Preaching

Expository Sermon Preparation - Part 1

Leofin R Blanco Jr

Dec 23, 2023 — 2 min read

Photo by Alexander Michl / Unsplash

See the advance series:

Expository Sermon Preparation - Part 2

Expository Sermon Preparation - Part 3

(1) Begin with prayer.

Pray, asking God to open this passage to you and help you to open it for others. The goal of your preaching is to bring about spiritual transformation in your hearers by proclaiming the truths of Scripture. Pray that your preaching would help reach people with the truth of the gospel and help them to grow in the knowledge of God.

Write out any specific concerns weighing on your heart as you consider the sermon to be prepared.

(2) Reflect on your passage selection.

Give careful consideration to your selection of a text. Explain the reasoning behind your choice of sermon text.

Think about how much to cover in your sermon. How many verses from your chosen passage do you expect to cover in a single sermon? List some pros and cons to covering a longer or shorter passage in this context.

(3) Read your passage several times.

Read the passage selected for your sermon several times in your preferred Bible. As you read, highlight important words, key ideas, and noteworthy people, places, or events. Highlighting can help you take notice of key parts of the passage and strengthen your familiarity.

What parts of this passage jump out at you on this first reading? What seems to be the main idea of the passage? Write down any thoughts about the passage that came to mind as you read.

(4) Identify possible topics.

Now that you have made an initial reading of the passage for your sermon, you should think about a specific topic from the passage that would be applicable for the occasion of your preaching. Make sure the topic is one you are familiar with and one that helps you mark out the target of your message.

Identify one or two potential topics from the passage and record them here.

(5) Establish the sermon’s most important idea.

A sermon should have one central topic that brings unity to the message. Creating a topic that is open to consideration can help you direct the time you devote to the study of your passage.

Your in-depth study of the passage may lead you to reexamine your topic or a new and better topic might make known itself through your engagement with the text, but having some idea of your goal will help you focus your thoughts.

What is the primary way this passage communicates the good news of Jesus Christ? Can you formulate a one-sentence main message based on this truth?

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