Preaching Do’s and Don’ts
And One Bonus Tip That Will Improve Your Service Immediately
By Josh Roberie
What is your routine for preparing messages for your church? Is there any wisdom that has become a cornerstone of how you prepare? Are you someone who is always looking to improve on your craft of communication? In this article, you discover some message prep do’s and don’ts that will help you no matter your delivery style.
Planning, writing, practicing, and presenting your messages are integral to pastoring your church. Engaging members on Sundays with a clear and compelling message will fill your church with energy and encourage people to invite others to church.
DO - Preach From the Overflow
The best messages do not come from those who study the most but have spent time with Jesus. The priority of message prep is to fill your cup before attempting to fill someone else’s. When you begin preparing a message, your cup should already overflow with time spent with God.
DO NOT - Only Read Your Bible to Prepare a Message
It can become easy to read the Bible for “others” when constantly writing messages. This happens when God reveals something to you in His Word, and you immediately see how it can fit into a message instead of how it can apply to you. Living out your message will only strengthen what you teach others.
DO - Write as Things Come to You
When an idea comes to you, or you have a moment of inspiration, go ahead and write it down. This does not mean you have to write the majority of the message as soon as you have a moment of inspiration. Keeping track of your ideas will give you a head start when you are able to sit down to write. Instead of trying to remember a clever thought you had early, you already have it stored away. You may not preach that principle this week, but it can be something that you build out over the next few months.
DO NOT - Write Your Message at One Time
Your message should be like an onion that reveals layers as it is shared. This is difficult to accomplish without stepping away and revisiting what you have written later. Rushing a message in one sitting takes away from the depth and the critical revisions that will add much-needed clarity to your thoughts. When you return to something you have written, focus on making it more concise over expanding what you have already written. Do not be afraid to go in a different direction as the message grows.
DO - Get Input From Others
What makes sense to you may come across differently than you expect to others. Getting input from others helps you process your message’s ideas and brings in much-needed perspective to sharpen your points. You never know how what someone says about your message may inspire you in a way being alone with your own thoughts can not.
DO NOT - Rely Only on Yourself for Message Prep
When you do not open yourself up to feedback before and after a message, you ensure that you only connect with people who think and see the world exactly like you. If you want a diverse audience, you need to have diversity in the people helping you generate ideas and evaluate what’s best in your messages.
DO - Leave Them Wanting More
No one ever complained because a message was too short, but many church members have left saying a sermon was too long. One preacher said, “Once the net is full, bring in the net.” There is no reason to keep going once they are already “in the net.” Focus on taking people on a journey each week, one step at a time.
DO NOT - Take Advantage of People’s Time
You will always have more to say on a topic, but it is always better to leave them wanting more than regretting having too much. If you continue to go over your message time, week after week, people will begin to feel taken advantage of during your message. If you try to accomplish everything in one day, you better do it because you may not get another chance.
BONUS TIP!
More momentum is lost during transitions than any other part of the church service. Just because those moments are short does not mean they are not a priority. If you are going to do a transition during your church service, make sure to rehearse your segues. If you are playing a video, you need to know precisely how much time your videos will take and what you will do with the time before and after. You should think through every transition detail. Doing this will keep the energy flowing into your message until the last person is out of the auditorium.
Josh is a ministry leader, communicator, and creative who helps train and coach church planters at the Association of Related Churches (ARC). He has written Believe Again: Finding Faith After Losing Religion and has contributed to many ministry publications, including Relevant Magazine. You can stay connected to Josh through his blog JoshRoberie.com and Social Media at @JoshRoberie.