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Why Planning Your Preaching Matters

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You can easily tell the difference between a well-prepared meal and one that was just thrown together at the last minute. If you eat all your meals at fast-food restaurants, you likely won’t be healthy. The same is true if you feed your church fast-food sermons. You can’t grow a healthy church on sermons you don’t prepare with care. When you skimp on sermon preparation, your church gets cheated. That’s why sermon planning is so important. I know many pastors who don’t plan their preaching at all. They wake up every Monday morning asking themselves, “What am I going to preach on this week?” Some pastors don’t plan because they believe spirituality and spontaneity go together. There’s a constant tension between the human and the divine in what God does through people, whether it’s preaching or something else. When it comes to planning, we need to depend upon the Holy Spirit. We need to be willing to throw everything out if the Holy Spirit tells us to do so. Our sermons must be about God’s agenda, not ours. Yet planning is also biblical. The Bible tells us that God himself plans. Ephesians 1:11 says that God works out everything according to this plan. Jesus had a timetable, and he followed it. He would often say, “I must go to Jerusalem,” and “I must be about my Father’s business.” He knew where he was going and when he’d be there. If God the Father and Jesus planned, shouldn’t you plan your preaching? Why is planning so important?

It helps us offer a balanced diet.

When we plan, we can ensure our preaching ministry covers all the areas important to spiritual growth. Your congregation needs to grow in worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. Most likely, you’re wired to favor one of those purposes naturally. Planning makes sure you cover all five regularly.

We can collect material far in advance.

If you know you’ll be covering a topic some time during the year, you can save items on that topic any time you see something that relates to it. You’ll capture illustrations, biblical research, testimonials, and so on, and when it’s time to preach the sermon, you’ll have an abundance of material to choose from.

We can be more creative.

With more time spent on planning, we can add other features to support the message. It’s hard to add a testimony or special music when we decide on a topic on Thursday.

We can build momentum.

With a well-planned sermon calendar, our sermons can build upon one another. I’ve preached sermon series on recovery, purpose, confidence, and so on, where each sermon built upon the last one. It builds tremendous momentum as people get excited about the next message because of what they’ve experienced from the current one you’re preaching.

We can take advantage of special days for evangelism.

I always announce and start a new series at Easter. Then I invite people back for the second part of the series the following week. And at Christmas, I invite people back to our New Year’s sermon series. You can do that on other major days during your church year, such as Mother’s Day, too.

We can more effectively promote a series in advance if we’ve planned for it.

People are more likely to bring a friend if they know the sermons coming up. Tell your congregation that next week you’re preaching on depression, and they can bring their friends who struggle with it. If you don’t know what the sermon will be from week to week, how do you know who to invite?

Planning is a stress-reliever.

Without a plan, you have the constant stress of indecision. Pastors know that indecision is a killer. It will freeze everything in your ministry. If you know where you’re headed, you can work on crafting your message and not spend your time worrying about what’s next. If you’ve never planned your sermons, start small. Don’t try to plan out an entire year. Start with a four-week sermon series with titles. Once you have an entire month planned, then plan a quarter, and then half a year. Look into scheduling a regular sermon-planning retreat. Lloyd Ogilvie would spend the entire summer in Scotland planning and writing his sermons for the next year. Most of us can’t go to Scotland for sermon planning, but we can go somewhere quiet to pray about what God wants us to preach. Developing a good sermon plan will be worth your time and effort.

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Your Life Is Father-Filtered

“There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. . . . When your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”1 Peter 1:6–7 (NLT)Pastor, the challenges you’re walking through right now are not random. They’re not meaningless. And they’re not unnoticed by God.The long nights, the unanswered texts, the critics who question your heart, the weariness that lingers after Sunday—none of it is wasted.God is not only aware of your circumstances, but he’s also weaving them into something meaningful. He’s shaping your heart, your ministry, and your message through both the celebrations and the sufferings.Nothing touches your life—or your ministry—without first passing through your heavenly Father’s loving hands. Everything is Father-filtered.Let’s be clear: God doesn’t cause all things. Sin, suffering, and the brokenness of this world often wreak havoc on the people you serve, and on your own life, too. But while God doesn’t cause everything, he never wastes anything.As a pastor, you carry wounds no one sees. You bear burdens that sometimes feel like they outweigh the joy. But God is the master of redemption. He takes the hardest parts of ministry and uses them to refine you and build his Kingdom.He let Paul be imprisoned so a jailer could be saved. He let Jesus suffer so the world could be redeemed. He can take what feels like a crucifixion in your ministry—and bring about resurrection.The trials you want removed may be the very ones God is using to form you into the shepherd he’s calling you to be.The Bible promises: “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. . . . When your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:6–7 NLT).God is at work—even in your weariness, even in your pain. And the fruit of your faithful endurance will far outweigh the struggles you face today.

