Steps to Develop the Sermon

We get down to the actual business of preparing a sermon. Rev. Ingersoll sets out the process in five steps. Note that it takes him anywhere from 15-30 hours to work through this process in a week. In congregations where a pastor has fewer people on staff to help, it may have to be more along the lines of 10 hours. Obviously, the more time you have to set aside for preparation, the more likely the sermon will be impactful.

1. Study

Rev. Ingersoll’s process begins with study. He reads, listens, absorbs, soaks it in, and prays. For the biblical component, he reads commentaries on the passage or passages he will engage. If he is relating it to life issues or current events, no doubt he seeks out accurate information on what is going on or the best insights into whatever field is relevant.

2. Storyboard

Next comes the spark of creativity, the moment when all that “stuff” begins to take on a specific form. This is the arrangement part of the process. He lays out the map of the sermon. What is the outline of the sermon? What is its skeleton? What is the order and train of thought to get to its destination?

3. Start writing

Now put it on paper. Take the skeleton and put muscles and flesh on the bones. Rev. Ingersoll suggests writing out all or most of the sermon. Often, in the process of writing it down, new insights and thoughts will emerge. Even if you do not preach from a manuscript, the process of writing it all out is very helpful. The paths you create in your mind while writing it out will help you find the path from memory when you are actually presenting it.

You have to do the work.

- Brent Ingersoll

4. Sift

You may very well have more material to preach than you have time. Sifting what you have created will increase the power of the sermon. If it is not needed, cut it out. Get rid of everything that is not essential.

5. Store

Clean up your notes and memorize the sermon. If your sermon notes are not clearly laid out, there’s a good chance that you will stumble during the sermon. Where was I? (Don’t say that, by the way. “Meta-language” during a sermon – language about you doing the sermon rather than the sermon itself – is typically distracting.)

Not everyone has the memory to go entirely without notes. However, with reasonable practice, many can. There is nothing wrong with a podium with your notes on it or an iPad/tablet.