Sunday-Sermon
Objective:
To preach the message with all the natural authority of the biblical text!
Goal (mile-marker 7):
To arrive at the pulpit fully prepared and relaxed, but with the intensity that befits someone who brings a message from God and wants to see people touched by that message.
In my experience, this is the stage where significant self-deception can occur. After putting in so much effort, I now have a completed manuscript and it can seem like my work is done. «I think I’ll take it easy for awhile. After all, I’m ready.”
The problem is that I’m not ready. Because it’s about preaching, not about sending the manuscript to a publisher. If I park my effort here, I might have wonderful content, but the presentation might be a disappointment. People might go home with an assessment similar to the one I once had when listening to a lecture given by a world-famous author, “He’s better on paper!»
In this respect, preaching really encapsulates two tasks. The task of an author, and the task of an artist. You have to compose the work of art; then you have to interpret it.
Fortunately, with what remains to be done, we are not starting from scratch. We have already been in contact with our material for some time. Now it’s time to prepare everything and ourselves for the expository event. We need to prepare ourselves for the preaching moment. In my experience, this includes such things as printing out the manuscript or outline, reviewing or rehearsing it, and praying both about the content of the sermon and for the people who will hear it.
Obviously this requires time. One should probably not start it late on a Saturday night. Moreover, my experience is that the worse I get at this stage, the more nervous I am and the harder I find it to sleep. It becomes clear the vital need to be truly ready ahead of time. Nothing will kill our desire to have a preaching ministry as quickly as suffering the stress of regularly stepping behind the pulpit without being fully prepared.
That said, depending on your personal circumstances and how your preparation has gone, you may be able to advance some of this work on Saturday. However, if time permits on Sunday morning, it may be better to do this final work when you are already rested. Also, it can serve as a good opportunity to “warm up” and go to church with the content and the task firmly fixed in your mind and heart.
Sunday’s Tasks
Obviously, some of these tasks can be done earlier, but I have scheduled them for Sunday. It usually works well for me, and at the very least it distributes the tasks in a balanced way.
- Task 1. Prepare the outline or manuscript that you will bring to the pulpit.
- Task 2. Rehearse for fluency and naturalness.
- Task 3. Pray the manuscript.
Finally, as usual, I will add a brief review and control article along with some additional ideas that may be useful, especially regarding audiovisual materials.
If you are already familiar with the process, download a Quick Start Summary Guide for Sunday-Sermon here.