Everything You Wanted to Know About Preaching but Were Afraid to Ask Your Sunday School Teacher
Update: Due to a bad reaction from everyone who saw the original version of this, I changed the title (which meant actually thinking about the title), and made some minor edits (no content change).
Also, if you happen to get the allusion in the new title: shame on you.
One of our youth are preparing to preach a sermon soon (May 11 - Pentecost Sunday). We do this pretty much every year, so I thought I'd put here what accumulated knowledge I have after having preached a few times as an elder.
The main thing to remember, and probably the hardest thing to remember when you're writing a sermon, is that you're writing to be heard, not read. In other words, your sermon is for people's ears, not their eyes.
That makes a difference because there are a number of things you can do with your eyes that you can't with your ears. You can read something again, but you can't "rewind" a live sermon. You have to remember that if your listeners' attentions waiver, they need to have a way back into the sermon when and if they focus again on your words.
Don't be afraid to repeat yourself, rephrasing things a few times.
Avoid using words you have to define, or, if you do use such a word, keep repeating it so that if the listener missed the first definition, she can understand it in context.
Pay attention to how words sound, not just how they look. Pay attention to pacing. If it takes too long to explain something, figure out another way to say it. (There's always another way to say it.) Use poetry tricks like alliteration and rhyming and meter. (African-American ministers are often really good at this.)
Paint with bright colors. Use vivid words, maybe even a bit over-the-top.
And this is important: Watch your language.
I don't mean refrain from cursing (though you should), but think how your words might be understood by someone very different from you. Once, I was describing a snake and I used the phrase "yellow slitted eyes." Dedie rightly told me that she thought that might sound racist against Asian people, especially if someone just caught that phrase out of its context. I changed it to "viperine eyes", which I like better anyway.
(Also, I, personally, never use gender-specific pronouns to refer to God (neither "He" nor "Him" nor "She" nor "Her"). It only takes a little thought to rewrite a sentence. I had an argument with a friend named Rene in college about "inclusive language." It wasn't until years later that I realized she had won, and I was wrong.)
Don't weigh down your sermon with scripture. Let the Bible lift your sermon up.
I've heard many preachers quote the Bible over and over in their sermons, feeling the need to supply their every thought with some kind of scriptural proof. I've heard part of their sermons anyway...
Don't use the Bible to justify your ideas. You're human, and you're going to be wrong about a lot, and at least partly wrong about a lot more.
Let your ideas illuminate the Bible, and let Scripture bring transformative power to your words. (Scripture with a big "S", meaning all of the Bible, not just individual verses)
I know, this is about preaching. But nobody wants to come to church to hear somebody tell them that they've got their lives (or even part of their lives) all screwed up, and that you can tell them how to fix it. This is particularly true for an elder or a layperson.
Most professional comics don't tell jokes, they get laughs. Don't preach, engage.
Good preaching transforms the preacher and the listener. Tell us where you are (metaphorically) and where you want to go. Tell us where you think we are, and where you want us to take you.
There's a generally accepted sermon structure called the "Three Point Sermon". The idea is that you take a bit of scripture and figure out three things to say about it. Then you:
That is: "Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. Tell 'em. Then, tell 'em what you told 'em."
Thousands of sermons are preached this way each year. When done with insight, it's a great way to get insight across. When done as a cookbook, it sounds like a cookbook.
I never do three point sermons unless the idea just screams for it. Then, I'll usually do something to the structure: like start to summarize, but then add in a fourth point, and then summarize all four. I like playing with form.
Another approach is the narrative structure. In this case, you're telling a story, and you stop now and then to make a point, or you let the story itself make the point. I like listening to stories, and I like telling stories, so I like this form. I think there's a lot that you can say in a story that you could never say otherwise. (Which made the point against slavery better: any of hundreds of speeches, or Uncle Tom's Cabin?)
The story can be true, or it can be made up, or it can even be partly made up. (If you only make up part of the story, you might want to come clean about that sometime in the sermon.) It doesn't even have to be your story, though you should give credit where credit is due. It can take up the whole sermon, or part.
Don't do more than one story, though, because it can get confusing if someone's mind drifts. And if you tell a joke, do it right away, and don't do more than one.
Then, there's the odd-ball sermons. For instance, a few years ago, we did a youth service where the youth formed a panel, with me tossing in questions.
Don't be afraid to use a structure to start to hang your ideas on, then break or change the parts that don't fit.
Dedie used to push for me to "close the circle." The idea is that at the end of the sermon, bring up something from the first paragraph or so. When she first suggested this to me, I thought it sounded dumb. (Sorry, Dedie.) But after doing it a few times, I see how it works: You show your congregation that they've come a long way in the last 15-20 minutes.
Also, if you happen to get the allusion in the new title: shame on you.
One of our youth are preparing to preach a sermon soon (May 11 - Pentecost Sunday). We do this pretty much every year, so I thought I'd put here what accumulated knowledge I have after having preached a few times as an elder.
Writing for the Ear
The main thing to remember, and probably the hardest thing to remember when you're writing a sermon, is that you're writing to be heard, not read. In other words, your sermon is for people's ears, not their eyes.
That makes a difference because there are a number of things you can do with your eyes that you can't with your ears. You can read something again, but you can't "rewind" a live sermon. You have to remember that if your listeners' attentions waiver, they need to have a way back into the sermon when and if they focus again on your words.
