I’m unsure how many hours I spend in sermon prep because of the way I approach it. Let me explain.
My sermon preparation usually starts a couple of months before I preach. My associate pastor and I decide on a book we will preach through, and I immediately begin listening to that book repeatedly on my Bible app. By the time I preach the first sermon, I’ve listened to the book from beginning to end 40–60 times. During this “listening phase,” I start outlining the book, identifying big themes, key passages, and so on, using Apple Notes on my iPhone.
A couple of weeks before the series begins, I purchase several commentaries. Some are what I call devotional commentaries—essentially commentaries often written by pastors and adapted from their sermon transcripts. These help me see what stood out to other pastors and how they applied the text to their congregations. A good example is Crossway’s Preaching the Word commentary series, edited by Kent Hughes.
I also get one or two more technical, scholarly commentaries to help me critically examine the passage and consider textual and linguistic challenges. For example, many of the entries in Zondervan’s Word Biblical Commentary fit this category.
There are also some series that strike a balance between devotional and scholarly commentary, which are particularly helpful when I’m pressed for time. An example of this would be Tyndale’s New Testament Commentaries series, especially entries by John R.W. Stott. I aim to have most of my commentary reading completed before the series begins.
When I start preaching through the book, I focus on the passage for that week. I listen to it repeatedly, often while driving or at the gym. I begin writing my manuscript on my phone or jotting down notes, many of which end up on social media as posts. I also revisit the Greek or Hebrew text during the week. My primary goal in this phase is to determine how to clearly communicate the major ideas, particularly the challenging ones, to my congregants. I often ask myself, Would so-and-so understand this?
I write my sermons on Saturday and Sunday mornings. On Saturdays, I get up at 5 a.m., pull out my commentaries, and review anything I’ve underlined or revisit issues that have been troubling me. I usually write the sermon conclusion first because, even if there are rough patches in the middle, a strong conclusion can still “stick the landing,” so to speak. I also write out some of the major sections, but by 8 a.m., I stop because the kids are awake and distracting me. Sometimes I come back to it later that evening, but not always.
On Sundays, I wake up at 4 a.m. to finish my manuscript. I include illustrations from my own life and interests, such as chickens, boxing, or mundane everyday experiences. I think this helps make the message relatable. Along those lines, I avoid referencing internet controversies or my social media. I’ve even asked my worship pastor to “ding” me anytime I do. Most people don’t have a large social media presence or care about that world, so referencing it makes the sermon feel awkward and less accessible. I never plan humor in advance. If I think of something funny, I may consider saying it, but it’s not part of the manuscript. I believe the best humor is spontaneous and natural.
Finally, I use ChatGPT to edit and rewrite parts of my already written sermons. My favorite prompts include “rewrite this in simple language,” “write for a tenth-grade reading level,” or “help me further summarize this.” Sometimes it helpful. So, I don't always use its recommendations. Either way, I aim to keep my sermons as accessible and concise as possible.
I usually go into the pulpit with a completed manuscript that is between 2,500–4,000 words long. While I mostly stick to my manuscript, I always feel free to stray from it, and I often do for significant portions. However, there are weeks when life has been hard—the kids were sick, I had a challenging counseling issue, or some other difficulty arose. In those weeks, I sometimes enter the pulpit with a partial manuscript of about 1,000 words. Because I’ve already done much of the groundwork months in advance, I’m still able to provide a decent explanation and application of the passage. It’s not ideal, but it’s the reality of being a busy bivocational pastor.
To summarize, my main goal in sermon preparation is to spread out the work over the months and weeks leading up to the sermon. I aim to create a rough manuscript that reflects my own study and work in the passage, not merely a paraphrase of someone else’s insights. I refine the manuscript using commentaries and tools like Accordance, as well as ChatGPT (exclusively for grammar, syntax, and word choice).
Since much of my preparation happens in small blocks of time, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many hours I spend on each sermon. However, if I took all the study and writing I’ve done on a book and divided it by the number of sermons in the series, it would likely average 12–16 hours per sermon. That’s my best guess.