My Routine

I preached today. Whenever I preach I tend to have a routine for preparation.
1) Start asking the Lord sometime that week what in the world He is going to have me preach on.
2) Something is revealed to my through Scripture and often through a conversation with someone else.
3) I set a slot of time aside (preferably 5-8 hours) and get away. This time is usually a lot of fun. If it is later in the week (Friday or Saturday, which is often is) then I get a bit nervous and pressured while I am preparing, but I am usually calm. I typically go to either a coffee house or a library. While I am there I give myself breaks every hour or so to check e-mail, go to espn, call someone... basically anything. This time is always alone though.
4) If this time is cut short (3-4 hours) I will go out one more time for 2-3 hours alone.
5) When it is finished I print it and then go through it with Kelly, usually this is Saturday night. This is actually quite funny. I would never do this part of the process in front of anyone else, because it is basically me practicing my sermon, without the calming presence and power from the Lord I feel come over me when I am actually preaching. I am wound up when we do this. I am moving all over the room. I say things like, "Uhmmm...sooo...then I will probably say something about such and such and then... well, I'll just do it... listen". I laugh non-stop. I say, "this part is probably stupid alot." I basically just a big goofball who doesn't know what to do with himself.
6) After I get through it we talk about it. She gives some awesome insight and helps me see where it wasn't connecting, and how it could a little better. She let me know which parts seem long, or more likely, parts that could go long because of the potential for story telling... which I love. Her feedback is so comforting, so helpful and so fun. It is probably my favorite part of the prep. I think we both look forward to it.
7) The final phase is putting the finishing touches/reviewing it that night in lieu of my time with Kelly. I usually take the five pages and condense them to an outline of 2 pages, so that I can simply look at my notes on my way past the pulpit.
8) The morning over I review my printed outline a lot; during tithes and offering or a special, etc. I am on that edge of excited and nervous the entire time.
9) Finally, when the time is coming close a calm comes over me. I am excited to share, but not nervous in the least. I continually ask the Lord to take my words out of the equation and make it only his words. I can actually sense the power of the Holy Spirit filling me as the time comes.
10) I always surrender the sermon to God in prayer before I begin and then off we go.

I wrote this more for me than anything else. It is fun to sit back and see how it all cycles through. I never planned it, it isn't scripted, but this is generally how it works every time I am asked to preach. It is a bit different or camps/retreats/etc.

It was fun preaching today. I could really sense the Lord close. I could sense His Spirit releasing power as we got deeper into the Word. It feels bad or wrong to say that, like I am somehow exhalting myself or being cocky, but I don't mean it that way at all. I could just really feel HIS POWER and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it wasn't my message, my words or my power. It was His time, and he allows me for some crazy reason to be one of His messengers at times. I am honored for the privilege. I struggle with the responsibility. I usually feel unworthy of the call, but I surrender, I seek, I serve, and sometimes that means I preach, but I refuse to ever do it without HIM!