(Tips on Using Sermons and Lessons from The Preacher's Study)
While you could use the messages on this site word for word, delivering another's
sermon verbatim without wrestling with it to make it your own might be like presenting
someone else's biography as though it were about you. The following suggestions are
offered to help you make each message your own.
1. Read and study the manuscript carefully to be sure you agree with the contents. Be sure
it is sound Biblically and that it deals with issues your hearers need.
2. Internalize the message (this takes some time - perhaps several days if they are
available). Spend time in meditation and prayer over the subject and related Bible
passages. Be sure that it will speak to your needs and/or the needs of your hearers. Keep
your hearers before your mind at all times, thinking of how it will impact them. If it
doesn't impact you, don't preach it. A cleaver sermon without personal application is
empty. Ask yourself, "Why should I preach this message? How will it benefit my
hearers?"
3. Rework the material. This doesn't mean you cannot use the basic structure of the
message and the major thoughts and illustrations, or even the phraseology, but it is best
to put it into your own words and ways of expression. If you do not take this step, it may
be obvious to your listeners that there is something wrong. As you rework the manuscript
you will think of additional things to add that are unique to your ways of expression.
4. You may choose simply to read the messages privately for your own edification, letting
the concepts "soak" in your mind and heart over some weeks, so that the material
flows naturally into your own sermon preparation. This will boost your creativity.
5. Use illustrations with integrity. Don't speak of another's experience as your own.
While you are not required to acknowledge the source of this material in your verbal
presentations, don't attribute illustrations to yourself if they are not your own.
6. Finally, don't let this or any other resource take the place of your own study of the
Word of God and preparation of your own sermons and lessons. One of the great benefits of
preaching is the discipline of being in God's Word on a regular basis. Let this material
augment your own work, not replace it. A man of God should grow in grace and knowledge
over the years. Depending solely on others' work will stunt that growth.
The Preacher's Study
Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved.
Revised: 06/24/06