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How a Pastor Actually Writes a Sermon

How a Pastor Actually Writes a Sermon

Last updated on: August 12, 2026 at 3:03 pm by Layne Wallace

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How a Pastor Actually Writes a Sermon 2026-08-12T15:03:23-04:00 Layne Wallace

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Selecting Text (Continued)

This article is part two of The Process of Preaching

Some pastors will choose texts based on their personal devotion or on their sense of what the congregation needs. While these two options can—and do—produce good preaching, the potential drawbacks make this my least favored method. If the pastor is choosing from devotional texts, he will likely choose a much narrower scope of the Scriptures than those choosing another method—those who preach only about the felt needs of the congregation risk making preaching too human-centered.

When I preach, I follow the church calendar. That focuses preaching on the life and work of Jesus Christ. I think preaching at its best is a Christ-centered venture. In ordering my sermons, I tend to think of preaching in sets of 4. For example, in ’26-’27, I have planned to do 4 sermons on the parables of Jesus, 4 sermons on the Patriarchs, and 4 sermons on the name of Jesus. I have a 5-week series on 1 Timothy, and a longer look at the Sermon on the Mount, though. While the sermons are connected, each is episodic. Like an episode of Law and Order, if you have missed last week, you will not be lost this week. I also seldom announce my sermons as a series.

After Text Selection

Once the text is in view, study is vital. There is nothing worse than a sermon that has not engaged in serious study of the text. I’m a Bible and theology nerd, so engaging commentaries and theological texts in sermon preparation is life for me. It is not unusual for me to read from 10 or more commentaries in sermon preparation.

It is wise to select a variety of commentaries from across Christian perspectives. Even though that is true, I will admit freely that my favorite New Testament commentator is David Garland. I have his commentaries on Matthew, Mark (his theological commentary on Mark is perhaps my favorite commentary, period), 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans. If I am preaching from a passage he has a commentary on, I’m studying him. I will note that these commentaries are in different commentary series. While commentary series can often be quite good, I prefer to focus on individual authors.

When I do look at commentary sets, I will most frequently reach for the New American Commentary and the New International Greek Testament Commentary series. The work in them is usually helpful. I have access to the Hermeneia series, but it is not my favorite. I will also often consult William Barclay. He’s not perfect by any stretch, but he gives historical background on Biblical texts that is quite helpful.

Writing

When people ask me how long it takes to write a sermon, I have two answers. The first sounds flip, but it is actually the truest answer. “My whole life until now.” Writing a sermon brings every event in life to writing. If the sermon is about forgiveness, I’m going to think about times I have needed forgiveness, and times I have extended it. I will also think about when forgiveness has been hard. Invariably, I will remember a TV show, a movie, a book, an article, or an incident as I sit down to write. Many of those will end up in the sermon, or at least be in my mind as I’m writing.

Just last night I was wrapping up my day watching The Big Bang Theory. It was the episode where Sheldon and Amy won the Nobel Prize for their scientific work. On the trip to Sweden, Penny is desperately trying to conceal from the group that she is expecting. She did not want to upstage Sheldon and Amy’s award. Sheldon discovered the news and promptly made a jerk of himself. After a blunt confrontation with his wife, Amy, Sheldon recognizes how selfish he was and apologizes to his friends during his Nobel acceptance speech. The next time I preach on forgiveness, I will be thinking of that episode.

It is more than just TV shows. News items, events from my town, anything that happens, anything I observe, anything and everything is part of the process. How long does it take to write a sermon? Well, my whole life until now.

How Much Time?

The second answer is probably what people want to know when they ask the question. I budget a day for sermon writing. On average, it takes 4-6 hours. There have been times it has taken days, and there are times it takes only an hour, but I budget a day.

Different Styles

I view preachers who use manuscripts well with a bit of awe. I love the power of a particular turn of a phrase and the punch of perfectly selected prose.

For me, however, manuscripts have never worked. I’ve tried them, but … well … I end up reading them. I lose eye contact. When I look up at the congregation, I lose my place in the manuscript.

Instead, I use 7 bullet points. Each bullet is a heading of the sermon. I do not like to call it an outline, because an outline is a particular way of communicating. Most outlines look something like this:

I
A
1
2
3
B
1
2
3

C
1
2
3
II
A
1
2
3

Etc.

My Typical Sermon Blocks

For me, the bullets are not so much subsequent to each other as they play a different part in the sermon. I refer to each of them as a “block,” and each block has a task.

It looks something like this.

1) Build a connection between the text and the congregation.

2) Explain the text in detail. Point to important highlights in the text. If there is information about the book as a whole that the congregation might not be aware of, point that out. If there are Greek or Hebrew words that are important to the sermon, call attention to them.

3) What is the claim of the text (I foreshadow this in 1)

4) Why would the text say that?

5) What would be our natural opposition to the text?

6) What would it be like if we observed what the text said?

7) Closing the case, demonstrating how we could practice what the text says.

Flexibility

Obviously, this can vary significantly from week to week. For example, sometimes the text will have multiple claims. In those cases, each of the claims will need to be explained individually, and other sections will have to be shortened.

My way is not the only way. It is probably not even the best way. It is only my way. I’m convinced that there are as many ways to organize and preach a sermon as there are pastors.

How to Evaluate a Sermon

I’m not sure any church I ever attended taught me how to listen to a sermon, and I think this is true for most people who go to church. If not taught how to listen to a sermon, people tend to go to their defaults. A sermon is good, under those conditions, if it is engaging. I love engaging sermons as much as anyone else, but that is not the most important criterion.

Here are the steps to evaluating a good sermon:

1) Was this the right text?

2) Did the pastor understand and explain the text rightly?

3) Did the pastor clearly state what the text said?

4) Did the sermon have the same function as the text did? In other words, if the text was about comforting the congregation, did the sermon serve as a sermon of comfort, etc?

5) Did the pastor preach with passion?

When I am most critical of my own preaching, it is because I feel the sermon lacks energy or passion. My word is ‘bloodless.” If I feel like it was a bloodless sermon, I leave very deflated.

The highest compliment I ever get about my preaching is when people say they understand me. In the ancient world, the herald was the one who brought news from far away. The function of the herald was to convey the message accurately and speak clearly. The New Testament, Paul in particular, thinks of the preacher as a herald. I think of my role, then, as getting the message right and using clear speech.

Here is a link to Garland’s commentary on Mark

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