The preachers who preach better sermons are the ones who are always learning, always growing.

Investing in yourself as a preacher is one of the best investments you can make and the whole church benefits.

In fact, when Thom Rainer surveyed hundreds of unchurched or newly-churched people he found that 90% chose a church based on the preacher and preaching.

Great Preaching grows your church.

Preaching better sermons means your people will be more engaged.

The result?

More life transformation.

And ultimately that’s the goal, right?

That’s why, to make it easier, I want to share with you 4 simple steps you can take right now to better your preaching skills.

Let’s do this!

1. Get Practical Preaching Coaching

You may have heard the saying, “The man who thinks he knows it all, knows nothing.”

This is so true!

As soon as we stop learning we stop improving and we stagnate as a preacher.

Everybody knows a fresh and passionate preacher when they see one.

Your church congregation can sense when the sermon is hot out of the revelation oven or just the dried scraps from your sermons of yesteryear…

A few years ago I felt like I was plateauing in my sermons…

I was still as passionate as ever and people still said “Nice sermon” after the service, but inside I knew I had to get some fresh vision and inspiration.

Actually what I needed was step-by-step guidance and practical help with my sermon prep and delivery, which is why I embarked on a mission to find the best preaching courses out there.

Some are better than others, but here are the top ones I’ve taken so far…

2. Read About Preaching

I remember once talking to a young man in his final year of college who felt that maybe God was calling him to be a pastor.

I offered him a few books that he could read to help him weigh up his decision.

“I’m not much of a reader.” he said.

“Well, then you won’t be much of a pastor.” I responded without thinking too much about it.

I think this poor guy was slightly surprised by my strong reaction.

In affect what I was saying was either become a reader or choose a different career path.

I strongly believe that those who have the responsibility of preaching in the church have a responsibility to always be investing into themselves to be the best they can be.

With the vast amount of resources available to us now, we can learn how to do almost anything without ever needing to step into a classroom.

Reading books about preaching and subscribing to blogs about preaching are the best way to gleam from the best preachers and communicators of our time.

Though you’d probably never have the chance to meet with the authors face to face, reading books from great preachers gives you access to how they plan a sermon, come up with ideas, and tell stories.

There are a lot of great books preaching, but my top recommended book has to be Preaching Killer Sermons by Lane Sebring.

While there are a ton of books that focus on the mechanical side of expository preaching and sermon structure (which is necessary), this super practical book shows you how to communicate more effectively as a preacher.

3. Watch Good Sermons

You want to copy no one but gleam from everyone.

Now more than ever before you have access to hundreds of great preachers with just a click of a mouse.

You can learn, grow, get ideas, and be inspired by some of the best preachers in the world.

With podcasts, YouTube videos, websites and blogs this really is the best time in history to learn how to preach better sermons.

Here is a list of today’s top preachers whose sermons I’m currently listening to.

4. Watch Yourself Preach

As painful as this might sound, watching yourself preach is one of the most effective ways to preach better sermons.

Andy Stanley, pastor of Northpoint Community Church watches himself back every week.

If you’ve ever seen this guy you know he’s a brilliant preacher!

If anyone could have said, “You know what, I’m good. I don’t need to get better.” it would have been him.

Instead, Andy has hungry for self-improvement and was willing to cringe a little at himself if that meant he could self-evaluate and improve.

You might be thinking right now, “Oh I can’t stand to watch myself on video!” 

But yes you can. Just do it.

Take notes and improve. Watch (don’t just listen) to your sermons and see what you’re actually putting people through each week 🙂

If your church doesn’t video record the weekly sermons then try to change that.

In the meantime, just set up your phone inconspicuously in front of you and right as you’re about to launch into your sermon and hit the record button.

You can give these preaching evaluation forms to others to give you feedback on both the content and delivery of your sermon.