PERSONAL PREPARATION

Preparing to preach begins with the heart, soul, and mind of the preacher

1. Pray and ask God to personally:
   1. convict your heart with the text
   2. challenge your life with the text
   3. illuminate your understanding with the text
   4. sanctify your whole being with the text
2. Sanctify your study
   1. Set aside time to study and prepare in the presence of God
   2. Defend your study and preparation time
3. Meditate on the text until
   1. Christ takes hold of you through the text
   2. Christ indwells you through the text
   3. Christ softens your heart to the text
4. Examine yourself
   1. Am I humbled before God
   2. Am I submitted to God
   3. Am I honoring and revering the word of God
   4. Am I personally prepared to preach the word of God

Preparing to preach is as much about preparing one’s heart, soul, and mind to become a vessel for the proclamation of God’s word as it is about acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to write and preach a sermon.

The preacher brings his whole being, life, vulnerabilities, expectations, hopes, vision, dreams, and fears into every lesson he preaches; therefore, the preacher should bring his whole being, life, all of his vulnerabilities, expectations, hopes, vision, dreams, and fears before God when preparing to preach God’s word so that he can be made adequate by the grace of Christ.

Every point in this guide will look slightly different as God calls preachers of many different backgrounds to declare his glory and demonstrate his grace.  The aim, therefore, is to become personally fit to “preach the word of God” in the presence of Christ and his kingdom.

VIEW THE REST OF THE GUIDE HERE:

Beginner’s Guide to Creating A Sermon