A Preacher's Cheat-Sheet for Prayer and Final Sermon Prep by Tim Challies
Preparing a sermon is one of the most gratifying and the most difficult tasks you’ll ever face. There is joy in finding meaning in the text, in finding structure, in developing just the right outline, in discovering the perfect illustration. But there is also labor and, at times, intense spiritual warfare. I am a relative newcomer to preaching, and as I’ve prepared sermons I’ve relied on others to teach me how to pray and how to prepare. Here are two lists that have been very helpful to me. I combine them into what I affectionately call my Preacher’s Cheat-Sheet. Praying For A Sermon A couple of years ago Mike McKinley shared " 8 Ways to Pray During Sermon Preparation ." I found those eight ways to pray tremendously helpful and have been following them ever since. I pray in these ways at the beginning, middle and end of my time of preparation. 1. Lord, please help me to understand the meaning of this text and how it points to Christ. 2. Lord, please increase my lo