You Know How the Story Ends

“So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”2 Corinthians 4:18 (TLB)Ministry can feel like you're carrying the weight of everyone else's sorrow on top of your own. You stand with grieving families. You comfort the hurting. You preach with passion, even when your heart feels dry. And after a long Sunday, you might wonder if any of it is making a difference.But, pastor, you know how the story ends.That changes everything.Your tension goes down when you know the end of the story. When you don’t have to wonder if things will turn out badly, it affects your perspective and your attitude. This is why believers in Christ grieve differently from the rest of the world.When believers lose family or friends who are also believers, they grieve because they miss the person who is gone, but they also know they are in a far better place—in heaven, with God, forever. In a sense, we grieve for ourselves because we have to find a way forward without our loved one. But we grieve with hope because we know the end of the story: One day, we will join them in heaven and be with God forever. You can have hope, even when there is loss. How? You’ve got to get a bigger perspective and a longer view. You’ve got to refocus your attention. You’ve got to stop thinking about just the here-and-now and start living as if there is much more to your story. This life is not all there is! If you just look at today and what’s happening right now, you’re going to be hopeless. But if you can see what’s happening to you in light of eternity, you’ll realize that this life is preparation for the next. God is getting you ready for eternal life. Remember: You know how the story ends. The “end” is really the beginning—of an eternity with Christ in heaven!The Living Bible paraphrase says it like this: “So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 TLB).

The Best Preaching Habit You Haven’t Started Yet

Pastor, don’t go through a single day without collecting something for a future sermon.Seriously. If you’ll start developing this habit, you’ll save hours in preparation—and your sermons will be richer, deeper, and more effective.I’ve been a collector for decades. Not as a hobby, but as a preaching strategy. Whether I’m reading Scripture, a newspaper, a blog, or even a comment card, I’m always looking for something that might be helpful later.Here’s how you can build your own habit of collecting.1. Start with Scripture.Even if I’m preaching from a single verse or passage, I want to know everything God says on that subject. That’s why I begin every message by collecting related verses. It helps me frame each message in light of the whole counsel of God’s Word.You can build this habit by memorizing Scripture. When you internalize God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will often bring just the right verse to mind when you’re preparing a sermon—or even when you’re not.Before I ever preached The Purpose Driven Life series, I had studied and filed over a thousand verses. That preparation gave the series its depth. It took time—but it was worth it.2. Use the right tools.When I started out, collecting verses meant spreading concordances across my desk. Today, I use Bible software. If you’re not using digital tools, you’re missing a huge timesaver.Use them to search for keywords, to gather cross-references, and to group related passages. It will save you hours—and sharpen your biblical insight.3. Collect more than verses.Don't stop at Scripture. I collect:QuotesArticlesBook titlesComment cardsMagazine coversNews storiesAnything that moves meI clip. I screenshot. I save digital files. I print Amazon book pages if a title looks useful. If something grabs my attention, I save it.You’ll be amazed at how much this adds to your preaching—not just as illustrations, but as ways to help people connect biblical truth with real life.4. Create a bucket file system.You don’t need a fancy system. I use simple letter-sized plastic buckets from the store. When I find something worth saving, I label it with a possible topic and drop it in.You don’t have to be organized. You just have to collect.You can also build a digital version of your bucket file on your computer. Save articles, images, or quotes by topic, and use your search function to find what you need later.5. Ask others to help.You don’t have to do all the collecting yourself. I’ve had a volunteer research team for years. I let them know what topics I’m preparing for, and they look for articles, quotes, and illustrations that might be helpful.I keep two simple rules:Don’t expect a response.Don’t expect your material back (make a copy if you need it).6. Build for the long haul.One of the most effective sermon series I’ve ever preached was on Psalm 23. Over six weeks, 446 people gave their lives to Christ.What made the series so fruitful? I’d been collecting insights, books, and ideas on Psalm 23 for over 20 years.When it came time to preach, I wasn’t starting from scratch—I was drawing from a deep well.7. Don’t miss a day.Don’t let a single day go by without collecting something. It will make a lifetime of difference in your preaching.This habit won’t just improve your sermons. It will energize your study, fuel your creativity, and deepen your walk with God.

