What is next? (A few words on how some Pastors approach preparing sermons & series)

If you'd like to listen to this discussion post, you can do so via the following Youtube link! 

This year we've studied through 10 weeks of the book of Esther, and we spent Holy Week considering the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew. What's next? 

Before saying what's next, let me share a few different thoughts on some tools that preachers have at their disposal when considering what the Lord desires for his people to focus on. 

"Grace" by Eric Enstrom. 1918

1. Prayer before deciding anything

Prayer is a tool for preachers in discerning Christ's work in his church. Earnest prayer that comes with focused aspects on a daily, weekly, monthly basis help keep a preachers eyes fixed on Jesus. The preacher that gives inspiration speeches, motivational talks, or even moral teaching devoid of the gospel, has most likely neglected prayer. In prayer that is focused on preparing to preach a preacher communes with God regarding the people who will be receiving the preaching. The preacher in this way in prayer is focused on two things, the God who has spoken through his Word, and the people who God has brought together to respond to the Word. I'll give two examples that I've used when praying over a particular sermon or message:

When preaching a single sermon to an audience that I have not previously preached to:

"God Almighty, you have given me this one opportunity to speak to your assembled people. What is the one thing that you want to deliver from your Word to these people? I do not know their daily struggles, their hopes, dreams, or trials. You do know them all. Bless me to be a part of your new birth in the spiritual life of some. Bless me to be a part of your growth in the spiritual life of others. And bless me to be a reverent and solemn declarer of your truth to those who are in apathy. Bless your people through your Word preached. In Christ's name, Amen."

When preaching a sermon series to an audience that I am somewhat familiar with:

"God Almighty, you have been growing in my heart a love and familiarity with your assembled people. How would your truth be spoken to challenge, encourage, and arouse worship in your people? I know some of the struggles of your people, and some of their dreams and trials. Yet I only know a little bit. You know all of your people perfectly. Bless me to know what to say, and what not to say in this series. Do not let me become distracted with rabbit trails, or prattle on with interesting tidbits. Make me a messenger of your life giving Word. Do not allow me to waste a single moment in preparation or in the delivery of your Word to your people. Bless your people to bear much fruit through this extended time studying your Word together. In Christ's name, Amen."

Prayer is not the token "checklist" item which is done in routine fashion. Prayer for preaching is the passion and desire of God's servant to pursue, follow, and chase after God's own heart for his people. If the preacher does not have an earnest desire from the beginning to follow God's declared desires for his people, then from the very start the preacher has failed, must repent, and start over. I fully admit there are days and times when I have had to repent in preparing sermons, series, and teachings. There are some days where my desires are burning hot to pursue the Lord. There are other days when I am not. Repentance is key in the Christian walk, especially for pastors and preachers!

Whenever I'm preaching in a church that uses NIV, this is the Bible I take with me. This Bible and more than 200 others were provided thanks to a generous donation of a Missions supporter in 2017. All but this one were distributed to individuals who didn't have Bibles of their own. Many were elderly retirees and many were Chinese international students.

2. Start with the Bible, not with a commentary

When preparing a sermon or series, preaching must come from scripture. Scripture isn't the "launching pad" or the "starting point" of a good speech, or inspiring talk, or even educational lesson. Scripture itself must be declared as true truth calling the assembled hearers to respond to God's truth. 

In seminary there was a professor I was privileged to study under and be mentored by for multiple classes. He would start his classes with phrases he would instruct us to repeat. These were not glib phrases for the sake of being "interesting". They were ideas which were to stick with us long after exams were done and papers were turned in. One of these phrases was "start with the Bible, not with a commentary." In preparing a sermon or a series there is a temptation to rush to see what someone ELSE has seen, observed, said, written, or preached on a given passage or topic. 

This simple repeated phrase was a point of emphasis that preaching is the act of declaring God's Word to God's people. It is not the job of a preacher to prepare any message for any other group of assembled hearers other than the ones the preacher will be preaching to. In this way the preachers job is to consider God's Word first and then apply God's Word to the given present reality of the current audience. This doesn't mean a preacher shouldn't consult commentaries, listen to other sermons, participate in or learn under other studies in the Word. A preacher should do all of those things! However those things are to come after diligent, earnest, and sincere prayer and study in the scriptures. 

One of my pastoral mentor's first began to train me to prepare to preach in this way. He instructed me to read through the passage assigned for the sermon. Then read through it again. Then pray through the passage. Then read through it again. Then begin making notes and observations about the passage - application or calls to action were not to be done here, this was only observing what was present in the passage. That processes would be repeated 2-3 times. By the end of this process, the passage to be preached on had been read roughly 10 times and prayed through 2-3 times with a growing list of notes. Then I was instructed to begin writing an outline of the passage with repeated words and ideas. Then I would summarize at least one (if not more than one) possible direction for a sermon from the passage. Only then, after this rigorous and repetitive process of reading, prayer, notetaking, and active mental engagement would I be encouraged to consult a commentary, sermon, or lesson from someone else. 

