Every veteran preacher has developed tricks to the trade and best practices over the years. I recently had a young aspiring preacher in my church ask for some advice, and here’s what I told him, from preparation to delivery to general principles.1
Pray throughout preparation.
It’s easy to treat sermon prep as a task to be completed, but it is truly a spiritual exercise. Sadly, there have been too many times when I was struggling during sermon prep only to realize I had not prayed. Prayer declares our dependence on God to teach us and guide us in what to say. Pray for understanding. Pray for application. Pray for your listeners. Pray. Pray. Pray.
Sometimes you’ve got to stop studying and start writing.
Adequate study is essential for strong, text-driven preaching. However, there’s only so much time in a week, so at some point, you have to shift from reading to writing the sermon. There will always be more commentaries to read, more word studies to mine, more theological doctrines to explore. Don’t get so bogged down in the study that you shortchange the writing and then deliver a half-baked message.
Manuscript (then condense into outline)
Early on in ministry, I would draw up a basic sermon outline and assume it was sufficient to take into the pulpit. The result was weak and unclear messages that meandered, sounded repetitive, and circled the runway too many times before landing the plane. But my preaching was transformed when I started writing out a full manuscript during sermon preparation, which I then condense down into outline form to take into the pulpit.
These are some benefits for manuscripting:
- It helps you think clearly about what you want to say and how you want to say it. This improves word choice and increases clarity in the sermon.
- It strengthens transitions between main points and organizes the flow of the sermon. One of the weakest parts of most sermons is transitions. Effective sermons move seamlessly from one idea to another.
- It sharpens illustrations and the conclusion. Unplanned illustrations and conclusions lack the punch needed to be effective.
- It controls length and pace of sermon. For me, a single-spaced page of my manuscript equals about 6-7 minutes of preaching. So, if I am asked to preach for 30-35 minutes, that’s about 5 pages. If I’m writing the sermon and find myself on page 7, then I know I need to trim it down. Manuscripting ensures I never find myself trying to decide what to say in the moment or ending the sermon like a crash landing.
- It provides material for future sermons, teaching, or writing projects. I can always go back to my files and take pieces of previous sermons for use in speaking opportunities, articles or Bible studies I may write, or some other project.
Start well so you don’t lose your audience.
Your sermon introduction is the opportunity to hook the listener. Most people decide in the first 3-5 minutes if they’re going to listen the whole way. A good introduction can be a personal experience, an interesting news story or historical fact, a presentation of a problem the sermon will address, or a humorous anecdote. These grab people’s attention so they stick around for the meat of the sermon.
Don’t forget corporate application.
The Bible is a congregationally shaped book written about a people to a people for a people. While there are individual personal applications we can draw out from a text, there are also corporate applications that guide how a congregation lives out the truths of Scripture. Always ask yourself, “If our church lived out the biblical principles found in this passage, what would it look like? How would it be expressed in our doctrine, our love for one another, and our mission?”
Preach your sermon before you preach it.
I was blown away the first time I heard that a preacher I admired rehearsed his sermons in an empty room before delivering it to his people. I assumed he was so gifted that he just got up and delivered it cold turkey. Since then, I’ve discovered the most effective preachers practice their sermons aloud as part of their preparation. Sometimes a sentence sounds different out loud than it does written on a page, so rehearsing helps you make adjustments to your sermon. It also allows you to consider gestures and on-stage movement to strengthen your delivery. And it helps solidify the message in your heart and mind so you don’t have to look at your notes as much.
Drink lots of water.
I know this sounds like advice from your mom, but the better hydrated you are, the less you’ll struggle with dry mouth and a sore throat.
Focus on faithfulness.
Stay anchored to the text. Your sermon should be so text-driven that if you lost your notes, you wouldn’t falter because the text is your outline. Aim for singles, not home runs. We all want that grand slam sermon that produces immediate results, but if that’s your focus, you’ll strike out more times than you connect. Instead, just be faithful to the text and preach good expositional sermons. When you do, you’ll more frequently hit doubles, triples, and even a home run every now and then.
Give yourself some grace.
“It takes 100 sermons to find your voice.” I heard this when I was younger, and it’s proven true in my experience. Early on in ministry, you tend to mimic your preaching heroes, but as you gain experience and get more comfortable, your personality comes through. Every preacher gets better over time. Just keep getting in your reps. Realize God can do just as much with a bad sermon as a good one. I’ve preached sermons I thought were great, but there didn’t seem to be a response. Alternatively, I’ve preached sermons I thought were terrible, and people have told me God used it in an incredible way in their lives. When you preach a bad sermon, give yourself some grace, and remember that the Holy Spirit is the one at work. Trust Him to use His word to transform lives.
- This is not an exhaustive list but hopefully helpful as you seek to preach effective text-driven sermons. ↩︎
