I had the burden.

I had the Scripture.

I had several thoughts written down.

What I did not yet have was a sermon.

Most preachers have been there. You feel something from God, but the material is still scattered. You have a Scripture in one place, a story in another, several notes in your phone, and a thought you wrote on the back of an envelope six months ago.

Somehow, all of that must become one clear message.

Spirit-filled preaching does not mean preaching without preparation. We should pray for anointing, but we should also prepare ourselves to communicate clearly. The Holy Ghost can inspire the message, direct the study, shape the sermon, and anoint its delivery.

Preparation and anointing are not enemies.

They belong together.

Paul told Timothy:

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

—2 Timothy 4:2

Being ready to preach requires more than having a good idea. It requires prayer, study, organization, application, and refinement.

Through the years, I have found it helpful to think of sermon preparation as a process. I call it the C.R.A.F.T. method:

• C — Collect and Categorize

• R — Research and Reflect

• A — Apply and Arrange

• F — Fashion and Flavor

• T — Trim and Tie Together

This is not a substitute for prayer or the leading of the Holy Ghost. It is simply a practical way to take what God has placed in your heart and prepare it so your congregation can receive it.

C — Collect and Categorize

A sermon often begins long before we know we are going to preach it.

It may begin while reading the Bible in the morning. It may start with something said during a conversation. It may come from an experience with your family, a need you recognize in the church, or a burden that will not leave your spirit.

Good preachers are always collecting.

Solomon wrote:

“And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.”

—Ecclesiastes 12:9

The preacher gave heed. He searched. He collected. Then he set those things in order.

Learn to recognize material that may become useful later:

• A Scripture that speaks strongly to you

• A question someone asks

• A personal experience that taught you something

• A testimony of answered prayer

• A statement from another preacher

• A leadership lesson learned through difficulty

• An illustration from everyday life

• A concern you continue to feel in prayer

Write these things down.

Do not trust yourself to remember everything. I have had wonderful thoughts that I was certain I would remember later. A few hours passed, and they were gone.

Carry a notebook. Use your phone. Keep a document on your computer. The method does not matter as much as the habit.

Then categorize what you collect.

You might organize your material by:

• Scripture

• Subject

• Doctrine

• Bible character

• Leadership principle

• Pastoral encouragement

• Personal illustration

• Sermon series

• Holiday or special event

You may not need a thought this Sunday. You may not need it this year. But if you preserve it, the Holy Ghost can bring it back at the right moment.

A sermon file is more than a collection of old notes. It is a storehouse of seed.

R — Research and Reflect

Once a thought begins to develop, research it carefully.

Read the passage more than once. Read what comes before it and what follows it. Identify who is speaking, who is listening, and what is happening in the text.

Use every trustworthy tool available to you:

• Compare related Scriptures.

• Look up important words.

• Study the historical setting.

• Consult Bible dictionaries and commentaries.

• Compare reliable translations.

• Examine other passages that address the same subject.

• Verify quotations, statistics, and stories.

Research helps us understand what the Bible says.

Reflection helps us understand how that truth should reach the people.

Do not move so quickly through the research that you never sit quietly with the Word. There comes a point when we must close some of the books, put down the pen, and listen.

Ask God:

• What are You saying through this passage?

• What are You saying to me?

• What does this church need to hear?

• Is there something in my own heart that must change?

• What part of this truth needs the greatest emphasis?

• How should the people respond?

Research engages the mind. Reflection allows the truth to reach the heart.

We need both.

A sermon should not merely contain information gathered from other people. Somewhere in the process, the truth must become personal.

Let the passage trouble you.

Let it encourage you.

Let it correct you.

Let it preach to you before you preach it to anyone else.

A — Apply and Arrange

A sermon has not accomplished its purpose merely because the people learned something.

They must know what to do with what they heard.

Application answers three important questions:

• What? What truth does this passage teach?

• So what? Why does this truth matter to us?

• Now what? What should we do in response?

Suppose you are preaching about David facing Goliath.

The sermon cannot stop with a description of Goliath’s height, David’s sling, and the weight of the armor. Those facts help us understand the story, but the congregation also needs to understand how the truth reaches their lives.

• What giants are intimidating God’s people?

• Where has fear stopped someone from obeying God?

• What has God already placed in their hands?

• What step of faith must they take?

• What does the passage teach about trusting God rather than human strength?

Application carries the truth from the biblical world into the life of the hearer.

After determining the application, arrange the material.

Not every thought you collected belongs in the final sermon. Several ideas may be good but still distract from the central message.

Organize the sermon so the people can follow it:

1. Introduce the need or central question.

2. Read and explain the biblical passage.

3. Establish the main truth.

4. Develop the supporting points.

5. Apply the truth to the hearer.

6. Call for a clear response.

A sermon does not need ten points to be powerful. Sometimes one truth, clearly explained and strongly applied, will accomplish more than a crowded outline.

Arrange the message with the listener in mind.

You may understand where you are going, but can the congregation follow you?

F — Fashion and Flavor

Once the sermon is organized, consider how you will communicate it.

The truth must never be changed, but the way we present it matters.

Jesus used stories about farmers, fishermen, weddings, coins, sheep, fathers, sons, and ordinary work. He took eternal truths and placed them within pictures people understood.

We should learn from that.

Fashion the language so people can receive it:

• Use words people understand.

• Explain unfamiliar biblical terms.

• Keep sentences clear.

• Create memorable phrases.

• Repeat the central truth.

• Use contrasts to strengthen the point.

• Ask questions that cause people to examine themselves.

• Speak to the congregation instead of merely reading at them.

