Your sermon needs time to rest.

Here’s what I mean: Tuesday through Thursday can be time that you give towards studying for and developing your sermon. In fact, three days is more than enough time to prepare a sermon that is biblical, thoughtful, and meaningful in the lives of your hearers.

Set a goal for your sermon to be 100% complete by Thursday at noon. You won’t regret it.

*If you have waited until Saturday to work on your sermon – which is not a good idea – check out this resource for some help.*

When you hit Friday, let your sermon rest. Don’t work on it. Forget about your sermon. Go do something else. Resist thinking about it. Go do something fun – a hobby, a new coffee shop, a short trip, whatever you enjoy. But the most critical part: leave your sermon alone.

What Do I Do After The Sermon Rests?

Then on Saturday, set a 60 minute timer for yourself to review and refresh your sermon for Sunday. You will see gaps you didn’t see before. Personal stories and illustrations will pop into your mind that fit so well. Surprisingly, the Holy Spirit may help you see a more linear structure for your sermon that you passed right over in the week.

Most Saturdays, I’m pleasantly surprised by the fresh content and tighter structure that reveals itself during those 60 minutes. Plus, I get a chance to cement the truth into my mind all the more.

Your Brain Is Amazing At Rest!

Here’s why your sermon needs a rest: even when you’re not actively thinking about your sermon, your brain is still engaged in the process of figuring things out. Taking time to rest from your sermon actually allows your brain to make connections in the background that you would not likely make with intentionality.

How many anecdotal stories have you heard of a person:

• remembering a name they could not think of when they started talking about something else
• recalled where they placed their lost keys when they stopped looking for them
• solved a problem when they stopped trying to solve it

Let your sermon rest. At least 24 hours. You need it. Your sermon needs it. When you rest from sermon writing, you’re giving the Holy Spirit time to speak to you as well.

Let your sermon rest.