The ideas both of my seminary professor and pastoral mentor were similar. Both were driving towards the point that God had called the preacher that week to deliver God's Word to God's people. The preacher, in a very real spiritual and pragmatic sense, engages in the ongoing declarative act of speaking to God's people representing the Lord as messenger. This doesn't mean the preacher receives new revelation from God (that historically has always been one telltale sign of heresy and false teaching within the church. Preachers/teachers claiming to have received new messages from God) but rather that God has chosen a new messenger for an ancient truth of God. God's Word does not change, but his Word is declared by a various array of changed people throughout time and history. 

When preparing for an individual sermon, or a series, we already know the range of options present. God's Word contained in the Bible offers 66 books in the divisions of the Old and New Testaments. Through an intimate and continuing growth in study of the Bible a preacher grows in wisdom for communicating God's Word to God's assembled people. 

The calendar abounds with challenges & opportunities! 

3. Study God's Word in light of the opportunities observable

Throughout the everyday experience of Christian living God reveals the trials, heartache, challenges, triumphs, and journey of his people. The preacher is given opportunities to witness God's people in a great many ways. For pastors a HUGE part of the work is in visitation. Visitation can take on many forms, phone calls, house visits, emails, hospital visits, meals, texts, social gatherings, meetings, and more. As someone who has worked both bi-vocationally and full time in ministry I can say that there are unique challenges and opportunities in each situation. 

Typically in bi-vocational ministry I've had to lean heavier on my preparation time, being disciplined in my time management as every moment was demanded by various responsibilities in multiple jobs. This has meant I've had less time to get to know where God's people are at on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Some are able to juggle both visitation and preparation in bi-vocational settings and there have certainly been ebbs and flows in my past between days or weeks. One benefit in bi-vocational sermon/series prep is witnessing first hand a great many interactions in the world. To put it bluntly, people say, and do things differently in from of a customer service professional, than in front of a preacher. This gives a very present opportunity to experience the challenges of time management, temptation to apathy, and lukewarm religion that others in the assembled people of God face. 

Typically in full-time ministry I've had to lean heavier on my visitation time, being intentional not to show favoritism, or allow gossip or idle talk rob God's people. This has meant that I've needed to guard my preparation time and become sharper in my study. While in part-time ministry I always felt I was being dragged from this responsibility to another responsibility. The calendar made it easy to remove myself or excuse myself from something that wasn't of immediate importance. In full-time ministry there are just as many opportunities, but the pitfalls are about priority. In full-time ministry questions like the following pop up:

*How many hours should I dedicate to reading and studying the Bible this week?

*Should I visit every church member who is home bound this week? If not, when should I next visit them? Is that even feasible to do? (Covid-19 has made this very difficult for Pastors over the last year. Thank God for technology to have some way to visit and Thank God for more hospitals allowing for visitors to enter!) 

*What meetings should be prayed and planned for this week, and what meetings should be prayed for and planned in the future?

*What events this week or month will I actively involve myself for evangelism? Are any of these events which I alone will attend, or will I bring my family as well? 

*Which invitations do I need to accept and which invitations do I need to decline this week?

*Who do I know the Lord is convicting me to have a longer conversation with? 

All of these are opportunities to prioritize wisely and many questions like these play a factor in sermon and series preparation. The family celebrating the safe delivery of a new baby may be especially sleepy when they are able to attend worship. Is the sermon that week going to be particularly challenging to follow? The individual who just lost a job, would it really be wise to preach on the wicked and lazy sluggard described in Proverbs 6:6 (Go to the ant, O sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise.). The teachers and administrators who are preparing themselves for finals or a new school year may benefit greatly from hearing what God's Word has to say about the awesome weight, challenge, and blessing of teaching. 

The life experiences of God's people must be met with the Word of God such that God's people are able to bear with one another the trials, challenges, burdens, and celebrate with one another the joys of God outpoured. The preacher who disregards God's Word must repent and start over. The preacher who disregards God's people must repent and start over. Preachers have a saying "Exegete the Word, Exegete the audience". Preachers not only interpret and expound God's Word, they also must interpret and expound God's assembled people in light of God's Word.

In summary, the preacher has the tools of prayer, God's Word, and the regular experience of God's people to draw upon when considering how best to serve and lead God's people towards growing in faith. 

Tomorrow we will consider some of the considerations that went into the decision to preach through the book of Esther. Thursday we will consider some of the considerations that have led to the upcoming sermon series.