Do not use a complicated word when a simple one will communicate the truth more clearly.

We are not preaching to impress people with what we know. We are preaching so people can understand what God has said.

Then add appropriate flavor.

Flavor may come through:

• A personal story

• A testimony

• An illustration

• A moment of appropriate humor

• A memorable quotation

• A comparison drawn from ordinary life

• A question that causes the listener to think

• A repeated statement that drives the truth home

Illustrations should illuminate the truth, not compete with it.

A story may be interesting and still not belong in the sermon. Humor may make people laugh and still distract them from what God is trying to say.

The sermon is not built around the illustration. The illustration serves the sermon.

Use enough flavor to help people receive and remember the truth, but never allow the flavor to become more important than the spiritual food.

T — Trim and Tie Together

Many sermons become stronger when something is removed.

Preachers often struggle to cut material because we worked hard to collect it. We studied it. We like it. We may believe it is too good to leave out.

But every good thought does not belong in every sermon.

Ask yourself:

• Does this support the central message?

• Does this explain the Scripture?

• Does this help the congregation understand?

• Does this lead toward the response?

• Have I already said this another way?

• Is this necessary, or do I simply enjoy saying it?

If a section does not serve the purpose of the sermon, save it for another time.

Trimming is not wasting material. It is protecting the message.

A sermon can lose its strength when it contains:

• Too many unrelated Scriptures

• Too many illustrations

• Too many points

• Too much background information

• Too many conclusions

• Too many attempts to preach everything at once

Do not be afraid to do more with less.

After trimming the sermon, tie it together.

Return to the central truth. Remind the congregation where you began, what the Scripture has shown, and what God is calling them to do.

The conclusion should not introduce an entirely different message. It should bring the sermon to the place where the hearer must respond.

That response may include:

• Repentance

• Faith

• Forgiveness

• Reconciliation

• A change in behavior

• A renewed commitment

• A step into ministry

• A deeper trust in God

• Prayer at the altar

Do not end merely because you have reached the bottom of your notes.

Know where the message is going.

Prepare the Sermon, but Leave Room for God

There is a difference between being prepared and being controlled by our preparation.

Prepare carefully, but remain sensitive to the Holy Ghost.

There may be a moment when God directs your attention to a need you did not know was present. He may bring a Scripture to your mind, change the emphasis, or lead the service in a direction you did not expect.

Being Spirit-led does not mean our preparation was wasted.

Preparation places the Word within us. The Holy Ghost can then draw from what has been studied, prayed over, and stored in our hearts.

We should come to the pulpit with:

• A prepared mind

• A prayed-through heart

• A clear message

• A burden for the people

• A willingness to follow the Holy Ghost

We prepare the vessel.

God provides the anointing.

Preach for a Response

Every sermon should have a purpose.

Before preaching, you should be able to answer this question:

“What do I believe God wants to accomplish through this message?”

Perhaps the purpose is to encourage discouraged people. Perhaps it is to call someone to repentance, strengthen a family, challenge the church to pray, or help leaders recognize their responsibility.

If you do not know where you are going, the congregation will have difficulty following you.

Preach with the destination in mind:

• What should people understand?

• What should people believe?

• What should people feel?

• What should people change?

• What should people do when the sermon is finished?

We do not manipulate people into a response. We clearly present the truth and give the Holy Ghost room to work.

Preaching is not merely transferring information from our notes into someone else’s mind. It is declaring the Word of God with the expectation that something will happen.

C.R.A.F.T. the Message God Has Given You

A sermon is not something we throw together because Sunday has arrived.

It is something we prayerfully build.

• Collect and categorize the material.

• Research the text and reflect upon its meaning.

• Apply the truth and arrange the message.

• Fashion the language and add appropriate flavor.

• Trim what is unnecessary and tie everything together.

Then pray over it again.

Preach it with faith.

Deliver it with clarity.

Trust the Holy Ghost to do what only He can do.

Preaching is not performance. It is proclamation.

We are not preparing a speech. We are preparing to place the truth of God before people who need to hear from Him.

Craft the sermon carefully.

Carry the burden sincerely.

Preach the Word faithfully.

Then give God all the glory for what happens next.

Related Ministry Resources

• Article: Pursuing Clarity in Every Biblical Text — Guidance for understanding Scripture in context and handling the Word of God accurately.

• Article: The Power of Expository Preaching — Encouragement to allow the biblical text to establish the substance and direction of the sermon.

• Article: Planning Your Preaching — Practical help for approaching sermon preparation with greater purpose and organization.

• Sermon Preparation Resources: Explore thousands of searchable and editable sermon outlines at PreachIt.org.

• Pastoral Books and Training: Visit PastoralHelps.com for books and practical training materials designed to strengthen pastors and ministry teams.

• Missions and Humanitarian Ministry: Learn how OpportunityHope.org is serving orphaned and at-risk children, pastors, families, and communities in India.

About Pastor James Smith

Pastor James Smith of Valparaiso, Indiana, is the founder of PreachIt.org, OpportunityHope.org, and PastoralHelps.com.

For more than two decades, he has equipped pastors and church leaders with sermon resources, practical leadership training, and encouragement for the challenges of ministry. His writing grows out of a burden to help pastors lead with wisdom, remain faithful to their calling, and develop healthy, growing churches.

Through OpportunityHope, Pastor Smith also helps care for orphaned and at-risk children in West Bengal, India. The ministry provides food, shelter, education, clean-water wells, livestock, and other practical assistance to children, families, pastors, and communities in need.

Books and practical ministry-training resources, including Momentum in Ministry, are available through PastoralHelps.com.