Plan Your Preaching for Protection

Having a preaching plan is essential for the well-being of both the preacher AND the congregation. Mike Glenn has helped me understand a plan will protect the preacher from the following errors:

A Preaching Plan Will Protect You From. . . 

1. From last second, rush and stressed out preparation. 

When you know what are preaching on well in advance, you won’t have to worry about the “Saturday Night Specials” anymore. So much of preaching is figuring out the text and topic of the sermon. When that is decided on in advance, so much of the pre-sermon stress is already handled. When you go to bed Sunday night knowing what your text and main topic is going to be the following week, it makes getting up on Monday morning so much easier. Not to mention how much more relaxed you will be the Saturday night before you preach.

2. From preaching mad. 

No doubt, throughout any given year there will be things about your congregation that will make you angry. Someone, or a group of people, will say or do something that you really want to preach on in order to “let ’em have it.” That NEVER works. Preaching mad will never solve pastoral issues. Having a plan builds in discipline that will keep you from preaching mad.

3. From coming off as “too personal.”

There are times when the preacher preaches a text that some in the congregation may take personally and be offended. That’s often how the truth works. . . especially when certain persons aren’t walking in the truth. Darkness hates the light. If the preacher is using a plan, however, the hearers can’t get angry at the preacher. The sermon preached was scheduled months in advance! Perhaps it’s not the preacher, but the Lord Himself wanting to get their attention?!?!?!?!

4. From jumping on a “hot topic” issue. 

To be sure, there are times when a preacher should hit specific issues and topics that emerge from the surrounding culture. Every preaching plan needs to allow room to deviate when necessary. However, having a plan will guard the preacher from jumping on an issue that may have traction for a week or two, but soon fades away.