OK, I said that I would preach: Now What?

 

You prayed and searched the scriptures.

You have your scripture.

You have prayed and listened to what message to draw from it.

Your thoughts are coming, and you put them in writing.

Now keep thinking, praying, writing, rewriting, and see where that leads you. For most, it will lead to other scriptures and pericopes. Keep the main scripture, the main scripture, but don’t be surprised at the connections you make to the full biblical witness.

Now you are ready for delivery. Don’t start here. Let the message drive the delivery.

God is a God of order not disorder. Those who exhort his word are well advised to have some basic order (structure) to their messages. The Spirit will move where the Spirit moves, but most of us need some structure before we share what God has placed on our hearts.

There is not one way. You should have a grasp of your gifts and talents, but be unafraid to explore various means of preparation and delivery.

I found this online. It’s a simple but effective graphic that might be useful once you move to structure. Eventually, you will have some structure.

 

Once you are confident in what you are led to preach, challenge yourself with hard questions. Ask about the stuff that doesn’t seem to fit. This is called holy fun. Those who receive your message may never ever think of the hard questions, but you should.

Ask what nobody will ask you, then see where God sends you for answers. Not a single thought might enter your message, but you will have answered the questions for yourself. There is a fullness that comes with this. You are unafraid to see where God’s word leads you.

In the long run, ask if your message is true and faithful to God’s word.

Does it contain the good news? Yes, you are preaching to the saints, but your message, most likely focused on discipleship, needs to be connected to the gospel.

Is it connected to the current situation (world that we navigate as believers)?

Repeat the key points. Yes, repetition still has value.

Remember to balance challenge and support. The goal is growing in God’s grace (sanctification) not feeling good or feeling hopeless.

We are saved. We are to live for Christ. Your message usually resides within those boundaries.

Now preach it!