Ask any pastor and they’ll tell you the same thing:
Sermon prep is the biggest stress for pastors.
We put a heck of a lot of pressure on ourselves to come up with powerful sermons every week because we want our churches to thrive.
We want our members to reach their full potential.
We want to reach more people.
But have you ever had that late Saturday night feeling where you know you know you’re not quite where you want to be yet with your sermon?
Then there are the creeping doubts every preacher experiences:
What if I see people’s eyes glazing over when I’m preaching?
What if it just doesn’t connect the way I want it to?
How can I deliver fresh, impactful sermons week in and week out?
So what do we do?
We:
- Read books about preaching
- Check out blogs about preaching
- Take online preaching courses
All in an effort to try and prepare and present sermons better.
These things can help for sure, but by far the best way to take the stress out of sermon preparation and preach better is to use a sermon system.
That’s right.
Follow the right sermon system and you stay ahead of your preaching schedule, get your Saturdays back and free up more time for other things in your life.
Elevate Your Preaching With Killer Sermons Academy 🎙️
Great Sermons Come From Great Sermon Systems
Ever wanted to know what sermon systems the pastors of the fastest-growing churches use?
I know I have.
They preach fresh, powerful sermons Sunday after Sunday on top of leading a big church with everything that comes with that.
So what’s their secret?
Today you’re going to find out.
Here’s a live stream with Ben Crawshaw and Gavin Adams where they reveal the systems and techniques pastors like you can use to save yourself 20 hours each week.
(I’ve listed the main points below.)
Effective preaching comes from having these 3 sermon systems in place:
1) An idea system
2) A content system
3) A preparation system
1. An Idea System
A mediocre idea will always end up with a mediocre sermon no matter how hard you try. Starting with a great idea is the first step.
Your ideas can come from anywhere – from something you’ve read, from taking note of the issues you’re facing in your own life, from the pressing needs of those around you. Sometimes a single word is enough to trigger a great sermon series.
But how do you if your idea is a great idea?
Here’s a simple test.
Does your idea:
a) Solve a problem?
b) Answer a question?
c) Unveil a mystery?
Don’t feel like you have to come up with never before heard concept or be 100% original. Feel free to borrow ideas from other places and make them your own.
2. A Content System
Now it’s time to flesh out your idea.
The most effective, time-saving way of prepping a sermon is by starting with the end goal in mind.
Have a clear picture of where you want to take your people then create your outline as the journey to get there.
Start by asking these 3 questions:
1. What’s the one thing I want them to know?
2. What do I want them to do?
3. How can I help them remember?
Structuring your sermon
Every good sermon has 5 key elements:
1. Introduction – You outline the problem or the question you’re going to solve or answer and connect with the audience through your experiences and theirs.
2. Tension – Before you get into the answer, tell them why they need to know this and what difference it will make in their lives.
3. Truth – Share God’s freedom-giving truth.
4. Application – Tell them what they can now do with this information to make this a reality in their lives.
5. Conclusion – End with a memorable statement. use stories that will highlight your main point and bring it to a close.
3. A Preparation System
Having a sermon preparation system means you don’t have to spend hours struggling to come up with a plan of execution.
The better you prepare, the better you deliver – this means following simple systems that make preparation easier, quicker and more efficient.
When it comes to having a preparation system here are 4 things to keep in mind:
a) Block and protect time
Be sure you plan out specific time slots when you can get yourself to a distraction-free place where you can focus solely on working on your sermon outline.
b) Internalize as you revise
Rehearse your points, verses, illustrations and stories 5-7 times during the week. This’ll mean you know the sermon almost by heart without the need to memorise every line or read off of notes.
c) Be ready before Saturday
Add your finishing touches and rehearse all before Saturday. Give yourself Saturdays to spend time with family and relax. This’ll mean you go into Sunday fully prepared, energised and confident.
Ready To Save 16-20 Hours A Week?
Ideas + Content + Preparation = A Great Sermon System
Most pastors are overworked and feel like there are not enough hours in the week to get everything that needs to be done in the ministry and still have enough time to work on their sermons.
This is a big problem.
What would you do if you could reclaim an extra 16-20 hours each week for the next month with a proven step-by-step sermon system?
What difference would that make to your family life, your relationships and your ministry?
Would you spend more quality time with your kids? Exercise? Go shopping with your spouse? Go on a fishing trip? Take the people you love on a vacation?
