Preaching lessons
After having just finished a lengthy series through the Epistle to the Romans, which took over a year, it is a good time to reflect on the ministry of preaching. Here are some practical tips I have found helpful that other preachers might find helpful as well.
Ditch the notes
To be fair, my doctoral mentor was the late Haddon Robinson who is known for his no-notes approach. That said, I was surprised how easy this really was. Our notes feel like a safety net in the pulpit, but in reality they tend to get in the way of direct communication.
You have been pouring the message into your mind and heart all week; it’s in there, trust me. If you are an expositor, you have the Bible in front of you which is almost like having notes already. However, I’m not a masochist: I do bring a basic outline (proposition and main points), lengthy quotations, and any statistics up to the pulpit with me.
Don’t try to say it all
Don’t feel like you have to say everything in one message, especially if you are the primary preacher. Think of preaching more like building a fortress than a backyard clubhouse. Take your time and fill in the whole Christian worldview for people week after week.
Remember, you won’t knock it out of the park every week. Some Sundays will feel like a double or even a single. That’s okay. The next at bat is coming up in a mere six days.
Limit the commentaries
Every preacher has their personal sermon preparation process. For me, I am translating, diagramming and writing up a detailed outline on Tuesdays. Wednesdays are devoted to commentary reading. The rest of the week is touching up on it with illustrations and application.
The longer you prepare sermons, the more you begin to see the repetition in the commentaries. I was given wise advice to limit myself to three or four commentaries a sermon. Going much beyond that feels like time better spent on application or illustration, or even doing other ministry.
Talk about it before
I share two online devotionals a week. During those devotionals, I am usually drawing on something related to my sermon prep. One practice I have found helpful is to offer a “Saturday Night Sermon Study” open to all church members, which studies through the passage I am preaching on the next morning.
Regardless of the channels you use, find ways to talk to others about your sermon content during the week prior. This will solicit feedback and will help solidify the biblical truths in your mind and heart before you preach them.
Talk about it after
I would be cautious here. Don’t evaluate your sermon merely based on the immediate feedback from the congregation. Sometimes people need time to process, and it may be that the quieter members are deeply impacted but won’t say anything at all. I would guess some of our most anointed sermons are ones we never see how they are used by God, this side of Heaven.
I ask my wife and kids what they thought on the ride to lunch after church. I often listen to my sermon recording sometime during the week (which usually reveals to me that it wasn’t as awful as I thought it was). I have a pastor friend who does sermon review with me once a month. Watch the flock to see if it made an impact in their conversations and actions.
Take a break every so often
After I preach about two months straight, I can feel the need for a Sunday off. I could use some creative perspective. This is also good for the congregation. Often there are elders or deacons who can preach, or consider bringing in a guest preacher (be in attendance and model attentive listening).
I love preaching. I feel like I am preaching at a pace that I can handle for the long haul, by the grace of God. I am not the most dynamic preacher, which is alright by me. What I can say with a clear conscience is the Word of God is taught, the Gospel is proclaimed, and God’s people are well-fed. Now on to next Sunday’s sermon!
Rick Harrington is a pastor at First Baptist Church - Haverhill in Massachusetts. He is the author of the books "How to Find a Church: Seven Steps to Becoming Part of a Spiritual Family" and "The Weight of Preaching: Heralding the Gospel of Grace". You can follow his writing on his blog The Lamp Post.
