{"id":917,"date":"2026-09-09T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/?p=917"},"modified":"2026-09-02T20:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T20:45:26","slug":"stumped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/2026\/09\/09\/stumped\/","title":{"rendered":"Stumped"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]

You sit down to write the sermon for Sunday. It\u2019s Wednesday. Time to get busy.<\/p>\n

And\u2026
\u2026nothing<\/strong>.
Sermon preparation comes around every week. Unless you start vacation on Monday. Or maybe it\u2019s the pastor\u2019s Sunday off, and you were tapped to \u201cfill the pulpit.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you do when you can\u2019t get started<\/strong>? You come back to it after your train of thought was interrupted, and you don\u2019t know where to go next.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re stumped.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve heard of writer\u2019s block. Well, sermon block is also real. Everybody experiences it, no matter how clear we are about God\u2019s call or the truth of Scripture.<\/p>\n

The passage is rich with meaning. You may see a couple of approaches.
But you are stuck. It happens, even after more than 40 years of preaching.<\/p>\n

I get anxious.<\/p>\n

I stare at the screen.<\/p>\n

So, I write on paper every thought that comes.<\/p>\n

I think on it.<\/p>\n

I think of the people who will hear it.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

Back to the basics. The most basic activity in sermon preparation is prayer\u2014effective preaching comes through communion with Christ. He may desire our company, so He stops us. To calm our anxious souls. To clear the fog of a full to-do list.<\/p>\n

\n

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the<\/strong><\/em>
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of<\/strong><\/em>
the Lord and to seek Him in His temple<\/em> <\/strong>(Psalm 27.4).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Practical measures can mitigate sermon block. Develop a preaching calendar for a month or longer. The Spirit can lead ahead of time as well as, maybe better than, on the fly. Friends have a history of impromptu preaching, that\u2019s true. But that cannot be an excuse for neglecting the task. Or for being lazy. A sermon plan doesn\u2019t have to be a strait jacket if you keep listening. You can adjust and change as the Spirit sheds more light on the text.<\/p>\n

Or your heart.<\/p>\n

You may need to set the message aside. Come back to it tomorrow (unless tomorrow is Sunday!).<\/p>\n

Preach through an entire book of the Bible. You read a text many times as you study the whole book. And you don\u2019t have to make weekly decisions about which text comes next.<\/p>\n

Get more mileage out of your study for more than one sermon or lesson. Prepare a devotional for the elders on wisdom for Monday evening, then preach on wisdom the following Sunday. I tell them when I am getting double duty from a text. \u201cThis may sound familiar,\u201d or \u201cWe looked at this last week, and it deserves more investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find ways to refresh your heart and soul. The work of preaching is never done, so we keep the well full through communion with Christ, study, and waiting.<\/p>\n

\n

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord<\/strong><\/em>
(Psalm 27.14).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How do you refresh your soul? The Lord gives the message if we wait before Him and meditate on His Word.<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You sit down to write the sermon for Sunday. It\u2019s Wednesday. Time to get busy. And\u2026\u2026nothing.Sermon preparation comes around every week. Unless you start vacation on Monday. Or maybe it\u2019s the pastor\u2019s Sunday off, and you were tapped to \u201cfill the pulpit.\u201d What do you do when you can\u2019t get started? You come back to it after your train of thought was interrupted, and you don\u2019t know where to go next. You\u2019re stumped. You\u2019ve heard of writer\u2019s block. Well, sermon block is also real. Everybody experiences it, no matter how clear we are about God\u2019s call or the truth of Scripture. The passage is rich with meaning. You may see a couple of approaches.But you are stuck. It happens, even after more than 40 years of preaching. I get anxious. I stare at the screen. So, I write on paper every thought that comes. I think on it. I think of the people who will hear it. Nothing. Back to the basics. The most basic activity in sermon preparation is prayer\u2014effective preaching comes through communion with Christ. He may desire our company, so He stops us. To calm our anxious souls. To clear the fog of a full to-do list. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fyi-master-preacher"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t