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I am on a journey to see how God will use me in this messy thing called the "Church." While on that journey I have just recently moved to a new role as a Sr. Pastor. Not real sure what that means really, but God is moving and I will follow the wave as it goes.

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Sermon Prep questions

March 16th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

This morning I was driving back home for just a minute and then coming back.  So, I took the time to listen to a podcast by Andy Stanley.  It was one on communication.  If you have ever read his book, Communicating for A Change, then you have and understanding of this podcast.    However, there are two things that struck me at this particular time that I want to throw out there for some conversation.

1.    One Thing – a lot of communicators have gone this route I often try to end up here as much as possible.  Not sure I do a good job all of the time, but hopefully I hit it once in a while.  My question is simple, how do you arrive at the One Thing?
2.    Sermon Prep – how long out are you working on a message?  By this I am not referring to the simple I am thinking about it and processing it in my head, but rather the idea of a writing time table.

I would love your thoughts on this and look forward to some conversation and insight.

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  • Derrell

    the one thing i think should always be the goal of teaching and preaching, well at least in my opinion. i work on that one thing, the dominate thought as i was taught at LCC, more than anything else. because if i don’t have that one thing i don’t anything to teach or speak on. arrive at what that one thing should be never really takes me long, because that’s where lesson/sermon planning come in handy. i usually know where i want to go with lessons and sermons.

    as far as sermon prep that can be anywhere from a couple days to the whole week and changing it sunday. i think any sounds good when you prep your sermon and i sounds good at first, but doesn’t sound good later. i know my homiletic professor spent a couple weeks planning out the year and would get sermon prep started two weeks before he had to preach it. the sr. minnister i am with now does it all in a few days. he works on his wednesday night sermon and sunday morning sermon all in the same week. but he also gets together with other area ministers and they bounce ideas off each other for their sermons.

  • Matt c.

    Both of those have helped in the process of becoming a sound teacher. However, I found that at this point in my life my preaching has been most challenged by asking, “So what?” This question is challenging because it moves me beyond information giving and forces me to think in terms of application (and then transformation).

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