For years VH1 (a TV music channel) ran the show “Behind the Music” to tell the full story of certain bands and the songs they created. Well, today I want to take you for a few minutes behind the sermon.

Each week of the year I create a new 25-30 minute piece of material to share about God’s word. I have been doing this for over 23 years now. Only two of those 23 years have I preached less than 48 times in a calendar year. One year I took a sabbatical and one year I was moving to Alaska and the transition took longer than expected.

I tell you that because I have developed a simple plan for making sermons. Just to be clear I write all my own sermons. Yes, I have borrowed titles, topics, illustrations and even texts but I make the final product myself. In fact, each year I try to preach at least 30 sermons on topics or texts I have never spoke on before. This Sunday, for example, I will preach on the parable of the 10 bridesmaids in Matthew chapter 25. To the best of my recollection I have never spoke on this story, rather I have usually preached on the parable Jesus spoke after that one about sheep and goats.

As for my sermon preparation plan: First I plan the sermon out roughly months in advance. I come up with a topic, a title and often a text. Then the week of the sermon comes. On Monday I read the text and start gathering ideas. I hope to have a very rough outline by the end of the day. On Tuesday I try to spend all day on the sermon. My goal is to have 6 typed pages of an extended outline. On Wed. I review and add the final page. This day I spend the least amount of time on my sermon as I prepare for other things. On Thursday I finish the sermon in the morning. By this point I have read through my sermon at least 3 times. I have edited it at least 2 times.

Here comes the part that surprises people. I preach through the sermon from beginning to end every Thursday. Sometimes I preach it twice if it doesn’t go real well. I am simply trying to hear the flow of the sermon and take a mental picture of every page. Friday is my day off and Saturday is hit and miss with work. If it is a big sermon coming up like Easter I will preach through the sermon again at my house on Saturday night before bed. Saturday nights are always the same for me. I wake up every 2-3 hours and review what I am going to say in my mind.

Finally I wake up early on Sunday morning and drive to the Church building. One more time I preach through the sermon out loud in my office from beginning to end. I try to do it without notes and just occasionally check to make sure to see if I am missing anything.

That means by Sunday morning and I stand up to preach I have read through my sermon 5-6 times. I have preached through it 2-3 times. Often I am editing the sermon in my mind right up to the point it comes out of my mouth.

Why do all this? Mainly, I believe it honors God. If I am going to speak for Him I want to do my best. If a couple of hundred people are going to give me their time then I want to use it wisely. Practice is a drag but it is free. You can work hard, practice and then evaluate without any special skill. Through the years I have taken my limited skill and maximized it for God. My ultimate goal is NOT for anyone to say that I am a great preacher. My ultimate goal is that God will use my efforts to speak into someone’s life. If you want to know my simple secret to good preaching my answer is always, “Practice, practice, practice.” It makes you better and I think it honors God.