Written By: Caleb Kaltenbach

So, this week I will have been in Dallas, TX for 90 days! WOW… I can hardly believe it. I have taught and preached on a regular basis before, but I havenever preached as a senior pastor before. So, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on preaching that I’ve had over the past 90 days.

• No matter how good of a preacher you are, you can’t write a sermon in 4 hours. It takes 12-20 hours to formulate a good sermon
• The sermon is just as much for the preacher as the congregant. I find that God explores my heart during the week as I dig into His Word, and on Sundays I get to share what He and I have done
• Preaching without notes makes one more conversational, more relaxed, and makes it feel more real
• It is possible to have so much flash and “piz-zaz” in your sermon where the Word is compromised or undercut in your delivery.
• There should be a good balance between teaching the text and applying the principles. Too often, people either do one or the other
• Preachers preach for different reasons. I think that the Bible was written for life-change, Jesus died for our life-change, and we need to preach for life-change. Gaining knowledge about the Word is a nice sidedish to life-change
• Get insight into sermons from other members of the congregation. Make them feel like they’re part of the process
• Plan ahead of time what you will preach for the entire year. Bring staff and elders in on the process—don’t just think that you can do that all on your own. Other people hear from God too!

Many people probably already knew these, but I thought I’d share anyway

[image via Mathieu Struck]