A New Year’s Reset

A new year is always a great time for a reset. For most people, January 1 is not just another day on the calendar. We use it as an opportunity for a fresh start with our schedules, our fitness plans, and our budgets. But it’s also a time for a fresh start in our ministries—a time to let go of the past year’s struggles and embrace what God has in store for us this year.Paul gives us a great blueprint for how we can do this when he writes, “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT). We all need this kind of reset as we head into a new year. Maybe your 2024 didn't go as you hoped. You feel the momentum slipping away. A new ministry has struggled. Attendance and giving are declining. You’ve faced personal setbacks that have left you feeling uncertain about your leadership.That's okay. God specializes in giving us fresh starts. You see it all the time in the Bible. Just read the Old Testament prophets, where God constantly promised his people he was going to do something new in their midst. In the Message paraphrase of Hosea 14:6, God says, “I will make a fresh start with Israel.” And in Zechariah 10:6, again in the Message paraphrase, God says, “I’ll put muscle in the people of Judah; I’ll save the people of Joseph. I know their pain and will make them good as new. They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own GOD, I’ll do what needs to be done for them.”God's mercies are brand new for you and your ministry, too. But if you want 2025 to be a better year, you'll need to let go of some things.   Let go of 2024’s baggageEven in the best years, we have disappointments. That’s normal. You can’t erase them. You can’t have last year back. But forgetting the past, as Paul describes in Philippians 3, isn’t about erasing the past. Instead, it’s about not letting it control you or limit what God will do through you in 2025.So what from the past year should you not let control you in 2025?Resentment - You can’t lead effectively when you’re weighed down by unforgiveness. It’s like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.Control over outcomes - Often it feels like everything is riding on your decisions. But control is an illusion. God is ultimately in charge. He’s better at running your ministry than you are.Unrealized expectations - Impossible expectations that everything has to be perfect—your preaching, your leadership, your family—are a recipe for burnout. Past failures - Not everything went the way you would have wanted in 2024. Some of your best-laid plans flopped. Every pastor has some regrets. But those regrets about 2024 can’t change anything about 2025. Learn from your mistakes; don’t wallow in them. If you’re tied to yesterday’s failures, you can’t embrace the future.Spend some time at the beginning of the year writing down the resentments, attempts to control outcomes, unrealized expectations, and failures that weighed you down in 2024. Name them. Learn from them. Then release them to God. It’s time to move forward. Seize the opportunities God has for 2025Once you’ve let go of the weights of the past, you’re free to step boldly into the opportunities God has prepared for you. This new year isn’t just about leaving things behind; it’s about moving forward in faith.Paul said he was “looking forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13 NLT). You can’t look behind and ahead at the same time. So, once you’re facing forward, how do you seize the opportunities in front of you?Say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones. God doesn’t expect you to do everything. You don’t have the time, and not everything is worth doing. Say no to the opportunities God is not leading you into.Evaluate every opportunity. When an opportunity comes up, make sure it aligns with the vision God has given you for your life and ministry. Not every good opportunity is a good fit for you and your church. God has prepared some of those opportunities for other churches. Just because you don’t do it doesn’t mean it won’t be done. Stay flexible. Opportunities come in a specific window. You may have specific plans you’re looking at for the upcoming year—but recognize that God can change them in a heartbeat. He may ask you to set aside one plan in order to embrace a new opportunity. Proverbs 10:5 tells us, “A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest” (GNT).Don’t be so infatuated with your plans that you’re not ready to gather the harvest when God prepares it for you!The 2025 God has planned for you and your church will have both battles and blessings. Be prepared for both. Pursuing God’s best for 2025 won’t be easy. But God will be with you every step of the way. He will keep his promises.