I remember the first time I ever preached a sermon in a church. I kid you not, as I walked up the steps of the platform, a series of hidden emotions surprised me. Scenes like memories from church history flooded my mind as I neared the podium. I thought of Matthew 16 when Jesus declared to Peter and the others the authoritative and missional role his Church would have in the world.

I thought of John Wesley and the circuit riders who worked so diligently and faithfully to plant churches throughout my country. And I thought of my dad, a pastor whom I watched minister faithfully and effectively for years in his local communities. I knew that I was participating in a rich tradition … and taking on a great responsibility. And I wanted to do my best with that opportunity.

Our society doesn’t view being a pastor with the same respect it once did. This has probably developed due to a variety of reasons—from a suspicion of authority, inappropriate behavior by pastors, overbearing leadership style, lack of professionalism and so forth. But the pastor is the only person who can show up at any occasion and be welcomed—a wedding, a funeral, a celebration, a lament, a city crisis and the like.

So I am intrigued by the pastors on Twitter and Facebook who work to not use the word “pastor” but to prefer monikers like “entrepreneurial thinker,” “thought leader” or “lead teacher” and want to focus on words that suggest a detachment from others versus Christ’s model of a nurturing shepherd: a pastor. (See Scot McKnight’s post of Brittany Smith’s article regarding podcast sermons and pastors.)

Of course there are many good books on speaking and preaching out there. But, as I recently prepared to speak on a Sunday morning, I thought of some sermon checkpoints I use to buff a nice luster on what I do ... and to make sure I’m responsible and faithful in the process.

1. Pray first and don’t quit praying.

This actually is independent of what we do; we ought to be about this all of the time. But purposeful prayer for the sermon process keeps me mindful that it’s not about my ability, but about what the Holy Spirit does.

2. Do your diligent study.

So I review background materials, read a reliable commentary, use my Logos software to study the biblical text and look for common popular references to the Scripture and topic at hand.

3. Compose a clear teaching aim.

After the study, I try to write about a clear aim for the message: “By listening to this sermon, people will (here I pick a word that is thinking, action or feeling oriented) ... (and then the content/result).” 

4. Organize your outline.

This avoids rambling and crafts a clear progression, argument or series of thoughts you can then develop and strengthen. This provides a necessary framework that serves as a guide to know where you’re going and how you’re doing getting there.