Getting in front of your church and preaching every week is challenging mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It takes hours and hours of thinking, writing, praying, and practicing to prepare what God has put on your heart to preach.

Studies show that, on average, it takes 10 to 18 hours to prepare a sermon for preaching -- and that's only one sermon, not an entire sermon series or simple church donation letter.

And that estimate is based on being a  seasoned sermon writer, not a beginner! If you’re a full-time pastor, there’s a good chance you’re spending between 400 to 720 hours per year in sermon preparation. In other words, you’ll spend nearly 17 to 30 days in preparation. You might be able to do this more efficiently with a great sermon writing tool, but there's more to it than a simple  tool.

If you’re a seasoned pastor, you probably have your own approach and process. But if you’re green behind the ears (new to preaching), you may be asking "where do pastors get their sermons and topic ideas from week after week so they can develop a sermon that resonates with their congregants?"

Knowing how to write a powerful sermon is just as important as knowing how to preach it effectively. So, it’s a good idea to see how to write a sermon and a sermon outline and practice that process several times. Over time, you'll naturally iterate that process to fit your personality and way of thinking. 

And that's the point here.

What Does Your Sermon Preparation Process Look Like?

When preparing a sermon, the process often unfolds as follows:

1. Seek Guidance from God: This initial step involves turning to God, seeking divine direction and clarity for the upcoming message.
2. Pray for Inspiration: Alongside seeking guidance, praying for inspiration is crucial to ensure that the message resonates with both the preacher and the congregation.
3. Reflect on Scripture: The selection of scripture is a contemplative process, where reflection helps in discerning the appropriate passages that align with the intended message.
4. Dive into Biblical Study: An in-depth analysis of the chosen scripture is crucial. This involves understanding its historical background, context, and nuances in the original language.
5. Gather Relevant Resources: Utilizing tools such as commentaries, theological texts, and historical references helps in gaining a broader understanding of the scripture and its implications.
6. Formulate a Central Message: From the study and resources, a central theme or message for the sermon emerges, serving as the anchor for the entire discourse.
7. Develop Supporting Arguments: These are essential for reinforcing the central message. This step involves constructing logical, scripturally sound arguments that support the main theme.
8. Incorporate Personal Anecdotes: Adding personal experiences and stories adds authenticity and relatability to the sermon, making it more engaging for the audience.
9. Create Impactful Illustrations: Like personal anecdotes, illustrations serve to make abstract or complex theological concepts more accessible and memorable for the congregation.
10. Craft Memorable Metaphors: The use of metaphors enriches the sermon, providing vivid imagery that helps the congregation connect with and remember the message long after the sermon concludes.

Below is a simple step-by-step process we use to teach pastors and budding preachers how to prepare a sermon.

In this post, we’re going to break down the following steps for how to write a sermon:

• Strategy
• Study
• Sticky
• Style
• Solidify
• Sabbath
• Say
• Speak

For your church service, use these basic steps to writing a sermon as checkpoints for you in your sermon preparation or entire sermon series planning. Work through our process and then make it your own as you write more and more sermons.

If you follow this process, you'll come out with a biblical and memorable message from God's word.

Let's dig in!

How to Write a Sermon

Strategy

One of the most helpful things you can do as a preacher is to get ahead in your sermon preparation. Instead of waking up on Monday trying to figure out what you’re going to preach on  Sunday, plan your sermons out at least a month in advance (or more if possible).

Strategizing what you’re going to preach is one of the most transformative things you can do for your preaching.

Strategizing will allow you to have a big picture of what your preaching will probably look like for the month, the quarter, six months, or a year. I emphasize "probably" because things happen and sometimes God will lead you in a different direction as a new sermon series approaches.

So one month to a year before you preach, you’ll want to focus on these three big things:

1. Write down the name of the sermon series your  sermon is a part of
2. Choose your biblical passage
3. Work through and write down the big idea of the biblical passage

Writing a sermon or new year sermon from this starting point rather than from scratch is a big difference maker. So work hard to strategize and get ahead.

Now, as for the rest of the process and effective sermon prep, they’re broken down into a 7-day process. If this process doesn’t jive with your schedule, what you can do is add the steps together.

For example, you can knock out days 1-3 at whatever time you set aside to write your sermon.

Keep mind that this guide on how to write a sermon is based on lots of practical research and observations.

Day 1: Study

Goal: Understand the biblical passage and be able to recognize its nuances so that you can handle God's word well.

Step 1: Personal study

Pull out your Bible and read through the biblical passage multiple times. You want to get a good feel for what it's saying.

Then, you need to identify, once again, the big idea of the biblical passage by asking these questions:

• Does it line up with what you wrote down a month to a year ago?
• Are you seeing something different now?

It's also a great idea to read the surrounding textual context. If you’re reading an epistle or shorter book of the Bible, read the entire thing. If you’re reading from a more extensive book of the Bible, consider reading the one or two chapters before that passage and the one to two chapters after that passage. Keep in mind that doing this may spark other sermon ideas or even full sermon series topics.

By doing this, you’ll have a better understanding of the flow of the particular biblical passage you're preaching on.

Step 2: Formal study

What have others said about the biblical passage you picked?

In this step, you’ll need to consult things like:

1. Original language
2. Commentaries
3. Books
4. Sermons
5. Articles

When you consult these various tools, it's going to be essential to write down your findings.

Now, you likely won't use everything you learn, but all the learnings you gain will help build into your mind and heart the meaning of the text.

Step 3: Finalize the "big idea" of the passage

As you ’ve studied the text in more detail, has the big idea of the passage changed from what you wrote down?

