Compelling preaching, efficient prep: Avoid these three common sermon prep traps
Sermon prep is hard. And time-consuming. But we may be making it harder and more time-consuming than it needs to be. Are you falling prey to these three common sermon prep traps? Read on to find out and get practical tools to streamline your prep and offer more compelling sermons.
Three ways you’re (unknowingly) sabotaging your sermon prep before you even start
Many of us get stuck at certain steps along the way, and there are many steps: from praying to discerning the message to proclamation to review (yes, sermon prep continues after the sermon!).
After working with thousands of preachers, I’ve found some common reasons we get stuck. I’ve also learned from preachers how to get unstuck.
This is the first in a series of three about getting stuck during sermon prep and how to get unstuck. Today, we’re looking at three sneaky saboteurs that derail our sermon prep before we even get started.
From Chaos to Clarity: Simplifying Sermon Note Management for Seamless Sermon Writing
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been through this scenario: too much time flies out the window searching and searching for a particular note or reference I know would be perfect for a sermon. I know “it” is there somewhere, but I can’t find it—or when I do mange to track it down, I don’t understand what I meant at the time I recorded it. It all adds up to a lot of frustration and wasted possibilities.
After some big changes the last couple years, however, I spend far less time and feel far less frustrated accessing my notes than I used to. I’ve spent the last few years learning how to take notes that allow me to read, mark, learn, inwardly digest—and retrieve and apply what I learn. Here are two key strategies to help you do the same.
The Change Puzzle: Cracking the Code to Sustained Transformation
If change were easy, we’d all be doing it.
The Power of Purpose: Setting Effective Goals through Value-Driven Intentions
Goals in and of themselves do not produce fulfillment. Intentions, however, do—because they are rooted in our values.
The 3 Steps You're Missing When Planning Anything—Including Sermon Prep
When we envision ourselves undertaking tasks under the “worst”—or, ahem!—realistic circumstances, we’re far more likely to get closer to reality. Sermon prep is no different. Consider these three strategies to bring your idealistic expectations in line with the realities of life.
A Homiletician, a Theologian, and a Biblical Scholar Walk into a Bar.... (A Guest Post)
From Dr. Leah Schade’s guest post: “Every preacher should have a ‘circle of trust’ that they take to their ‘sermon watering hole.’ The circle should include people you know you can rely on to help you encounter the Bible in a responsible way in order to say something meaningful about who God is and what God is doing in the world. People who spark ideas for crafting a sermon that will hook your listeners, help them follow you, and give them a reason to say “amen!” Here are three suggestions for expanding your circle of trust in sermon preparation.”
A New Goal for Preachers: Peaceful Productivity (A Guest Post)
Recently, I guided participants through a process to make space for sermon prep for the multiple sermons they’d be writing for Holy Week and Easter. I encouraged three steps, and while there was some resistance to the third, once completed, I sensed a shift in energy and renewed sense of enthusiasm for the tasks ahead. Read on to energize your own sermon prep with this 3-step scheduling process.
The Power of Questions: How to Challenge Assumptions in Preaching
An assumption is the lightning fast explanation we generate to connect random events or pieces of information into a believable narrative. We do this when we don’t have the time or mental bandwidth or confidence to figure out the real story. Instead, we rely on the easiest or fastest explanation to avoid the discomfort of not knowing. But when assumptions block us from the truth—from the gospel—we have a real problem.
X Marks the Spot: Blocking Time for Yourself (A Guest Post)
We’re tempted to believe the spirit moves by whim in un-scheduled and unpredictable ways. But Peterson models, and I’ve experienced, that the inspiration and insights of preaching are more often rooted in practices that make space for us to invite and hear the spirit.
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I participated in the Lectio study today with a complicated and double-speak Gospel (John 17:6-19) and WOW! I received so much great insight and am headed in a direction I feel really good about. Thank you to all my colleagues! If you are wondering if this is worth it, wonder no more. It is.
—Donna G.
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The Gospel People Don't Want to Hear: Preaching Challenging Messages was written to aid preacher’s in understanding what’s at stake for their listeners so they can craft sermons their audience can receive, even if they challenge cherished beliefs.
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