a rifle look fairly much like the untrained eye. However the former shoots off an array of shot, whereas the latter fires one single, very focused bullet.

A sermon is only when it’s a rifle, not a shotgun. Have one central argument that the entire sermon is constructed round, delivering it with most power. Sometimes, this argument will mirror the central argument of the passage you’re preaching.

21. Construction your sermon clearly

Similar to your individual physique, the physique of your sermon advantages from some form. Neither is greatest as a blob. The physique of a sermon begins to take the type of a blob both when it’s under-structured or over-structured. Form your sermon in such a method that the congregation will achieve a transparent sense of its factors or contours—they will’t miss them.

Simplicity and readability are key right here. Attempt to not have too many factors. Particularly strive to not have a number of sub-points underneath your quite a few details, with much more software factors on the finish.

22. Be strategically sparing & selective

A younger David Helm as soon as got here house after pouring his soul out within the pulpit. Over dessert, he requested his spouse for suggestions on his sermon. She provided him a slice of pie and mentioned, “After I provide you with pie, I don’t make you eat the entire pie directly.”

As pastors, now we have a lot we need to share with our congregation. Then our time learning gives us with much more materials. However trying to serve the entire pie in a single sitting doesn’t serve the eater, nor does it do the pie justice. Give them one slice and depart the remainder of the pie for one more day.

23. Preach your individual sermons

I’ve twice needed to confront pastors who preached one other man’s sermon as their very own. Not solely is that this morally improper, it undercuts God’s design in preaching. Certain, church buildings may livestream the most effective preachers on the earth every Sunday. However that isn’t how God has designed the ministry of his Phrase.

God has given a sure flock a shepherd, and he has charged that shepherd to commit himself to God’s Phrase in order that he can instruct and exhort from it (see 1 Tim 4:13). That shepherd wrestles with the Scriptures every week, permitting God to plow his personal coronary heart. Then he ascends the pulpit to feed the sheep.

Irrespective of how excellent one other man’s sermon sounds, preach your individual sermon. It’s God’s good design.

24. Don’t make your self the hero

Be cautious of sharing private anecdotes through which you bought it proper. Higher to share private anecdotes that clarify you’re a fellow sinner who wants the identical gospel as everybody else, a fellow sufferer in want of the identical hope.

You don’t need individuals leaving the sermon considering you are the hero. In truth, to take action is to steal the highlight from the true hero your individuals want.

25. Shorter is best

“I didn’t have time to jot down you a brief letter, so I wrote you a protracted one.”

This adage conveys an necessary lesson. As a common rule, essentially the most concise approach to talk one thing is the simplest. Furthermore, many preachers exceed their congregation’s capability to hear attentively.

Nowhere does Scripture suggest {that a} longer sermon is extra God-honoring. Your sermon will virtually actually talk God’s message most successfully whether it is shorter. It’ll take extra time to winnow it down, however that point is nicely spent.

26. There aren’t any formulation

Each “hack” I’ve given on this part has its exceptions. The one absolute rule for sermon writing is that there aren’t any absolute guidelines.

Preaching formulation results in formulaic preaching. Formulaic preaching results in boring and repetitive preaching.

Should you observe each one of many hacks on this part each week, you’re most likely doing one thing improper. Don’t observe a components, preach the Bible within the energy of God’s Spirit!

Use Sermon Builder, together with its highly effective suite of instruments, to jot down your sermons proper inside Logos.

Delivering the sermon

Together with your sermon written and prayed over, the ultimate step is to ship it in a method that’s clear, compelling, and freed from distractions.

27. Create easy-to-use notes for your self

Whether or not you convey a manuscript or an overview into the pulpit, you need to make certain it isn’t cumbersome, unwieldy, or distracting. For instance:

• Think about using completely different colours, simply identifiable headers, bolded textual content, and indentations to assist information your eyes to seek out their place shortly.
• In case you are utilizing paper, you may use smaller paper dimensions, bigger fonts, an easy-to-turn methodology, and a darkish binder/pocket book.
• In case you are utilizing a pill, make certain the battery is charged, Siri and different sounds are muted, and the pill gained’t dim or flip off.

