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Justin Buzzard: How I Prepare a Sermon
My three-stage plan for writing a message in 15 hours
posted 05/30/11
Several years ago as a staff pastor, I developed the following process for writing my sermons in three stages, requiring a total of 15 hours. I'm a church planter now, so this has become the ideal, subject to real-world demands.
I. Tilling the Soil: Study the Text, and Structure the Sermon
This stage ...
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Matthew Stephens
I've read this before (or at least a version of it) and it's been helpful. However, the 15-hour thing is totally unrealistic, at least for me. I probably spend 5 hours just translating the text and working through all the issues, a couple of hours getting the exegetical outline, 5 more reading through commentaries for background and critical issues, and then at least 5 distilling the big idea and developing the homiletical outline. The initial writing process itself easily takes 5 hours, and hunting down or developing illustrations is another 2 or 3. I rarely have time to rewrite, but would if I could. And I rarely have time to rehearse it out loud. If I could do all these things in less time, don't you know I would!
Sharon Saulsby
I enjoyed this article very much. I have been taught in my expository preaching to have my "stew simmering" by saturday night. So, that means by Friday night I should have pulled it all together with the last read over before I go to bed on Saturday night. Because I know that I will need a good night sleep, should I take time out of my rest to get up earlier to read it agin on sunday morning?