Sermon Preparation Techniques

Preparing for a Sermon

• Key elements for crafting a meaningful sermon include understanding the manuscript and the biblical text.
• The speaker uses multiple Bibles for study, taking notes and highlighting key verses.
• Visual aids are emphasized to aid in memory during delivery. Outlines are written in margins of the Bible and key words or phrases are underlined or marked with boxes, circles, and connecting lines (e.g. to indicate cause and effect or flow).
• Sometimes a bulleted list of important details is added to the margins or at the top/bottom of pages for quick reference.

Manuscript Preparation

• The preacher creates a manuscript with a specific structure (e.g., a three-page introduction, two pages per subsequent point with some having three, and a one-page conclusion).
• The preacher physically cuts and pastes their handwritten notes into the manuscript, then xeroxes the pages to highlight key words, phrases, and verbs.
• Yellow highlighting is used for this process, allowing for internalization through the process of review. Key phrases or sentences are marked with a red felt-tip pen.

The Importance of Gravitas

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of gravitas (weight and seriousness) in preaching.
• Modern preaching lacks the depth and emotional resonance found in previous generations. The speaker contrasts this with other popular speakers and communicators who come across as lighthearted or superficial.
• Lack of gravitas or weight in the message can be seen as trivializing important issues of eternal life and death, as if being lighthearted about such topics.

Emotional Connection to the Message

• Deep emotional connection to the message is crucial. Visual learners can internalize the message by making the textual notes in their manuscript easily readable.
• The preacher advocates for a personal and deeply felt connection to the text, as if God were squeezing their heart and the message were coming out.
• Preaching is akin to seeing the message for the last time, and it should be a solemn and profound experience, not a lighthearted presentation or entertainment.

Preacher's Preparation Process

• Preaching prep continues until the final moment before delivery (often involves late-night study on the day before).
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of intense scrutiny for long-lasting impact and to ensure that insights that were previously held in one's mind do not leak out unexpectedly.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of the preacher's preparation. The speaker wants the weight of scripture to sink into the preacher's soul, not just their mind.
• The process is meant to absorb the message into the mind, heart, and soul of the preacher and to approach preaching with a sense of solemnity and a sense of profound seriousness that is expected by God.

Weight of the Message

• The message's weight (gravity) is compared to the burdens of prophets. The preacher should feel the pressure and responsibility of delivering the message correctly and with emotion.
• Every sermon is presented for the evaluation of God. The speaker recognizes this responsibility and desires God's approval and a sense of completion.