What Shall I Preach Next Sunday?
After almost 35 years in the ministry, Carlton L. Myers has found that the Holy Spirit can guide his sermon choices a year at a time as well as a week at a time.
This pastor of two Baptist churches in Ashland, Virginia, sets aside a few days each summer to plan the next twelve months of preaching. "On one sheet of paper," he explains, "I list the needs of my people that I want to address: salvation, discipleship, stewardship, missions concern, prayer, family problems, and many others. I also list sermon ideas for holiday and special denominational emphases.
"This helps me take a long view and make sure I'm giving a balanced diet to my listeners. Otherwise I might tend to preach too much on some topics and too little—or not at all—on others.
"On a second sheet of paper, I list the 52 (or 53) Sundays of the year, starting in September. I fill in the holidays, special days, vacations and other times when I'll be away; I add dates for any guest speakers who have already been booked.
"Then I begin plugging in topics from the first sheet. As I sense the Lord's guidance, I may plot out a series of sermons as well as individual topics and passages. The object here is not to see how quickly I can do the job, but how well."
When the second sheet is filled, Myers then makes a file folder for each Sunday and begins collecting material. By the time he's ready to begin work on a particular sermon, the folder has him off to a running start.
"My preaching calendar isn't binding," he adds. "Sometimes I feel led to depart from the plan and go to a different direction. But that doesn't negate the value of the system. I would never go back to the old ordeal of spending hours early in the week wondering what to preach about—and then not having enough ...
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