My last post talked about getting to that one thing in a passage of Scripture that is practically begging to be preached.
Once I settle on that, it’s time to bring it to life.
That’s what happens on the sheet of paper to the right.
I get the main idea and then do a solo brainstorm around it. I jot down every memory, anecdote, insight, statistic, story, or bible verse that may have anything at all to do with the main idea. Invariably, the more ideas I have, the more ideas come. As you can see from the scribbling, there’s not much I leave out!
Much less than half of what I scribble on my brainstorming sheet makes it into an outline, much less into a message itself.
But that process of thinking (literally in circles) around the big idea of the day is invaluable in giving a sermon some life. The stories that (hopefully) draw you in, the anecdotes you’ll remember, the statistics that will “stick.”
The scribbling in the picture was part of preparing the message for this coming Sunday — though that scribbling actually happened over a month ago.
After I’ve got all the ideas, and then separated the wheat from the chaff, it’s time for two more tasks in getting a message ready for delivery.
I’ll let you know those tomorrow.