In a previous article that I had written, I discussed a few preparation tips that will improve the sermons your give. They included getting a passage of scripture first, telling a personal story to start off with and keeping the sermon short. In this article, I’m going to share a few more tips that will greatly help you in giving a sermon that will keep your congregation interested and awake. You will find, as I mentioned in the previous article, that if you outline your sermon first, it will go a lot smoother. One way to do this is by writing down a list of bullet points that you want to cover in the sermon itself. These can usually be positioned in between an introduction and a conclusion. From this outline, you can then write the completed sermon. This will help you stay structured and organized. Another thing you want to do is actually give the sermon out loud (by yourself) before you give it. A rehearsal. There is a strange thing about the written word. It sounds one way when reading it silently, and it can sound totally different when read it out loud. This is why you want to read your sermon out loud before you give it. You will probably find that some of the wording just doesn’t sound quite right. You’ll end up wanting to change it. Had you not read it aloud before giving it, you would have never picked up on this. Finally, if possible, you want to memorize as much of the sermon as you can. The reasoning behind this is that if you have your face buried in the text through the whole sermon, you’ll lose your congregation. They want to see YOU. They want to feel that you’re speaking to THEM and not to the notes on the pulpit. The more you look at them the more personal interaction they will feel. If you can’t memorize the sermon, at the very least, make sure you read ahead and look up as often as possible. The sermon doesn’t have to read entirely word for word. The point is, you need to make eye contact with the congregation to be effective in your delivery. There you have it. Three more simple tips to help give you the best sermon that you can possibly come up with. Make an outline, make sure you read the sermon out loud to yourself first, and make eye contact with the congregation. If you do these 3 simple things, added to the tips I gave in the first article, you’ll find that your sermon is the best one you can possibly deliver. For even more good information on sermon writing check out my sermon site.

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