Most of my sermons take four weeks to prepare. That doesn't mean I'm working on one sermon for four weeks, but that every week I'm working on four sermons. Each week I have a specific goal to accomplish for each sermon:
Week One: I need to understand what the text says. I have two study sessions set aside during week one in which I devote my efforts to exegeting the text.
Week Two: I need to determine how this text applies to our church community. During week two, I work through several exercises to help me look at the passage from several different angles. The fruit of week two is several short "next step" ideas.
Week Three: I need to discern the most effective method for communicating the truths I've unpacked. As in week two, I've created several exercises which help me consider a variety of possibilities for my sermon presentation. The goal of week three is not to create or find new content, but to arrange the content I've already discovered.
Week Four: I need to get ready to preach. Throughout this week, I have several tasks to accomplish so that Sunday's sermon will be clear and concise. I also use week four to create a variety of follow-up materials for those who desire to go further with the sermon.
You can download the google doc template I use to work through my planning process at the link below:
Different sermons lend themselves to different processes, so I may deviate from this template from time to time, but it is my starting point for every sermon. I'll post later about some of the exercises I use each week, but you can see them all listed at the template link above.
If you have questions or would like to chat more about this template, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.
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