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The local church pastor has a myriad of responsibilities, but sermon preparation and delivery is a major one. A pastor’s sermon preparation is about far more than crafting a compelling message. At the heart of a pastor’s sermon preparation and writing is a deep care for the spiritual well-being of the congregation.
Effective sermon preparation and writing is a central factor in helping people grow in their spiritual understanding, leading people to apply God’s Word to their daily lives, and walking closer with Jesus Christ.
The three main steps for preparing a sermon are:
Let’s break down each of those steps.
As you begin to write a sermon, there are three major aspects to consider:
Personal preparation and prayer
Pastors should begin the sermon writing process by first wading deeply into a conversation with God in prayer. Through prayer, the pastor can ask for their own heart to be softened to the text at hand. They can ask the Lord to prepare the hearers of the sermon to receive the biblical text and the pastor’s insights into it.
Church leaders can pray for the Lord to provide insight into the text that they may not have been able to discover on their own. There is surely more that the pastor can pray for preceding sermon preparation, but these are just a few ideas. It is vital that the pastor leans on the Holy Spirit through the sermon preparation process.
Study, study, and study some more
After going to the Lord and asking for help, a pastor would be wise to begin a rigorous study of the passage for the next sermon. Whether they’re preaching a topical sermon that cites a collection of shorter biblical texts or expositionally through Scripture, it is important for the pastor to do the work of studying the text so that they may rightly handle it.
Lifeway Research found that 48% of pastors spend between 8 to 15 hours preparing their sermons, while another 21% reportedly spend over 15 hours. That’s a lot of time! Bi-vocational pastors understandably spend less time on average primarily due to time constraints.
Different, legitimate perspectives exist regarding how much pastors should consult Bible commentaries and at what stage in the sermon preparation process they should do so. But regardless of whether or not the pastor is accessing commentaries at this stage, they should study the text closely.
Prioritize your congregation
Part of what makes hearing a sermon so impactful to the local church is that their pastor intimately knows their congregation—or at least they should. Going to a Christian conference and hearing a renowned preacher can be impactful, to be sure, but part of how God uses the local church pastor is through the intimate knowledge the local church pastor has of their congregants and how that knowledge shapes their sermon in the preparation stage.
A pastor will be a better, more impactful leader when they weave in sermon illustrations, stories, or other forms of rhetoric that highlight some of the life situations they know of within the congregation.
Before you begin preparing a sermon, let’s look at three practical tips on how to develop a sermon so it’s more effective.
Another way that pastors can serve their congregations well is by outlining their sermon ideas at the beginning of the sermon. People listen and learn differently, and many people in a congregation—the notetakers—will be glad to hear where the pastor is planning to go in the sermon. It makes the sermon seem less abstract to those kinds of learners.
Another consideration for pastors is to prepare a story or two to incorporate into their sermons. Humans are storytellers. We crave narrative. A compelling, heartfelt, sad, or exciting story of some kind—real or not—can help grab listeners’ attention and even help drive home a complex point that listeners may have a difficult time understanding.
Finally, pastors need to be sure to lead listeners to application. Many people may hear a sermon and grow in their knowledge of God but have no idea how to apply that knowledge to their everyday lives. A pastor could preach a beautiful sermon on the faithfulness of God, but how does that impact the way someone in the congregation handles a conflict at work on Tuesday?
This is, perhaps, the most difficult part of the sermon preparation process for many pastors. What does it look like for a pastor to execute this step effectively? Here are a few elements of this part of the process:
Review and revise the sermon. This is a pretty simple step, but it is one that many pastors unfortunately overlook, usually due to a lack of time left in the preparation process. Likewise, many pastors may be so deep in the preparation process that they feel they won’t be able to revise effectively. This is why the next step is important.
Seek feedback. A pastor would be wise to finish their written sermons in enough time that one or two other people, perhaps elders or church staff members, can provide feedback on the first draft of the sermon. It is hard for anyone to edit themselves, and pastors are no exception. So this step can be valuable for pastors.
Preach the Word with confidence. The preaching of the Word is, of course, the final step of the sermon preparation and writing process. After all of this, the pastor can deliver God’s Word and insights on it with confidence to the people in their local church.
Crafting an effective sermon is not just about delivering a message—it's about nurturing the spiritual well-being of your congregation and guiding them on the discipleship path to maturity.
These three key steps—preparing to write, crafting a clear message, and editing, practicing, and refining—provide a simple yet comprehensive guide for success in sermon preparation. Through heartfelt prayer, diligent study, and a deep understanding of your congregation, you can lay a strong foundation for your message.
By keeping language simple, incorporating illustrations and personal anecdotes, and leading listeners to practical application, you ensure that the message resonates with more people. The challenging process of editing, seeking feedback, and confidently preaching the Word brings the sermon to its culmination.
We hope that as you embrace these steps, may your sermons become powerful tools for transforming lives, as you lead your congregation in a closer walk with Jesus Christ.
