Luke 19:41-42a describes a series of actions that Jesus took before speaking prophetically over Jerusalem. Looking closely at this text you can see that Jesus: a) approached; b) looked; c) wept; and only then d) spoke. These four actions of Jesus provide a template for how I prepare to preach.
Approach
When I approach a sermon, I turn to the relevant passage and make sure I have read a number of commentaries. When I was at theological college, I was a library monitor. One summer – whilst re organising the shelves – I worked out who my preferred commentators were for each book of the Bible. This took absolutely ages, but it was time well spent. At one of my churches, we follow the lectionary, so knowing which commentaries to turn to is invaluable.
The other church I work at selects its sermons by topic. Locating an appropriate scripture is trickier, so I look to an often-overlooked character in the Bible for inspiration, who is simply referred to as ‘the attendant’. In Luke 4, the attendant hands the scroll of Isaiah to Jesus immediately before Jesus delivers his first sermon. In my opinion, this attendant is a marvellous example of a preacher in the Bible. He knew the scriptures and where they were located. He had the ability to go into the archives at the right place and the right time to deliver them. This is what I try and do when I am picking a passage for a given topic. I pray for the ability to locate the right scripture at the right time to offer Jesus. Once I know what passage I will be preaching from, I move on to the next step.
