Preparing Lessons for Presentation (For Ministers and Teachers)

Preparing lessons or sermons for presentation may be your responsibility. If so, you are always searching for quality thoughts, ideas, and subjects to use. The will of God for the occasion is important to all concerned. To arrive at all this simultaneously can be perplexing. Below is a brief step-by-step process though which you can arrive at your goal.

1. THE WILL OF GOD
   1. By strong impression or conviction you may know the will of God for the service you are to speak in. If so, pursue your subject diligently and speak as God directs you.
   2. If the will of God is unknown to you for the service in which you re supposed to speak, let the following guide you.
      1. Consider the type of service you are speaking in. For instance, if it is a men’s meeting, you willed something directed to men. In short, choose topics appropriate for the occasion.
      2. Meditate on the type of meeting you will be speaking in.
      3. Spend time in prayer
      4. Go to your resource material, including books, notes, and past messages. Through this process, God will open up thoughts to you that are applicable to the occasion. Much time may be needed – do not rush.
2. HOW TO OBTAIN THOUGHTS AND TOPICS
   1. Keep not paper handy, and write thoughts and topics down.
   2. Through prayer God will drop thoughts into our minds and hearts.
   3. Magazines and News sites
   4. Bible reading
   5. Sermons and Bible studies you have heard or preached
   6. Commentaries
   7. Meditation
   8. Billboards
   9. Recordings
3. HOW TO DEVELOP A LESSON OR MESSAGE
   1. When you have a topic in mind, add thoughts, in any order, as they come to you.
   2. Use your concordance to look up all verses of Scripture on the subject.
   3. Cross-reference every verse from your reference Bible.
   4. Look up word meanings – Greek, Hebrew, English – and write them down. Pronounce aloud words that are hard for you to pronounce; do not wait to practice on the congregation.
   5. Sit and meditate, think on your subject, inject personal experiences and anecdotes.
   6. Stop and pray if you feel defeated or if you are at a dead end.
   7. Take all your notes, word meanings, and illustrations and arrange them for your finished product. Some choose to use outlines, and others use mind maps.
   8. Keep all permanent notes for future reference.
4. PRESENTATION OF THE MESSAGE OR LESSON
   1. Present your message with enthusiasm and conviction.
   2. Use sobriety or joy as the occasion calls for.
   3. Be in prayer and meditations before you present your message.
   4. Present your thoughts with confidence, faith and assurance.
   5. Do not let the devil sidetrack you. You have studied diligently; now make it worthwhile to the listeners.
   6. Speak clearly, let God anoint you, and do not try to impress the crowd with your importance. The power is in the Word, not you.
   7. Dress neatly and properly for the occasion.