Study Hall
An Inside Look at a Week of Sermon Preparation
Having been full time at Mission for a few months now, I have spent a lot of time recently, reflecting on the gift of preaching. This past Sunday I preached sermon number twenty-four at Mission Church. What an honor. What a privilege. What a gift!
I have had thought for a blog of this sort at different times in the past but time is finite and I had little margin to spare before being here full time — I have long thought it would be helpful to share thoughts, illustrations, and quotes that impact our preaching though may not end up in the final draft of a sermon.
Charles Spurgeon has said “The preacher who does not believe his message cannot preach it with power, and the hearers will soon discover the hollowness of his utterances.”
I know first hand, this to be true. I know our lead pastor Billy does as well. Though it must be said, God has always been gracious and faithful to empower us in our weakness. Many sermons have we felt “disconnected” and the Spirit of God shows up in powerful ways.
There are so many different ways to prepare and many pastors have different approaches. I thought it would be insightful to share my own methods and perhaps readers can garner new ways to dive into the word. More so, if there are men in our church with a desire to preach this may be a helpful look into what preparing a message might look like. This is not an in depth journey into bible study but rather an overview an order that I tend to follow in preparing a sermon. If you want more insight into how to read the Bible, check out this blog.
“The preacher who does not believe his message cannot preach it with power, and the hearers will soon discover the hollowness of his utterances.”
— C.H. Spurgeon
The first step may seem overly obvious but nonetheless it matters that it is foremost.
Prayer as communing with God before praying for the sermon itself
Something I lacked for a long time in my sermon prep was communion with God for the sake of just that. It’s easy to go to God for things other than Him, including help crafting a sermon. Mind you, I do go to Him for that as well but I have learned more and more the value of seeking Him just for Him. This has to be my life rhythm. It cannot just be something I try on weeks that I am preaching.
If it is my life rhythm though, then the temptation is to skip over it for the sake of “getting things done”. I then find myself asking God for help with little to no interest in actually being with Him.
Marinate in the passage
This phraseology came from my beloved brother in Christ, Bobby Schembre. A lover of delicious food, an excellent chef, and an incredible preacher; Bobby was my mentor at our sending church in Columbia Missouri.
Spend time reading over the passage and meditating on it. It’s important to let it soak in before moving right on to study. The task ahead is work and important work at that. Nevertheless, to revisit the Spurgeon quote above, if the passage doesn’t marinate your heart you are missing out on the feast of heaven.
There are a couple of ways to do this.
First, there is the ancient practice of Lectio Divina.
Lectio (Read) – Slowly and attentively read a short passage of Scripture. Notice any words or phrases that stand out.
Meditatio (Meditate) – Reflect on the meaning of the text. What is God saying to you personally through it?
Oratio (Pray) – Respond to God in prayer. Speak to Him about what you've read and how it touches your life.
Contemplatio (Contemplate) – Rest in God's presence. Simply be with Him, allowing His word to dwell in you deeply.
Another thing I will do is try and find a sermon on said passage. The aim in doing this is to feast on the word, not to gather more content for your own message.
Lastly, and maybe this is just because I am a worship pastor, I will put on any songs that come to mind as I am reading and I will worship in my office. This past week we sang "Because of Jesus” by Charity Gayle. If you “marinate” on Romans 4:13-25 while listening to this song it’s pretty tough not to be overwhelmed by God’s goodness.
Initial Thoughts, reactions and pre- Study
The next step comes from an activity we participated in during staff meetings when I was intern at our sending church. We would take the passage verse by verse and jot down our thoughts and reactions to what we are reading. Another part of this activity, specifically if we were in one of the epistles, was to “trace the argument” as in, “what is Paul actually trying to convey here with his fifth run-on sentence in a row” (did you notice that run-on sentence just now?)?
Study
Now is the grunt work. I think it’s ok to call it that. I have always struggled with the scholarly side of sermon prep (Enneagram 4 over here…give me the heart not the math). It’s at this phase where I am starting to open up commentaries, do some word studies (wherein you look at specific words in their original language and context), and begin crafting an outline.
It’s also in this phase the Big Idea of the sermon (otherwise known as the MPS or Main Point of the Sermon) comes into the picture. The Big Idea is the umbrella housing the main points of the outline. In other words, each point should be rooted in and point to the Big Idea.
