Many pastors find sermon preparation and delivery to be the most enjoyable work of their ministry. While other aspects of ministry are important, there is a special joy derived from hours spent in the study of a biblical text. And, while study can be grueling at times, most pastors delight in the work, agreeing with the apostles’ stress upon giving oneself “continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4) and Paul’s charge to “correctly handle the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). To cultivate and maintain your joy in sermon preparation, consider these three important principles:
- Avoid using commentaries too soon. We’re often tempted to turn to commentaries before spending adequate time wrestling with a passage ourselves. It is certainly wise to consult commentaries, and failure to do so may be a mark of pride. As Charles Spurgeon wisely noted: “It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others.”1 Using commentaries too soon, however, may rob the preacher of the joy of discovery. There is a singular pleasure for the preacher when the Holy Spirit enables him to understand the meaning and implications of a text. The preacher who prematurely studies the insights of others–including other sermons–will not experience the same degree of wonder as the preacher who has first poured over the passage himself.
- Involve both head and heart in your study. “Headwork” tends to come naturally to many preachers. They enjoy thinking through a passage, analyzing it, and outlining it. Equally important to involving one’s head, however, is involving one’s heart. The preacher experiences greater joy in sermon preparation when he allows the truth to move from his head to his heart, prayerfully internalizing that truth and feeling it deeply. As E.M. Bounds helpfully suggests: “A prepared heart is much better than a prepared sermon. A prepared heart will make a prepared sermon.”2
- Trust God to work uniquely through you. God has called us individually and equipped us uniquely to preach to our particular congregation. While each congregation is similar to others, it is also different from others. It has its own history, character, and needs. In the same way, each pastor is in some way different from other pastors. God has sovereignly called each of us and has placed us in each church for His glory. When we trust Him to work through our own personality, study, and delivery, we’re more likely to experience the joy of His using us to speak to the hearts of His people.
Pastors, we pray you get great joy in your sermon preparation this week!
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- Charles Spurgeon, Commenting & Commentaries (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1876), 1.
- E.M. Bounds, On Prayer (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006), 138.
“Many pastors find sermon preparation and delivery to be the most enjoyable work of their ministry.” To me this is troublesome because the sermon is one way teaching with no questions, can be used to satisfy some people, and used to run others off. It can also be used to make the verses say something they don’t. I would have wished that teaching others the faith where you have to answer questions in discussion and explain your answer would have been the top.
Good point, Mark! I appreciate your insight
I particularly like your second point. If I do not allow my sermon prep to illuminate and convict me, and lead me to worship, it is unrealistic for me to expect the delivery to do the same to the congregation.
Amen, Gordon! Thanks for sharing