SERMON PREP AS SPIRITUAL FORMATION

SERMON PREP AS SPIRITUAL FORMATION

Monday, January 24th, 2022

SCRIPTURE:

8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8

THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

As we consider sacred rhythms for our own spiritual formation, I can’t help but to think of the sacred rhythm of preparing for a sermon every Sunday, week after week, year after year after year. If you are new to pastoral ministry and trying to find a routine or a way of sermon prep that works, here are some of my thoughts.

Contrary to what some colleagues may say, I have found that the time I spend preparing for a Sunday sermon highly contributes to my own spiritual formation.

Once a quarter, I break away for some intentional time to pray and discern what exactly the church needs to hear. Most often I tend to preach sermon series, speaking into a specific topic or theme that I have discerned the Church needs to hear. (Ex: a series on stress, anxiety, worry, in light of the pandemic). I will then plan accordingly looking at my personal calendar, church calendar of events, and the liturgical calendar of special Sundays, etc., to see what sermon would go best on each particular Sunday.

I then engage in the sacred rhythm of weekly reading, praying, listening, and writing. As I have already chosen the topic/theme many weeks or months before, during the week prior to the Sunday sermon, I “wrestle with the text” throughout the entirety of the week. I read devotionals, commentaries, and other spiritual reading, while staying attuned to the Spirit’s revelations as I go about my week. Let formation precede information. The people I see, the places I go, the experiences and conversations that I have, the things I read and listen to, all aid in the work of spiritual revelation and divine inspiration as I contemplate the Living Word.

I have found that while living with a text all day long, all week long, is both a blessing to me and the congregations I am serving. Sermon preparation as spiritual formation invites a sacred intersection and glorious meshing of the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and pastoral transparency and application, all which lend itself to great relativity and personal application for the congregations I serve.

FOR REFLECTION:

As you think about your own schedule, the time you spend having your own quiet time, the time you spend studying and reading, the time you spend writing your sermon, and of course the time you spend doing everything else that ministry demands of you, consider engaging in your sermon preparation as a personal spiritual practice of formation. For a congregation who is longing for transformation, to see and hear their pastor who has personally wrestled with God’s Word with great intentionality throughout the week, is a great blessing for you and them.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, I pray that as I prepare a message every week for my congregation(s), that you would reveal Yourself to me. Reveal Yourself to me, O God, in ways that are true and authentic to who You are and who You have called me to be. Be glorified O God as I study, read, and strive to live as Your disciple today and tomorrow and always. And may the words on my lips be Words that You would have me to share. And may the meditations of my heart, be those which are glorifying unto You O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Transform me O Lord by Your Living Word, and may Your Holy Spirit transform all those whom would hear Your Word on Sunday. I pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. – Amen

RESOURCE:

Preaching by Fred Craddock on “Wrestling with the text”