Praying for the Sermon...

Crafting the Sermon

Pray that the message being prepared to be preached would be an evident part of my life.

15 "I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.” ()

NOT

"“...You have scattered my flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration.” ()

Crafting the Sermon

2. Pray for the protection of my preparation time.

12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” ()

Crafting the Sermon

3. Pray that God will give me illumination to rightly handle God’s Word!

15 "Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” ()

18 "Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction.” ()

Delivery of the Sermon.

1. Pray that people will attend the preaching.

"As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.”” ()

Delivery of the Sermon.

2. Pray that the congregation would arrive in the right frame of mind.

"Yet to those who are called... Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,” ()

Delivery of the Sermon.

3. Pray that God would guard against preaching distractions.

24 "Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,” ()

"Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,” ()

Delivery of the Sermon.

4. Pray for clarity and power and accuracy in my vocabulary.

"so that I may make it [the word] known as I should.” ()

"because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance...” ()

"The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”” ()

Delivery of the Sermon.

5. Pray that God will give understanding to all who hear the sermon.

"Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” ()

"But thanks be to God, who...through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place.” ()

May Christ give us “ointment” to spread on our eyes so that we may see! ().

Delivery of the Sermon.

6. Pray that God may give the most effective and fruitful and powerful sermon that I’ve ever preached!

15 "Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.” ()

Hoping to make continual progress in the pulpit as Timothy was commanded, “...so that your progress may be evident to all.” ()

Response to the Sermon

1. Pray that all (pastor included), will put the sermon into practice.

22 "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” ( cf. )

Pray earnestly that each one who hears Sunday’s sermon would avoid the error of being “a forgetful hearer” but instead by “a doer who works.” ()

Response to the Sermon

2. Pray that the sermon will not be compartmentalized.

Please pray, “that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored” () and not just be applied to areas of life that are convenient.

May the application go into any and every area of the hearers lives, across the spectrum of our every day lives.

Response to the Sermon

3. Pray that the response would be contagious.

The far reaching impact of effective preaching will be spread through the congregation.

Consider the echo of Paul’s preaching: 2 "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” ()

Consider Paul’s joy concerning the Thessalonians

"For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” ()