How to Develop a Sermon

 

The source – prayer and meditation

The manner by which I develop sermons depends on two things: the way the sermon came to me, and the type of sermon. I spend time each day reading the Scriptures, praying about what I’ve read and meditating on them. During that time, various thoughts or insights will come and I jot them down quickly so that I can get back to the spiritual feeding.

I also spend time daily praying for the people for whom Adonai has made me responsible. I go through their names or through a book of photographs I have and ask for the Lord to bless each person. I also ask if there is anything I should do for them or say to them. As I do, if things seem to come to my mind, I again jot the impressions down for later examination and quickly return to my prayers.

Later, I pray and ask the Master what He’d have me deal with. Sometimes I go back through the notes I jotted down and see if something “pops out” at me. Sometimes the answer comes very quickly and powerfully. The Holy Spirit lays a specific burden (whether that burden is a certain passage or a topic) and that burden determines the next step. Sometimes the Holy Spirit doesn’t seem to have a specific message in mind and in those times, I fall back on systematically teaching the people theology or covering all of the Scriptures.

 

An exception – sermons coming entirely from the Lord

Frankly, there are some times when the sermon comes to me entirely from the Lord. In fact, there have been many times when I have woken from a deep sleep with the sermon completely done, title, topic, text, intro, body, conclusion and illustrations – everything. When that happens, I can have the entire sermon written verbatim in around twenty minutes! It’s weird, I know, but what are you going to do? Honestly, I suspect in those times He doesn’t trust me to get it right through my normal method. Because the Lord sometimes uses that process, I keep a notepad and pen near my bed – just in case.

Regardless, even if the Lord simply gives me the entire sermon or the seed, I still go through the following process to make sure that it did in fact come from the Lord and agrees with the Scriptures. After decades of trying to discipline my mind to meditation and prayer, I know enough to not trust myself. The mind has an amazing proclivity for self-deception. So whether God gives you a seed or an entire sermon, I still encourage you to go through the following steps.

This first step is the most tenuous, the most “mystical”. From this point on, the development of a sermon becomes much more like simple work.

 

Exegetical Sermons

Using the first prayerful step we just discussed, I generally determine the title, topic and text twelve to fourteen weeks before the sermon is due. If the sermon is exegetical, I spend the first six weeks researching the text, making sure that I understand the textual, historical, geographic and cultural context. I read different commentaries. However, I have generally found the vast majority to be nearly useless because they tend to repeat the same thing on the simple passages and skip the difficult ones.

 

Topical

If the sermon is more topical, I carefully go through the Scriptures, using key words to find verses that relate to the issue. I develop as many passages and biblical illustrations as possible, seeking patterns or overarching truths.

 

 

The twelve week process

Gradual momentum: For six weeks I work steadily at the topic. This process requires that each day I work at 8-10 different sermons at varying stages of development each day. This helps me stay fresh and interested. I spend more time on the sermons that are closest, spending as little as 15 minutes a day at first and then finally up to 45 minutes a day on a single sermon the last week before it is to be delivered.

Introduction and application: I determine the application from the very start. This allows every other step to be focused on the goal. The introduction comes around weeks two or three. The introduction is where I first start understanding what tone the sermon will take. Will it be serious but calm? Will it be passionately outraged? Will it be sarcastic? Will it be encouraging? Rebuking? Finding the right introduction to set the tone of the sermon is a critical part of getting the congregation on board and in sync with me.

Outline and illustrations: I start developing an outline somewhere around the seventh week. A good outline is critical because it helps present the information in a streamlined, logical fashion and helps organize it into a form that is easier for the congregants’ minds to absorb and recall. I start looking for illustrations or stories somewhere around the eighth week.

 Verbatim writing: I used to only write down the outline. In the last few years, I’ve taken to writing out the entire sermon verbatim. I find that it helps me ensure that I don’t go off on rabbit trails. I find it helps me choose the vocabulary more consciously. I neither want to go so academic that I use words the people don’t understand nor do I want to go all “street” if you know what I mean. I don’t make myself stick to word for word while I’m preaching but I find that by going verbatim during the process I make less mistakes when I’m “ad libbing.”

Paring Down: During the last six weeks, I constantly pare down all the information that I gathered during the first six weeks, trying to retain only those passages, only those illustrations, only those points which are critical to bringing the point home. There are usually MANY verses that could illustrate a given truth. Which are the best ones? Which are directly on point? Which are derivative?

Conclusion: Though the application (the point if you will) is determined from the very beginning, I usually haven’t figured out how to conclude the sermon until the very last week. I’m not sure why that is – maybe I’m simply a slow thinker (when it comes to this anyway) and it takes that long for the sermon to gel in my mind.

Practice: The last week I practice the sermon every day, actually preaching out loud and trying on various nuances. What works on paper doesn’t always work out loud. I practice once on Monday, twice on Tuesday, three times on Wednesday and then finally only once or twice a day for the rest of the week. By the time I step into the pulpit, I’ve practiced the material enough that all the distractions that routinely take place don’t disturb me and I know my material enough that if I have to flex during the sermon I know what I can safely drop and what I can’t.

 

Afterwards

Keep everything: I keep all my sermon notes – the whole process – ranging from simple lists of “title, topic, text” to raw data to organized exegetical commentaries, to topical studies. I keep it all so that if the Holy Spirit should require me to deal with the topic (or something closely related) later I can respond more quickly and thus be a wise steward of my time.

Recycle most: Furthermore, I recycle a lot of this material into topical studies for the website, or commentary for the “Pauley Study Bible”, for blog material, or in order to be able to answer people’s questions on given issues or passages later. Nothing is wasted, nothing is lost. This means I’m constantly adding to a considerable body of work that hopefully will be useful to someone somewhere someday. If not – it helps me as I go over and over it, year after year, gaining new insights and understanding God a little more with each passing day.

Sermon log: I further keep a sermon log so that I can remember what I’ve preached and when. This helps on those days when I don’t have a pressing message from the Lord and am simply trying to carefully teach the people all the Word. No sense in repeating too much in some area of theology or Scripture and leaving another field unplowed if you will.

Supremacy of prayer: This entire process is constantly rooted in prayer. I spend more time with my prayer shawl over my shoulders than with it off. In fact, I’m so used to having my prayer shawl on while developing the sermon that I wish I could wear it while delivering the sermon! It would be more comfortable I’m sure. The point I’m trying to make is that all the academics in the world, all the careful study and painstaking exegesis is not worth five minutes of inspired prayer.