The following article was originally written as lecture notes for a session I’ll be teaching at the Expound Conference at Parkway Baptist Church in Trinity, Alabama. The session focuses on the practical side of sermon preparation—how to balance diligent study with dependence on the Holy Spirit. Though these thoughts were prepared for a room full of preachers, the principles apply to anyone who desires to handle God’s Word faithfully and effectively.

Preaching Practicalities

Text: Proverbs 16:1 — “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.”

Introduction

Every true preacher lives in the tension between divine dependence and diligent preparation. Proverbs 16:1 reminds us that both are necessary: “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.”
Preparation does not quench the Spirit—it makes room for Him. The more thoroughly we prepare, the more freely He can work through us. As someone wisely said, “Pray like it all depends on God; prepare like it all depends on you.”

The goal of this lecture is to offer practical helps for the preacher who wants to be both Spirit-filled and well-prepared. These are simple principles learned through years of trial and error in the study and the pulpit.

1. The Hard Way Is the Right Way

Shortcuts may feel easier in the moment, but they rob you of depth, clarity, and conviction. Sermon theft, canned outlines, and shallow study produce sermons that lack power because they lack ownership. The “hard way” is hard—but it makes the work last.

Labor over your text. Read it repeatedly, outline it freshly, study words and cross-references, and wrestle with it until it grips your soul. Use your tools—commentaries, lexicons, study Bibles—but don’t let them do your thinking for you.

Sweat out your sermons. The best preachers bleed over their Bibles before they ever stand behind a pulpit. If a message hasn’t gone through you, it will never go through to your people. The hard way not only forms a sermon—it forms a preacher.

2. Water Flows Best Downhill

When it comes to sermon preparation, order brings overflow. “Water flows best downhill,” meaning that clarity and consistency allow the truths you gather to find their proper place.

Develop a preaching calendar—whether you preach through books, series, or seasonal themes. I keep a wall calendar behind my desk so I can see the year at a glance. Early in the week, I lay out every speaking assignment—Sunday morning and evening, Wednesday night, Sunday school, even funerals or jail ministry—and give each one a “collection bucket.”

For me, that’s usually a legal pad with the printed text and any ideas that have begun to flow. As the week goes on, everything I read or hear can “run downhill” into those buckets. Sermon preparation becomes not a frantic Saturday night scramble but a steady stream throughout the week.

3. A Short Pencil Is Better Than a Long Memory

Inspiration is a fleeting visitor—write it down before it leaves. The Holy Spirit often gives ideas in passing, and wise preachers capture them immediately.

Keep a “dump pad” or journal for stray thoughts, illustrations, or sermon seeds. I use mine constantly. From there, I can sort notes into other buckets—my calendar, my planner, or my sermon files.

For example, one of my recent blog posts, titled “Missionary Millionaires,” was born during a Financial Peace University class. We discussed how much the average American spends on coffee and soft drinks. I realized that if we redirected that money toward missions, we could become “missionary millionaires.” I wrote it down on the spot—and later, it became a finished blog post.

Write it down. Capture inspiration before it evaporates.

4. My Perfect Week

If I were my perfect self in a perfect week, my sermon rhythm would look something like this: On Tuesday, I’d sit down with my four main preaching responsibilities—Wednesday night Bible study, Sunday school, Sunday morning, and Sunday night. Each gets a legal pad and a printed text.

Throughout the week, I revisit them daily—reading, highlighting, circling key words, writing definitions, and outlining thoughts. I read commentaries and study Bibles, listen to others on the same passage, and take notes. I aim for every sermon to include ethos (credibility), pathos (passion), and logos (logic).

Remember, you’re not just preaching truth—you’re shaping lives. And you have people in the pews who take notes, so make sure to give them something worth writing down.

5. Be Kind to Your Future Self

Finally, be kind to your future self. Take clear, organized notes so that if you pull that sermon out five years later, you’ll still know what you meant. Before filing it away, make corrections or additions while they’re fresh.

We do this in staff meetings after major events—we review what worked and what didn’t, taking notes for next time. Sermon preparation should be the same way. Every message can be improved before it’s archived.

Conclusion

Preaching is both a divine calling and a disciplined craft. Preparation and inspiration are not enemies—they are partners.

• The hard way sanctifies the preacher.
• The planned way multiplies productivity.
• The penciled way preserves inspiration.

So prepare your heart, sharpen your pencil, and trust the Spirit. “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.”