Every preacher has physical tendencies that unintentionally distract the audience. Sometimes these are known by the preacher and other times they are ticks and habits that must be pointed out to be changed. Public speaking in any context, and especially in a church setting, engages your whole mind and body. This means speakers can easily find themselves neglecting to pay attention to their body language and physical habits because they have to remember what to say … and everyone is watching.

All of us could use some coaching in this area. When I look back through videos of my sermons I notice more distracting physical tendencies than I care to admit! But there is hope and we can all overcome these by knowing what they are and working to eliminate them.

In this video we will explore five common physical distractions I’ve observed in preachers over the years. I’ve also seen a good amount of these in my own preaching and have sought to correct and eliminate them.

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In this video we explore 5 common habits preachers have that are a distraction from their message.

When we preach, we make points. But a point can only be effective when we are intentional about how we present it. In this video I discuss how to make sure each point is communicated clearly and effectively so your listeners understand them and know how to apply them.

In this series of posts, we have walked step-by-step through a proven-process to get you from a blank page to ready for Sunday in 7 Steps. In this final post we will look at the last three steps of writing a sermon.

In case you missed it, you can check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of this series to get caught up on the first four steps. Let’s dive into the final three steps:

Step 5: Get feedback BEFORE you preach it. 

There is a relatively huge mistake that a lot of pastors make on a routine basis: They preach their message without running the material by anyone first. This can be a huge problem because if you are the only one seeing your content you may miss something because we all have blindspots. You may think something makes perfect sense when it really doesn’t. You may think the points connect to the main idea when they really don’t. You may be on the right track but need a little guidance to make sure...

Have you ever wanted a step-by-step guide to creating a sermon from scratch? In this series of posts, we are unpacking a practical guide to go from a blank page to ready for Sunday in seven steps. If you work through the seven action steps in this series, you’ll have a sermon written and be ready to go.  You can check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series to get caught up on the first three steps. For today, let’s dive into step four:

Step 4: Craft your points. 

At this point in the process you have a workable outline that flows from building tension to resolving the tension with the text to applying the text and inspiring action. At this point it is especially important to have well-crafted points that give you listeners a way to navigate with you through your sermon and see how it works for them.

principles to keep in mind when developing your points:

Every point should tie back to your main idea.

If it doesn’t, either change...

In this series of posts, we are discovering a practical guide to go from a blank page to ready for Sunday in seven steps. If you work through the seven action steps in this series, you’ll have a sermon written and be ready to go. In Part 2 of this series we looked at second step which is to dig into Scripture. You can check that out here. If you missed part 1 you can check it out here. For today, let’s dive into step three:

Step 3: Build an outline. At this point in your study you have established a topic, title and hook. You have thoroughly studied the primary passage of scripture and other supporting texts. You have taken notes on what you’ve observed from the passages. As you’ve taken notes your thoughts have began to form around what you would want to communicate in a sermon. Some of the heavy lifting is over because at this point you’ve done so much foundational work that the sermon structure should come...

In this series of posts, I am revealing a practical guide to go from a blank page to ready for Sunday in seven steps. If you work through the seven action steps in this series, you’ll have a sermon written and be ready to go. In Part 1 of this series we looked at step one which was to determine a topic, title and hook. If you haven’t checked out that post yet, find it here. For today, let’s dive into step two:

Step 2: Dig into the Scripture. 

Once you’ve selected a passage of scripture to work from you should begin studying it first. If you are working with a topic and you need to find where the Bible addresses it you could use BibleGateway.com, YouVersion.com or Biblehub.com to search for passages that deal with that topic. It’s good to anchor your message to a particular passage of Scripture and then pull in other supporting texts as needed to support and bolster your points.

How do you study a passage to preach on it?

In...

In a series of posts entitled “So You Think You Can Preach? 6 Steps to Get Started Preaching” I walked through at all the ways to pursue preaching opportunities for those who are just beginning as a preacher. I suggested starting where you are… in your Bible study or small group… and continuing to look for opportunities to preach outside of that. Today I want to take you to the next level and reveal how to write a sermon.

 So, let’s say you’ve led some Bible studies and small groups and you’re feeling relatively confident about teaching in small group contexts. But recently your pastor has tapped you on the shoulder and said, “Would you preach on Sunday night in two weeks?” Or you got a call from a church that is without a pastor and have been asked to fill in next Sunday.

Where do I start?

This is so exciting! This is what you’ve been waiting for! But you have some aching questions: What do I do?...