On Tuesday morning I begin to devotionally read the text that I will be preaching on the following weekend. I am beginning to think through possible approaches, areas that I want to research, etc.
On Wednesday I jot down all of the materials that I want to collect for study. These could include word studies from theological dictionaries, commentary information, articles, quotes from books, materials from the internet, etc. I collect these on Wednesday and throw them all in a big file.
On Thursday morning, I begin to read through the materials, writing everything that comes to mind in a stream of consciousness kind of way. I find that one of the great mistakes that young preachers make is attempting to form their message too early in the process. That is why I never start with an outline because the temptation is to artificially force the passage into your preconceived mold. Instead, I simply (forgive me if this sound vulgar) "vomit" information for pages in my notepad. Once I've done that, I look at the mess and ask God to give me the central theme that has emerged from all of my study. Again, I do this only after I have done the creative exploratory work.
On Friday morning, I take all of the loose strands of thinking and discover in them an outline, a message title, and a thematic sentence. Then I dictate my message into a tape player word for word and my personal assistant types my manuscript. Before I had an assistant, I used to write out my messages out by hand, word for word.
At 3:00 p.m. on Friday, I am done with my own message preparation. At that time, I mentor a small group of men and women in preaching. Their assigned text is the text that I will be speaking on that weekend. Since I have all ready done all the work for my own message, mentoring them takes no additional preparation.
We need to figure out, as preachers, what people's primary problem is. The difficulty that I have with much contemporary evangelical preaching is that it seems to assume that people's primary problem is a lack of social skills (therefore, practical "how-to" messages are what is needed) or that people's primary problem is emotional/psychological (therefore, people need some sort of cathartic experience). It is clear, at least in Jesus' mind, that people's primary problem is that they don't know God (John 15:21, 16:3, etc.) and don't understand His rule and reign in their lives. I like J.I. Packer's old distinction between knowing about God and knowing God. Most church people know about God, so they think they can move beyond "God talk"-that their deepest need is helpful tips on living life better. But the preacher should be the one person in the community who understands that people's deepest need is to know God.
My assumption when I get up to speak is that most in the congregation have not "tasted and seen that the Lord is good." I love that word "taste" regarding the preacher's task. What I am attempting to do, week after week, is to develop in the hearer's heart a taste for God and calling people to taste of God. Nothing is more personal than tasting. You can read a recipe in Bon Appetit, you can see a mouthwatering picture of a Thanksgiving meal, you can even come down into the kitchen and smell the meal cooking in the oven. But you don't know food until you have tasted it. And people don't have the personal involvement they need to have with God until they have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Therefore, my goal week in and week out is not to present the congregation with more helpful tips on reducing stress or three ways to spice up their love life. I do offer the helpful tips and three-this and the four-thats, but I want my tips to be connected in people's minds to a deeper knowledge of God. So, if people come away from my messages saying, "I feel like I have met with God" or "I have heard from God," then I have put the ball in the basket.