Don't be afraid to repeat yourself, rephrasing things a few times.
Avoid using words you have to define, or, if you do use such a word, keep repeating it so that if the listener missed the first definition, she can understand it in context.
Pay attention to how words sound, not just how they look. Pay attention to pacing. If it takes too long to explain something, figure out another way to say it. (There's always another way to say it.) Use poetry tricks like alliteration and rhyming and meter. (African-American ministers are often really good at this.)
Paint with bright colors. Use vivid words, maybe even a bit over-the-top.
And this is important: Watch your language.
I don't mean refrain from cursing (though you should), but think how your words might be understood by someone very different from you. Once, I was describing a snake and I used the phrase "yellow slitted eyes." Dedie rightly told me that she thought that might sound racist against Asian people, especially if someone just caught that phrase out of its context. I changed it to "viperine eyes", which I like better anyway.
(Also, I, personally, never use gender-specific pronouns to refer to God (neither "He" nor "Him" nor "She" nor "Her"). It only takes a little thought to rewrite a sentence. I had an argument with a friend named Rene in college about "inclusive language." It wasn't until years later that I realized she had won, and I was wrong.)
Let Scripture Use You
Don't weigh down your sermon with scripture. Let the Bible lift your sermon up.
I've heard many preachers quote the Bible over and over in their sermons, feeling the need to supply their every thought with some kind of scriptural proof. I've heard part of their sermons anyway...
Don't use the Bible to justify your ideas. You're human, and you're going to be wrong about a lot, and at least partly wrong about a lot more.
Let your ideas illuminate the Bible, and let Scripture bring transformative power to your words. (Scripture with a big "S", meaning all of the Bible, not just individual verses)
Don't Preach
I know, this is about preaching. But nobody wants to come to church to hear somebody tell them that they've got their lives (or even part of their lives) all screwed up, and that you can tell them how to fix it. This is particularly true for an elder or a layperson.
Most professional comics don't tell jokes, they get laughs. Don't preach, engage.
Good preaching transforms the preacher and the listener. Tell us where you are (metaphorically) and where you want to go. Tell us where you think we are, and where you want us to take you.
Play with Structure
There's a generally accepted sermon structure called the "Three Point Sermon". The idea is that you take a bit of scripture and figure out three things to say about it. Then you:
- Introduce your three points
- Talk about point 1
- Talk about point 2
- Talk about point 3
- Summarize your three points.
That is: "Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. Tell 'em. Then, tell 'em what you told 'em."
Thousands of sermons are preached this way each year. When done with insight, it's a great way to get insight across. When done as a cookbook, it sounds like a cookbook.
I never do three point sermons unless the idea just screams for it. Then, I'll usually do something to the structure: like start to summarize, but then add in a fourth point, and then summarize all four. I like playing with form.
Another approach is the narrative structure. In this case, you're telling a story, and you stop now and then to make a point, or you let the story itself make the point. I like listening to stories, and I like telling stories, so I like this form. I think there's a lot that you can say in a story that you could never say otherwise. (Which made the point against slavery better: any of hundreds of speeches, or Uncle Tom's Cabin?)
The story can be true, or it can be made up, or it can even be partly made up. (If you only make up part of the story, you might want to come clean about that sometime in the sermon.) It doesn't even have to be your story, though you should give credit where credit is due. It can take up the whole sermon, or part.
Don't do more than one story, though, because it can get confusing if someone's mind drifts. And if you tell a joke, do it right away, and don't do more than one.
Then, there's the odd-ball sermons. For instance, a few years ago, we did a youth service where the youth formed a panel, with me tossing in questions.
Don't be afraid to use a structure to start to hang your ideas on, then break or change the parts that don't fit.
Dedie used to push for me to "close the circle." The idea is that at the end of the sermon, bring up something from the first paragraph or so. When she first suggested this to me, I thought it sounded dumb. (Sorry, Dedie.) But after doing it a few times, I see how it works: You show your congregation that they've come a long way in the last 15-20 minutes.
Tips and Tricks
- Too short is better than too long, but too short is not good either. Take the time to say what you have to say. Getting finished in five or ten minutes doesn't impress anyone, and people will think they missed something.
- Be ready to throw everything away. At any point when you're writing, you should be ready to start over. God will touch you and you can never say where that's going to go.
- Be patient. The sermon will come in its time. If you try to force it onto the page, it will fight back, and you won't like the outcome. Coax it out.
- Get someone to read it. Get lots of people to read it if you can. Get opinions. This is important work, and it's good to get support.
- When you preach, change your voice. Go louder and softer, higher and lower, faster and slower. Use the volume, register, and timing that works for each line and paragraph.
- Practice. Aloud. At least twice. In the sanctuary if you can. Make notes about how to say things, either mark or eliminate any tongue twisters. I like to practice alone, though I enjoyed preaching to my daughter once.
- Remember that this isn't about you. Even if you're giving out your life story, even if you're sharing something you've never shared with anyone before, even if you have an insight which will bring peace, harmony, and free cheese sticks to all the world, worship is not about you.
- Know that YOU were meant to stand there, no matter how you feel, and its YOUR words the God wants to use, no matter how you feel.
- Be sure to bend your knees, or you might faint.
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