As a pastor, your weekends are sacred. So is your Sunday. This may seem like a contradiction, but it’s not. For pastors, your weekends aren’t really Saturday and Sunday, like many Monday through Friday 9 to 5 workers. For you, Sunday is the biggest day. If you want to enjoy weekend days with family and friends, you need to plan accordingly and prep your sermon beforehand.
Let’s say your sermon is not totally ready, and you want to work on it in the final minutes or days before you preach it. But you’re really looking forward to that bingo, shuffleboard, or fishing Saturday. The French proverb says, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.” You want to work on your sermon, but deep down, you aspire to go fly fishing. If you wait until the last minute, you may have a problem!
7 Sermon Prep Habits That Will Save Your Weekends
If you’re ready to change some habits to be able to keep our sermon prep out of your weekends. Here’s how:
1. Plan Your Sermons for the Year
Start by planning a sermon schedule for your year. You know when your holiday messages will happen – Christmas always happens in December, Easter is in the Spring, Thanksgiving in November, and so on. You also can expect to go on vacation. These will always happen, and you cannot be surprised by them.
Plan out all 52 weeks, and you’ll discover that there are about 5-10 messages that are already slightly decided for you. Some weeks are easy to plan ahead because you don’t need to wait until November to think about Christmas. You can start planning much earlier.
2. Schedule Your Sermon Prep Time
Schedule your sermon prep during the week and note it in your calendar. Your calendar is your friend, and it won’t lie to you. It takes time to get a good message ready. If you wait until late in the week to start working on your prep, you must keep working on your weekend days. Unless you neglect the quality, I’m convinced you’d never do that. It usually requires at least 10-20 hours a week to get it ready. So plan it out in your friendly calendar.
3. Start Your Sermon Prep Early
If you know you will preach on April 22, start working on your sermon by April 2nd. This gives you time to get things ready. At first, it will feel weird to be so far ahead of time. But you’ll get the hang of it. You will never regret having a head start on your message, but you will regret starting too late!
4. Designate Your Freedom Area
Your freedom area is where you are free from any disturbances or free to work peacefully. It can be your church, home office, coffee shop, RV, or wherever. The idea is to find a place that allows you to work as freely as possible.
I have a couch in my living room, known as my thinking spot. If I sit there, I’m in thinking and reflection mode.
5. Choose a Focus Time
Once you’ve discovered your freedom area, you must prep your sermon during specific hours. Set aside the time when you’re the most productive. My prime hours are 10 AM to 2 PM and 9 PM to 11 PM. I can easily work focused during those hours. I choose not to make those PM hours happen every night. After all, I have kids and am happily married, and I want it to continue that way!
Your focused hours exist to let you work on your message. Everything else submits to that. Or else, on Saturday, you’ll be finalizing your sermon.
6. Hang Up Your ‘Do Not Disturb‘ Sign
The hotel staff will not disturb you when you’re at the hotel, and put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. Likewise, put a literal “Do Not Disturb” sign in your freedom area during your time of focus.
7. Allow Yourself to Percolate and Marinate
This is the secret ingredient. Psalm 1:2 poetically describes the one who follows God’s ways: “His passion is to remain true to the Word of ‘I AM,’ meditating day and night the true revelation of light” (TPT). Colossians 3:16 adds, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” (NASB).
Let the word of God take root in you. Let its effects percolate your mind and spirit. For that to happen, you need to make specific points 3 to 6 occur.
Dr Leonard Sweet says, “The more you marinate your mind and soak your soul in the Scriptures, the more the Word becomes your words – the more its words become part of the warp and woof of your life, including your unique phrasings and idioms.”
8. Find Inspiration
Your mind needs inspiration and requires motivation. Your soul fuels on it. You need it outside of work. Perhaps a walk on the beach or a forest trail will bring the needed catalyst. A good meal in great company may also be your remedy.
When you work all the time, it’s like driving your car without stopping. You can imagine what happens to your fuel gauge. You need to refuel. Inspiration will do just that for you. An inspired man or woman of God will produce what he or she needs to produce more efficiently.
You can plan this inspiration time in your schedule. Reading inspires me. My calendar even knows when I read!
9. Take Time Off
- Take a weekend off from preaching.
- Take off for vacation time.
- Take off for a few days of prayer and renewal.
- Take off for a fasting retreat.
Taking off is beneficial to you, your family, and your church.
When you remove yourself from the preaching schedule, your church gains another voice (or voices) to listen to. You don’t need to be the voice for 52 weekends a year. You can easily ask a friend to come over and preach for you. A deacon, elder, or another staff pastor can also do that.
When taking off for a few days, you recharge your batteries, reignite passion, and initiate new habits.
Conclusion
In conclusion, remember this: you decide if you will prep your sermon during your weekend days—nobody else. Of course, there will be those rogue weeks when everything goes sideways, but that will happen once or twice a year. Your decision to live out these nine tips today will determine the day you stop giving up your weekend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions pastors might ask:
1. How can I effectively balance sermon preparation with other pastoral duties during the week?
Balancing sermon preparation with pastoral responsibilities requires intentional time management. Allocate specific blocks in your weekly schedule dedicated solely to sermon work, treating these appointments as non-negotiable. Utilize tools like calendars or planners to organize tasks and set priorities. Delegating certain duties to trusted team members can also free up time, allowing you to focus on crafting your message without neglecting other essential pastoral functions.
2. What strategies can help me maintain creativity in sermon writing without last-minute pressure?
Maintaining creativity involves proactive planning and continuous idea development. Keep a journal or digital note app to record insights, anecdotes, or scriptural revelations as they occur. Regularly engage in activities that inspire you, such as reading diverse literature, spending time in nature, or participating in artistic pursuits. By nurturing your creative wellspring throughout the week, you can approach sermon writing with fresh perspectives, reducing the need for last-minute inspiration.
3. What role does self-care play in sermon preparation, and how can I incorporate it into my routine?
Self-care is vital for maintaining the physical, mental, and spiritual health necessary for effective sermon preparation. Incorporate regular rest periods, exercise, and spiritual practices like prayer or meditation into your daily routine. By attending to your well-being, you ensure that you approach sermon preparation with clarity and vigor, ultimately enhancing the quality of your messages and preventing burnout.
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