Another Stowell comment that I appreciated last week as I drove in the middle of the night down that deserted highway called the M1. “A sermon prepared in the mind of the preacher only reaches the mind of the listeners. But one prepared in the mind, and in the heart and life of the preacher reaches the heart and life of the listener too.” How true is that?
We must allow time for sermons to soak long enough in our lives that we are changed, rather than merely informed. Perhaps this means starting preparation a few days ahead of a normal, but rushed schedule. I wrote before about preparing using a 10-day rather than a 5-day preparation schedule. But sometimes this is not enough.
The example Stowell shared illustrates this well. Let’s say that you are going to preach on prayer, but you know yourself and know you are not a pray-er. What to do? Postpone the sermon for a year and learn, with God’s help, to pray. Then preach it!
All sermons need more time than a day or two before delivery. Some sermons need much more time. The time it takes for a learned truth to become a lived reality.
Biblical Preaching 
You may have posts on this elsewhere, but I’ve found that a preaching calendar really helps with this. Every July, I prayerfully plan the next year’s sermons out. That way, I have plenty of time to think, read, research, pray, etc. It really helps when going through a Bible book. I’m going through 1 John now, but because I knew I was going to be preaching on it early last year, I started reading and research nearly 6 months ago. I’ve already got time blocked out for starting stuff for the series after this one (which ends in April), and will be starting research for Jonah in February (for a series in July).
This may not work for everyone, but it’s certainly helped me!
I do like preaching through a book. It’s easy on the budget with commentaries; good for the people to follow with the Bible; it’s easy to keep a file folder and collect stuff as you go. I like awsaufley’s way. I plan quarterly but hope I can plan a year ahead.
For topical and textual preachers wanting to dive into a book having nice subject chunks and is not too long, start out with Philippians or Jonah. These books have treated me well. Once you become adept, dive into Romans or Isaiah.
Thanx Peter and awsaufley.
chip.
I meant topical and textual preachers wanting to dive into expository preaching.
c.