This proven sermon system has already helped 1000s of pastors just like you to take the stress and hard work out of sermon preparation.
Now it’s your turn.
I’m preparing to give my first sermon at a small home church a week on Sunday and, frankly, I’m bricking it! These points are tremendously helpful, as was your 7 Top Tips article.
Need support!
I am in school preparing my trial sermon. these points are very helpful.
That’s great to hear Evelyn, I’m sure you’ll do great!
Also take a look at How To Preach A Sermon (A Beginner’s Guide), that post has had over 1 million views and I believe it’ll give you some helpful pointers.
God bless! 🙂
I am really blessed.
I Thank You so much for this work. I am a new Minister [2 years], and have not mastered all that many Clergy have with the many years of experience. This piece of work has helped me so much , in being able to save time and get right to it [ creating sermon’s ] rather than pondering for hours and sometimes for day on something that will be meaningful and a strong connecting point and growing Point for our people.
Thank You again , and God Bless you , for All that you Do.
Hey, thanks for the encouragement and I’m really glad this has been helpful.
I have never heard of that but to prepare a good sermon must be a huge effort and wisdom of your own. Thus, you have to be very passionate about it or it has to be like your special mission. Dedication is mandatory like nowhere else.
So any additional help and material are useful and handy to bring new ideas and thoughts. But it is not always so easy to tell or to do what you want to or simply see. You must have or find something. I am glad that you have to offer people some help with 3 Step Sermon System.
Thanks for a great review and introduction.
Regards
Tomas
Very informative post indeed, thank you.
I am not an ordained pastor but I regularly preach in our local church; I also conduct pre-worship Bible studies. And considering that I have a full time day job, I sometimes find myself stressing out about what sermon to preach on my scheduled dates. So I often ask: What is it that the congregation need to hear?
I believe that having a system in coming up with a sermon is a great idea. I have been reading books about effective preaching and most if not all of them included these 3 sermon systems: idea, content and preparation.
You said that a great sermon begins with a great idea such as that which will solve a problem, answer a question or unveil a mystery. However, a sermon should have a Bible text or passage as base, do you agree? So what do think is the best way to incorporate a biblical text or passage into the sermon, without committing the common error of “proof-texting?” I mean, it’s easy to get caught up in this error when doing a topical sermon.
Do you recommend gathering all biblical texts and passages relating to the sermon topic? And how do you pick which ones to include or exclude, taking into consideration the length of time you have to deliver the sermon?
Hey there,
I was always interested in the whole process behind creating a sermon, which in my eyes is quite similliar in few ways to content creation to Your website! It was really interesting to learn the importance of the idea system, how it operates and how to see if You have a good idea for sermon (I am talkign about those 3 questions You’ve mentioned). I was also quite fascinated by how Sermon is structured and what key elements it posses and requires to complete & follow in order to provide valuable and captivating Sermon! Keep up the good work and have a great day! 😉
I never really knew that pastors go through this sort of stress in preparing for sermons. I always go to church and just feel that these sermons come easy and when I see them connecting to their congregation I always felt some of them where born that way to be able to speak and pass the message they intend to pass.
I do know that sometimes the holy spirit has something to do with the way a pastor connects more in some particular service but if that does not come there must be a lot of planning going on behind the scenes. This was a good read and was really an eye opener.
Im not a Pastor, what I am though is a person who enjoys a great upbeat sermon.
Boredom is what got me to leave the church in the first place but exciting sermons got me back. I think it is so important for preachers to show especially the young kids coming up that the Christian life can be fun. This would guarantee more and more people attending and believing.
Beautiful, Simon! Thank you for this post. Your ideas about how to construct a good sermon would work just as well for constructing a good post. The ability to communicate in a meaningful way that touches people’s hearts and minds is the first prerequisite for being a good preacher, I think. The same ability is what a good writer strives for.
Hi Simon
Although am not myself a pastor, my Father was, and I can totally relate to the time it takes to write a compelling sermon.
My Father was a great family man, but that made it even harder for his family to leave him alone for the considerable time it took him to write his sermons, especially on a Saturday night when we all wanted to be together!
I really wish that he had had the opportunity to read your post, but of course that was not possible.
I think that all pastors and their families will bless you when they get to read and implement your post.
Very many thanks
Chrissie 🙂