How do you stay fresh as a pastor? I have been asked that question many times over the years. As pastors, we spend much of our time preparing to preach. We carefully exegete the passage. The author’s intent, historical/cultural context and textual analysis play important roles in our exegesis. The danger is that sermon prep becomes an academic exercise – a technical skill we develop or a professional task we perform. Professional sermon creators preach shallow messages because our sermons come from shallow hearts. Preachers can substitute technical skills for spiritual depth leading to superficial sermons. How do we prep our souls to preach soul refreshing sermons?

Evangelicals, traditionally, have separated reading the Bible to refresh our souls and reading the Bible to preach sermons. The first is devotions and the second is sermon preparation. Our devotions must be distinguished from our exegesis. “I had such a sweet time in my devotions this week that I decided not to prepare a sermon and share with you what I learned in my devotions,” one pastor said, implying that devotions are more spiritual than sermon prep. The implication is that exegesis is my job, but devotions nourish my soul. It is a false dichotomy. Our exegesis must always be devotional, and our devotions must always be exegetical. Sermon prep that is not soul prep is hypocrisy. Professional sermon prep leads to shallow preaching. I nourish my soul as I prepare to preach or else I am merely a salesman selling a product.

 

The best way to preach soul nourishing sermons is to study the Bible to nourish my soul. Prayer is the key. J. Kent Edwards calls it “closet work” (Deep Preaching: Creating Sermons That Go Beyond the Superficial). Closet work is essential for preaching and prayer is essential for closet work. As I am doing my exegesis, I am praying for the Lord to teach me from His Word. I should never read the Word of God professionally. The sermon is not for others until it is for me first! My sermon prep is soul prep. How do I stay fresh as a pastor? I prayerfully ask myself at least two questions as I am studying the passage of Scripture for the sermon.

If I believe that “all Scripture” is “profitable” for me (2 Tim. 3:16-17), then I must believe that God wants to teach me through the passage of the Bible that I am studying. We, pastors, often criticize others for listening to the sermon and thinking about how it applies to someone else instead of themselves. We are no different. The temptation is strong to study a passage of the Bible and immediately think about how it applies to people in our churches. We think, “John needs to hear this message,” but invariably John doesn’t show up that Sunday to hear the message we prepared for him! Preaching “at” others and not ourselves is homiletical prostitution. When people say that they don’t want to be preached “at” they are talking about this kind of preaching. Sermon prep divorced from soul prep leads to preaching “at” people. Our listeners need to see authenticity in us. They need to see that God’s Word penetrates our souls before they will believe that it can penetrate their souls.

Good preaching is God-centered. We learn about God from God’s Word. I must not only ask what does this passage teach me about me but what does this passage teach me about God. Every time I study the Bible, I should seek a fresh encounter with God. Every sermon should seek to lead people to a fresh encounter with God. If I have a fresh encounter with God in my preparation to preach, then others will have a fresh encounter with God through my preaching. Since I am part of a community of faith, my sermons are part of our corporate worship. I invite others to join me in worshiping God through the study of His Word. Some say, “what about reaching non-Christians?” I firmly believe that authentic worship is infectious. Non-Christians are drawn by God’s Spirit to our faith when they see authentic worship in our churches.

 

People want to see us being real and real worship demonstrates humility. We submit to God in worship as we submit to God in His Word. Therefore, I practice a personal ritual each Sunday morning in my private prayer time. I pray, “Lord this sermon is my offering of worship to you today. Be pleased as I humble myself before you in worship.”

 

Let’s be real!

If the message doesn’t grab us, it won’t grab them!