So, I am spending a few days “away” to plan a preaching calendar for the rest of the year. Each year at about this time, I try to get away and spend a few days doing exactly this. It is a great exercise for me, and a lot of fruit often comes from it.
Why a preaching calendar?
I believe that preaching the Gospel is the first and foremost objective of the church, and I take my responsibility in that very, very seriously. In fact, I believe that I will be held accountable one day for how I stewarded the responsibility of preaching. So, I make sure that I get away a couple of times each year to pray, read, write, and plan for the coming months. In addition to this, I go to conferences periodically, and I read and study everything I can about preaching. During any given week, I spend between 10 to 15 hours preparing an individual message. Somebody once said that each sermon comes with a price. Either the pastor pays the price with advance preparation, or the congregation pays the price in having to sit through it!Read More