28. Range your quantity, tempo, pitch & tone

Begin along with your pure, conversational voice and cadence (generally when trying to undertaking or enunciate, we drift to an unnaturally increased pitch that’s tougher to take heed to).

From that base, use all of the instruments in your vocal arsenal. For instance:

• Your tone ought to change once you inform a narrative.
• Preachers typically get louder when saying one thing necessary. Attempt saying it softer as an alternative.
• Discover how slowing and quickening your tempo affect communication.
• Study the worth of intentional silence.

29. Thoughts the route of your gestures

When gesturing, bear in mind the congregation sees right-to-left, the alternative method you do.

That is particularly necessary to remember when gesturing a sequence (e.g., a timeline or a numbered sequence). In such instances, reverse your gestures (swap your left-to-right gestures to right-to-left) to reflect them to your congregation.

30. Make eye contact with the congregation

When utilizing notes or a manuscript, it may be tough to take care of eye contact. However study to know when your sermon wants eye contact and be prepared to present it then.

Some key moments the place eye contact is essential:

• The opening few strains of your sermon
• Anytime if you find yourself particularly talking out of your coronary heart to theirs
• When telling a narrative

Don’t simply construct your sermon in Logos; ship it utilizing Logos with Preaching Mode.

For after you preach

Though the sermon has been delivered, there stay two necessary steps.

31. Enhance

I typically say that one of the simplest ways to get higher as a preacher is to evangelise lots. However that’s not precisely true. I can consider preachers who’ve preached for many years with little enchancment. It ought to not be so. Paul wished everybody in Timothy’s church to see him get higher and higher (1 Tim 4:15).

Listed below are 3 ways to develop as a preacher:

1. Each time you preach, get trustworthy suggestions from a handful of trusted individuals (e.g., elders and fellow pastors, your spouse, your youngsters).
2. Each now and again, take heed to—or higher, watch—certainly one of your individual sermons.
3. Ask a extra seasoned preacher to work with you that will help you develop.

The truth that you’re studying this text suggests that you’re dedicated to enhancing. Stick with it!

32. Relaxation in God’s energy (or know you possibly can’t accomplish a lot)

Solely a preacher understands the array of feelings one feels after delivering a sermon. We might really feel elation if we expect we’ve performed nicely or once we hear how the sermon has impacted somebody. We will really feel blue once we suppose the sermon was mediocre or once we obtain criticism. However we will examine these emotional fluctuations by reminding ourselves of the essential fact that we preachers can’t accomplish a lot.

God’s Spirit makes use of his sword to perform his functions. We’re merely servants, and God delights to make use of the folly of our preaching to perform his grand functions.

So pray a lot. And relaxation.

James Seward’s really helpful sources for sermon prep

I extremely commend the Charles Simeon Belief’s Workshops on Biblical Exposition.

Moreover, I like to recommend the next books:

• Gary Millar and Phil Campbell, Saving Eutychus: Learn how to Preach God’s Phrase and Maintain Folks Awake (Matthias Media, 2023)
• Tim Chester and Steve Sach, Dig Deeper: Instruments for Understanding God’s Phrase (Crossway, 2011)
• Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, Learn how to Learn a Guide: The Basic Information to Clever Studying (Simon & Schuster, 1972)
• Peter J. Adam, Talking God’s Phrases: A Sensible Theology of Preaching (InterVarsity Press, 1996)
• J. C. Ryle, Simplicity in Preaching (Banner of Fact, 2003)

Expositional Preaching: How We Converse God’s Phrase At this time (9Marks Constructing Wholesome Church buildings Sequence)

Add to cart

The Phrase Turned Recent: Learn how to Preach from Previous Testomony Narrative Texts

Add to cart

Associated articles