Message Preparation (Part 3)

When I first started teaching regularly on Sundays, I worried about finding enough material, what to talk about, etc. Then I heard a statement that basically said, "You cannot outpreach the Bible." Since that time I made a major decision that I would bank everything on the truths, power, and authority of God's Word. I almost always preach through a Bible passage or story and the one big thing that I want people to go home with is derived from that passage.

So here is a rough approach I use to get into the Bible when preparing a message:

1) What is overall theme or topic of the series and message? (see previous post)
2) Find an appropriate passage that addresses that theme or topic.

Once the passage is located, here's what I do:

1) Pray
2) Read the text in prayer
3) Record any initial observations from the text
4) Find the LIFE (God's Word is living and active) in the text:
--What are the key words, phrases, or ideas?
--Is there anything shocking or surprising about the text?
--Is there a mythbuster?
--How does it us point to Christ?
--Are there any repetitive words or phrases? Why are they repeated?
--Is there an obvious outline, flow, or structure of the text?
--Is there an obvious application?
--How does the way people normally live stack up against the text?
--How can vision be cast from this text for our lives, community, or church?
5) Use other sources to see the topic or text from other perspectives.
--This includes listening to other speakers, reading books, commentaries, etc.

Again, let me say that this is where preparation is both fun and frustrating. It is fun to really engage God's Word but it is frustrating to labor through to try and discover the central idea or one big thing or how to help people understand and apply these truths.

During this phase of preparation, I frequently have that '1000 yard stare', get up and do push-ups, abruptly resign as pastor (just kiddin'), get tempted to 'talk like a Sailor', throw my King James (just kiddin'), walk around aimlessly, and really cry out to God in desperation ... it is about this point that a breakthrough occurs and I see what and how God wants me to share His truth with His people in a timely and relevant way.

It is also at this point that I THANK GOD THAT I GET TO DO WHAT I GET TO DO!!