Once the outline is built, it’s time to start writing.
The Cutting Room floor
The following contains my preparation notes from my sermon on Romans 4:13-25. Some of this made it’s way to the pulpit on Sunday but much of it lives in my Notion folders as do many notes, quotes, and illustrations from sermons in the past.
Passage
Romans 4:13–25
[13] For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. [14] For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. [15] For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
[16] That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, [17] as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. [18] In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” [19] He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. [20] No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, [21] fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. [22] That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” [23] But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, [24] but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, [25] who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
Initial thoughts and Reactions
13-17
The Promise comes through the righteousness of faith
faith is pointless and the promise is void if you can obtain it through law
in other words you don’t need God for anything if you can just follow the law and get paid your due inheritance
If there is no law, you don’t know it’s been broken. There is no error.
The law has one job, to show the reason (our brokenness) for God’s just wrath
The promise rests on grace - verse 16
The promise was bigger than just the Jews
God said I have made you the father of many nations
God created the universe with His words
He is capable of counting us righteous, with no help from us
18-21
Abraham’s faith given as an example
External circumstances
His body
His wife’s barrenness
Internal Circumstances
No unbelief made him waver
this doesn’t mean Abraham didn’t experience doubt just that it did not make him waiver concerning the promise of God
His faith grew strong in spite of his own weaknesses
His faith grew strong because of God’s strength. His hope hinged upon God and His faithfulness
22-25
This is what saving faith looks like
again, the promise of God is broader than the Israelites
The promises of God are always better than we dare to hope or dream
Just as Abraham trusted in the faithfulness of God — Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; He was delivered as payment for our sin. He was raised sealing our justification — He is the ultimate living sacrifice!
The qualities of Abraham’s faith — AKA, what does real faith, or faith given by God look like?
God-Centered
God can be trusted because
He gives life to the dead — resurrection power
He calls things that do not exist into existence — sovereignty
Not breezy optimism
did not deny external circumstance
Against “hope” by human standards
counter intuitive
against our “logic” and knowledge
if it were up to us there would be no hope, but all things are possible with God
It was future oriented
It was strengthened by giving Glory to God
Our faith gains strength when we glorify God!
Authentic Faith
(This is from Thomas Schreiner’s commentary)
Trusts in God’s righteousness
Trusts in God’s sovereign and creative power, which raise Jesus from the dead
Trusts in God’s promise instead of Human Calculation
Puts it’s hope in God’s promise
Doesn’t concentrate on Human weakness
Is realistic and doesn’t overlook human incapacity
Doesn’t doubt God’s reliability and promise
Grows strong through God
Gives glory to God - who raises the dead and gives life where there is none
Acknowledges God as sovereign, as the Almighty One who brings salvation
Quotes and Illustrations
Below are quotes and such from various commentaries and sources.
“Disobedience and wrath go hand in hand, just as faith and grace are joined together.”_J.V. Fesko
“The supreme way to worship God is not to work for Him but to trust that He will fulfill His promises.” "_Thomas Schreiner
“Knowing the law does not make us heirs; it makes us doubly guilty” _ Tim Keller
“Faith is not opposed to reason, but it is sometimes opposed to feelings and appearances.” _Tim Keller
“The less obvious struggle was the staggering nature of the promise. That is, the promise was so wonderful, it was hard to believe — it was too good to be true!” _ Kent Hughes
“A good measure of how much spiritual truth we have appropriated is, how long is our worry list?” _Kent Hughes
“Law-language (’you shall’) demands our obedience, but promise-language (’I will’) demands our faith.” _ John Stott
2 Corinthians 1:20
[20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)
“All that man can know of God and his love in this life is revealed in Jesus Christ.” _A. W. Tozer
Galatians 3:17
Ephesians 2:15
The law shows on blast what was in the heart all the while
Covid showed us this in so many ways
…And the fruit does not make the tree good. The tree makes the fruit good. _John Piper
Not Us but God
Faith not Law → Trust in God over ourselves
God who brings things from death to life not Abrahams’ seemingly impossible circumstances → Trust in God over ourselves
Michael Tooley is the Associate Pastor here at Mission Church. He leads our music ministry and helps with administrative needs for our ministry teams.
He and His wife recently became foster parents and have a deep love for the Lord, His people, and His creation.