It may not change much, but is there a better way to say it? Is there a slightly different direction it needs to take?

A "big idea" example

From Luke 22:39-62:

Big idea: Jesus relied on God's strength as he faced the cross, allowing the same disciples who abandoned him to later be courageous in the face of death.

Day 2: Sticky

Goal: Make the big idea memorable so that it sticks with your congregation.

Step 1: Create a "sticky statement"

Take your big idea and write it in a way that is memorable. You want your big idea to stick with your congregation. So you need to ask yourself, “How can I say this in a way so that people can remember it on Monday and moving forward?”

As I've written in another article, here are some strategies you  can employ to make a statement stick with your hearers:

• Make it rhyme. “There’s no win in comparison.” – Andy Stanley
• Or make it alliterated. “If you want your life to count, be gripped by the God of grace.” – from a sermon I preached on single-mindedness
• Or make it echo. “You are of infinite worth to the infinite God.” – from a sermon I preached on the doctrine of humanity
• Or make it a metaphor. “The root of murder is anger. Only God can uproot it from our hearts.” – from a sermon I preached on the commandment, do not murder
• Or make it contrast. “A life devoted to self ultimately leaves you alone.” – Carey Nieuwhof

Step 2: Write down your end goal

Writing down your end goal is simply answering the question, “What should the congregation do in response to this sermon or sermon series?”

The key here is to make it precise, make it clear, and make it applicable.

Step 3: Outline your sermon

Now that you have the big pieces to your sermon, you can start writing a sermon outline. We'd use a great sermon writing tool like Sermon.ly.

When it comes to writing a sermon outline, there are many options you can adopt. The key is to figure out what outlining method works best for you. No matter what strategy you adopt, you'll want to write down a single sentence that summarizes what each section will be about.

Here are some examples of a sermon outline method:

Traditional 3-Point Sermon Template from Sermonary:

“Own the Vision,” a 3-point sermon outline from Ministry Pass:

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From Matt Capps, senior pastor of Fairview Baptist Church:

Day 3: Style

Goal: When you're thinking about how to write a church sermon, make sure to Add flavor to the sermon and fill in the outline.

Step 1: Introduction and conclusion

How your sermon begins is crucial.

In the first few minutes, people will decide whether or not they are going to jump on the train. So we want to ask the question, “Why do they need to listen?”

Because here's the thing:

They're wondering why they need to listen to what you're about to say.

Sure, some people will listen because it's a sermon. But not everyone will automatically track with you.

Everyone has a lot of things on their mind that they often bring to the sermon. And you’re competing with those things. So you must make the most of those first few minutes.

Likewise, the conclusion is close behind on the importance scale. If you don't arrive at the next train station intact, your congregation won't get to where you want to take them. And they may not show up for the next sermon in the sermon series.

If people don't know what they need to do, you haven't preached a good sermon. So you need to make clear in the conclusion the thing everyone ought to do in response to what has been said.

Writing a sermon well means you know where you’re starting and where you’re going. You have to make the most of the first few minutes and the last few minutes.

Step 2: Illustrations

Throughout this process, some illustrations have probably come to mind. Plug those into the outline.

If you need more sermon illustrations, check out our library of sermon illustrations.

Step 3: Fill out the outline

Here you need to fill in the rest of your sermon outline.

Don't let any part go untouched.

Fill it all in from introduction to conclusion.

Day 4: Solidify

Goal: Touch up your sermon.

Depending on how much progress has been made up to this point, day four may be an easy day of sermon preparation.

Step 1: Finish illustrations

Maybe you've thought of another illustration to plug in, or you need to find another one to plug into your outline.

Do that now.

Step 2: Finish sermon content

You’ll need to do two things:

1. Finish filling in your sermon outline if needed
2. Go over your  sermon outline and answer the following questions:
3. Is the "big idea" adequately communicated?
4. Is the message practical?
5. Is the message useful?
6. Will it grab people's attention?

If you need to communicate with other staff members about your sermon content (such as for a slideshow), a church management software can make this step quick and easy.

Day 5: Sabbath

Goal: Take a break from sermon preparation.

On Day 5, let your sermon simmer and don't revisit it. Take the day off from sermon preparation.

It's best if this is the same day as your day off. This day is just as important to writing a sermon as the day we began. Trust God with the work that has already been done, understanding that he'll do far more than we can do.

Day 6: Say

Goal: Practice preaching your sermon.

This is a step that will likely feel awkward the first few times you do it, but it can make all the difference in preaching a compelling, memorable sermon or preaching a dud.

As you go through it, you'll want to take notes on what worked and what you need to change.

Day 7: Speak

Goal: Preach the word!

Over to you! Did this practical guide on How to Write a Sermon Help?

As I mentioned above, there are a variety of ways you can write a short powerful sermons and write a sermon outline. What we provided for you here is a process we’ve found helpful in teaching pastors and people interested in preaching how to prepare for their sermon.

For easy printing, you can click here to download our free How to Prepare a Sermon PDF.

Looking for more sermon writing resources for pastors?

We've got you covered.

1. The best sermon writing tool that supercharges your writing with a sermon writing side kick
2. 10 Christmas Sermons to Make Pastors Merry and Bright
3. Make Your Father’s Day Sermon Memorable
4. How to Write a Sermon: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide‍
5. 52 Church Offering Talks for Every Occasion
6. FREE Sermon Series on Generosity
7. 12 Sermons on Giving and Generosity Every Pastor Needs to Hear

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Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Justin Trapp. Justin is the co-founder of Sermonary.