When it comes to preparing and preaching better sermons, half of the battle is learning how to write a sermon with ease.

Ask most pastors and they’ll tell writing sermons is one of the most stressful parts of their job… the truth is it really doesn’t have to be.

There is a better way of preparing sermons.

I’m going to give you 4 ways you can make writing your next sermon that bit easier.

Ready?

Let’s get straight to it!

1. Have a solid sermon system in place

Having a sermon system can save your hours of time each week, relieve stress by helping you get ahead and ultimately improve the quality of your preaching.

Ideas + Content + Preparation = A Solid Sermon System

An ideas system

Starting with a great idea is the first step.

Knowing how to gather and keep ideas and knowing the difference between a great idea and a mediocre one, because we all know no matter what you do, start off with a bad idea and you’ll end up with a bad sermon.

A content system

Approach the writing of your sermon with your end purpose in mind and your outline as the way you’re going to get there.

A preparation system

The better you prepare, the better you deliver – this means being intentional about blocking out set times for sermon prep and practicing ’til you’ve got it down.

Being prepared before the weekend means you get more time with your family and enter Sunday refreshed and ready.

2. Write sermons as a team

Whoever told you you have to sit and struggle in your study writing your sermon alone?

I work best when I’m bouncing off of others, hearing new angles and new, creative ways of approaching a topic.

Writing sermons as a team means it’s a shared responsibility. There’s no longer the pressure on your to come up with fresh and original sermons week after week and you can still have the final say.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Proverbs 15:22

3. Plan your preaching in monthly blocks

I think planning out your upcoming preaching in 4 week, 6 week or 8 week sermon series is one of the best things you can do to help relieve the pressure of writing sermons.

It gives you a theme or topic to work with and helps you plan ahead. not only that, it forces you to think more long-term about what kind of journey God wants to take your people in in the next year and ensures you’re teaching the whole Bible, not just your favourite go-to topics.

Here’s 12 sermon series ideas you can use to get your creative juices flowing.

4. Follow a simple sermon template

Having a basic structure or format in place means you’ll find writing sermons comes quicker, easier as you’ll be able to more naturally set your ideas into a coherent flow.

The sermon outline I’ve found mot effective for me personally comes from Brian Jones and it works because it’s well, as simple as 1, 2, 3…

Mark out your sermon outline in 3 10 minute blocks. That’s right your sermon will be 30 minutes in total.

1. Introduction – ‘the what’ (10 minutes)

The best way to start your sermon is by whetting people’s appetite for what you’re about to say. Too often we dive into the scripture text without introducing the topic or building any anticipation.

Present the problem you’re going to solve, raise the question you’re going to answer until people are on the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting what the answer or solution may be.

2. Explanation – ‘the why’ (10 minutes)

This is the part where you present God’s truth to your people. Use this time to explain what’s happening in the verse, give it context.

Remember you’ve only got 10 minutes so make them count – really teach here and don’t hold back.

3. Application – ‘the how’ (10 minutes)

Now you’ve given them the information, what do you want them to do with it?

Tell them how they can apply the Bible in their 21st century lives.

Get super specific and practical and give real-life examples.

Tell stories from your own life; anything to convince them to take action.

“The application section is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of your message. NOT the Bible teaching part.” – SeniorPastorCentral.com

Take some time right now to thinking about your next 3 months preaching.

Open up 10 Word documents and in each of them add these 3 headings. Leave space under each one to drop your content.

If you already know your sermon series title or scripture verse, add it in.

When you do this you’ll start to see something really cool happen – you’ll find creative ideas coming out of nowhere.

You’ll have light bulb moments like “Oh, I can use this for my APPLICATION in my sermon…” and so on.

Great preaching is the #1 trigger of church growth

Preaching has more impact on the overall growth and health of your church than anything else you do, combined.

It’s the biggest determining factor your visitors think about when deciding whether to come back the next week or not.

If you want to see a dramatic improvement in your preaching and be able to claim your Saturdays back from grueling sermon preparation there’s only ONE program I really recommend. Click here for the step-by-step preaching system I follow.