Welcome to Packrat Week! This is the fifth in a series of posts about the art and science of gathering material for sermon prep. Be sure to check out the rest of the series here.

How do I Use Materials?

Over the past week, we have introduced a “packrat” mentality, found out what to collect, where to find them, and how to collect and organize them. But now for the important part: how do you use them? So what if you have stacks of funny stories or a hard drive filled with pictures and videos if you can’t use them?

1. Study the Word. This is by far the most important part of prepping a message. Taking a passage of Scripture, studying it for yourself, and determining what you will teach your audience is the key to message prep. I cannot stress this enough: the jokes, illustrations, and stories – no matter how good they are – do not make the message. They are just the icing on the top. Rather, the content is what is important. Make sure you budget enough time to study the passage and prepare the meat of your sermon ITALICS before you start adding extra stuff.
2. Create the message. This is when you determine the structure and flow of the message. Some people like to outline, mind map, or even write a rough draft of the sermon (my preference). Figure out what you are going to say and how you will say it.
3. Enhance the message. This is when the materials you have gathered like a packrat come in. Take the folder (whether physical or digital) and browse through it’s contents. See if there is an interesting story that could become a key illustration. Look at the images for a possible PowerPoint slide. Maybe there is a joke that would be a great introduction. If you have done a good job at collecting, there should be a great deal of information for you to browse. After that folder, turn to a related folder and do the same. For example, if your message was on relationships, you would likely look at many folders: Friends, Dating, School, Family, Siblings, etc. Work the resources you wish to use into your message, and be sure to include it in the outline/mind map/script.
4. Trim the message. This, for me, is the most difficult part of message prep. After working for hours on a message, studying and praying, rewording and honing, you find out that the message is too long. Or too topical. Or not topical enough. You must then rework your message to make if clear, concise, and relevant to your intended audience. This may mean deleting a verse from the scope of your message. Or removing an illustration. Or cutting the introduction back. Face it, you will never be able to say all that you want, or even all that you learned. But instead of muddying up the message by cramming too much into it, simplify the message so your audience can understand grasp it effectively.

When I use a resource (say a joke) in a message, I mark down exactly how I used it. Audience, message topic, and date all get recorded and filed away with the resource. That way, when you preach on a similar topic, you will not make the mistake of telling the same joke to the same audience. For a physical copy, put a Post-it note with the info right on the resource. For a digital copy, you can edit the properties of the resource to include this information. For Macs, when you see the resource’s info, there is an area called “Spotlight Comments” where I record this.

Side note – some people like to review their resource folders before they study the passage or write it out. This can get the creative juices flowing and provide some inspiration for reading the text. I do not recommend this because personally it has not worked for me. When I review a folder before I study the passage, I am already thinking about the funny joke I want to tell or the good story I want to use. This causes me to lose focus and not give my full attention to the text. For some, this is not a problem. But for me, it is. Make sure that the focus of your message stays the focus of your message. Keep the focus on the Bible, and let the resources enhance your message. Sometimes they can be a goofy joke or an unrelated story, but never let the illustrations become more important than the message.