How A Minister Spends Time: Part 3 - How a Sermon Is Prepared
By Dave Redick
Author's Note: The following presentation (Part 3) was made to our congregation at an evening service. It is intended to inform an average person, unfamiliar with the work of sermon preparation. It is not intended to be a technical presentation for preachers. Parts 1 and 2 should be read first. The author claims no corner on the market of wise time use, nor does he hold himself up as any special model. These lessons were presented to answer general questions about a minister's time use.
HOW A MINISTER USES TIME – Part 3
HOW A SERMON IS PREPAREDContinuing with my presentation of How A Minister Uses Time, the following steps are the ones I typically use to prepare a sermon. The process may differ from minister to minister, but most who preach biblical sermons will probably approximate the steps below.
The process begins with in-depth study.
1. Choose the Preaching Portion.
This selection of a passage must be relevant to the congregation and also something about which the preacher can sermonize. I often select such preaching portions as much as six months in advance, though room is left for short term needs, too. If I'm doing a series through a book, selection is somewhat easier, though concern must be exercised in the way the material is divided.
2. Read and Study Entire Context of Preaching Portion.
This might be a chapter or two or it might be an entire book of the Bible. The aim is to discover the Holy Spirit's purpose and meaning in the passage before the actual sermon preparation begins. This helps prevent misrepresentation of the meaning of the Scripture.
3. Read Repeatedly Through Preaching Portion – Perhaps as Many as a Dozen Times.
This not only familiarizes the preacher with the passage, but it also helps to find those points that will ultimately be useful in the sermon. Several different translations are used, but the message will ultimately be anchored in the translation used regularly by the minister and congregation.
4. Outline the Passage.
This step may or may not provide the ultimate outline of the sermon. The purpose is to divide the passage into manageable pieces and give a bit of a summary of the main parts of the passage.
5. Check Key Words and Phrases in the Original Language.
Some preachers translate entire passages from original texts. Unless one is very proficient in this, time may not afford to opportunity. Thus the emphasis on key words.
6. Discover the Theme of the Passage.
What did the original writer intend to convey? What was his key topic? What are any secondary topics? One must be careful not to abuse the passage by superimposing another agenda over the original writer's intent.
7. Consult Commentaries and the Writings of Others.
I usually save this step for last in the study section because I like to form my own conclusions before seeing what others have said. Often as many as 8-10 commentaries are used, depending upon the difficulty of the passage.
Now it's time to begin writing the sermon.
8. Discover an Angle for the Sermon.
The angle or slant is the perspective from which the sermon will be written. It is a homiletic prop that serves to draw attention to the content of the message. For instance, in a sermon I wrote called "Don't Get Bent Out of Shape," based on Luke 13:10-17, I found my angle for the sermon when I noticed the number of persons or things in the passage that were bent out of shape. Thus, The Bent Out of Shape Lady, The Bent Out of Shape Leader, and The Bent Out of Shape Law. This popular "Bent Out of Shape" metaphor provided an interesting twist on which to hang the truths I wanted to emphasize from the passage and gave an attention-grabbing angle.
9. Formulate a Proposition.
This is a single statement of what is going to be said in the message. It may or may not be a statement of the angle. It should be clearly stated before the main body of the message. My proposition for the "Don't Get Bent Out of Shape" sermon above was "Three things that are bent out of shape in this passage."
10. Write the Sermon Outline.
I prefer to group the parts of my sermon under major points or divisions. It provides mile posts as the sermon progresses. These may or may not be the same as the study outline mentioned earlier. Effort is made to word them in an interesting, attention-grabbing manner.
11. Write the Sermon Draft.
I manuscript all my sermons, so for me this means typing out what I am actually going to say.
12. Choose a Title.
For me this is usually one of the last steps, though a good title may be discovered at any point of the sermon preparation process.
13. Revise, Tighten, and Reword Where Necessary.
The aim of this is to word things more concisely where possible and also to remove typos and poorly worded points. I "step back" from the message at this point and check to be sure that my main points answer my proposition and that the entire message clearly reflect what is promised. This step is preferably done on a different day than the earlier steps. Setting the sermon aside for a day allows a fresher perspective when it is picked up again. I continue this process right up until my deadline on Sunday morning.
14. Get the Final, Printed Copy to the Church Secretary for Distribution to Absentees, Deaf Ministry, Shut-ins, etc.
15. Preach Message. Distribute Tapes and Printed Copies.
16. Repeat This Process, at Least in Part, for the Evening Service. Start Over Again on Monday.
Copyright (c) Dave Redick, The Preacher's Study, 2000. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission only (which will probably be granted if you just ask.) Please do not cut articles out of this ezine and paste them anywhere else without permission. You may, however, forward this entire Ezine to friends freely.
Dave Redick is the Pulpit Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon. He may be reached at dave@preacherstudy.com .
