5 Common Mistakes When Preparing a Sermon (and How to Avoid Them)

In this article

1. What the Bible expects from those who preach
2. Starting with the idea, not the text
3. Trying to say everything the passage allows
4. Not having a single central idea
5. Leaving the application for the very end
6. Memorizing words instead of mastering the structure
7. Worked example: fixing a sermon on the calming of the storm
8. How to fix a mistake without falling into the opposite one
9. A one-week routine to avoid the five mistakes
10. Questions for reflection
11. Frequently asked questions

Almost every preacher recognizes these mistakes, because almost every preacher has made them. None of them ruins a sermon on its own, but they add up and weaken the message. Here you will find the five most common sermon preparation mistakes, what the Bible says about each area, a complete worked example and a simple routine for your next week of preparation.

What the Bible expects from those who preach

First, the goal. After the exile, Ezra read the Law before the people gathered in Jerusalem, and the Levites helped everyone understand what they heard:

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Nehemiah 8:8

Notice the sequence: read, give the sense, lead to understanding. The text comes first and the explanation serves it. Almost every mistake in this article breaks that order somewhere.

Paul tells Timothy, a young pastor in Ephesus, the same thing. In 2 Timothy 4:2 the command is "Preach the word", not your own opinions. In 2 Timothy 2:15 he asks Timothy to be a workman "rightly dividing the word of truth". Handling the word rightly takes study and care: preaching is work you prepare for.

1. Starting with the idea, not the text

It is tempting to start from a topic and then look for verses to back it up. The result is a sermon in which the text merely props up something you had already decided to say.

Peter warns in 2 Peter 3:16 that some people "wrest" the Scriptures. No sincere preacher means to do that, but it is exactly the risk of coming to the text with your conclusion ready. The Bereans, by contrast, are praised in Acts 17:11 because they "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so". Preach in a way that lets a Berean open the Bible and check.

How to fix it:

• Read the passage several times before you open any commentary.
• Ask: who wrote it, to whom, in what situation and why?
• Write down what the text says and, in a separate column, what it does not say.
• Only then put into words the idea you will preach.

Topical preaching is not forbidden, but it demands the same respect for the context of every passage: see topical preaching without betraying the text.

2. Trying to say everything the passage allows

A good passage holds enough for ten sermons, not one. The mistake is fitting all ten into the same message: every Greek word, every cross reference, every fascinating detail you found while studying.

Paul told the elders of Ephesus, "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). But look at the context: he is talking about some three years of ministry in that city (Acts 20:31), not a single address. The whole counsel of God is delivered over many Sundays.

How to fix it: after studying, make two lists. In the first, what the text emphasizes (what repeats, what concludes the argument, what the author highlights). In the second, what is interesting but secondary. Preach the first list. The second belongs in a Bible study or a future series.

3. Not having a single central idea

If you can't sum up your sermon in one sentence when you finish writing it, the congregation won't be able to either. Loose points with no thread tying them together are forgotten by the time people leave.

Peter's sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36) quotes Joel and the Psalms and speaks of the resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit, yet everything converges on one sentence: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). The listeners understood so well that they immediately asked what they should do.

How to fix it: write the central idea before the outline, as one sentence with two parts:

• The subject: what is the text talking about?
• The complement: what does the text say about that subject?

Then test every point: does it explain, prove or apply that sentence? If not, cut it.

4. Leaving the application for the very end

When the application shows up only in the last two minutes, it sounds forced and generic. Listeners nod and forget.

The letter to the Hebrews, which its own author calls "the word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22), shows another way. It keeps alternating explanation and appeal. Right after showing that Christ is superior to the angels comes "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed" (Hebrews 2:1). Later comes a direct exhortation that no one should harden their heart (Hebrews 3:12-13). The truth is applied while it is still warm.

James gives the reason: whoever hears the word without doing it deceives himself (James 1:22). Application is part of the purpose of the text, not an appendix to the sermon.

How to fix it: for each point, answer three questions. What does this change in what I believe? What does it change in what I do? Where does it show up concretely in my listeners' week? One specific application per point is worth more than five generic ones at the end.

5. Memorizing words instead of mastering the structure

Memorizing a manuscript word for word creates anxiety and sounds artificial the moment you forget a sentence. You end up preaching to your memory instead of to people.

Paul tells the Corinthians he came to them "in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling", and that his preaching did not rest on "enticing words" of human wisdom but was "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Corinthians 2:3-4). That is no excuse for skipping preparation: the same Paul tells Timothy to "give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:13). The issue is where your confidence rests. Someone who depends on a memorized text tends to trust their own performance.

How to fix it: master the structure (introduction, central idea, main points, transitions and conclusion) until you can explain it without notes. Write out in full only your first and last sentences and, if you like, your transitions. Preach the rest in your own words within that framework. For this stage, read effective communication in the pulpit.

Worked example: fixing a sermon on the calming of the storm

Imagine a preacher who wants to preach "God ends the storms of your life" and chooses the passage where Jesus calms the sea.

First, the text. In Mark 4:35-41 the disciples cross the Sea of Galilee, face a storm and wake Jesus, who rebukes the wind and the sea. Then he confronts them: "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" (Mark 4:40). The story ends with a question, not a promise:

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Mark 4:41

The focus is not the absence of storms but the identity of Jesus: the disciples move from fear of the wind to a greater fear before the one who was in the boat.

Second, the selection. The lake, the boat, Jesus asleep: all interesting, but the text emphasizes the closing question.

Third, the central idea: "Jesus has authority over what terrifies us, so the most important question in the storm is who is in the boat with us."

Fourth, application in every point. Explaining the disciples' fear, the preacher names real fears in the congregation. Explaining Jesus' rebuke, he applies the question about faith with pastoral care, without blaming people who are suffering. Explaining verse 41, he invites people to know better who Jesus is. And, honestly, he does not promise that every storm will pass quickly, because the text does not promise that.

Fifth, the structure: the storm, the word of Jesus, the disciples' question. With that in mind, there is nothing to memorize.

How to fix a mistake without falling into the opposite one

Every mistake has a neighbor:

• Running from proof-texting into a lecture: explaining the text is not unloading technical information with no link to life.
• Running from generic application into moralism: sometimes the application is to believe, to rest or to worship, not a to-do list.
• Running from memorization into improvisation: preaching without memorizing is not preaching without preparing.
• Running from overload into shallowness: you study a lot and preach what is essential.

And don't forget the preacher. Paul tells Timothy, "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:16). Preparing your heart comes before preparing your outline.

A one-week routine to avoid the five mistakes

• Day 1: read the passage five times, ideally in more than one translation. No commentaries yet.
• Day 2: study the context (author, recipients, situation) and note what the text says and does not say.
• Day 3: consult commentaries and make your two lists: essential and secondary.
• Day 4: write the central idea in one sentence and build the outline from it.
• Day 5: write one concrete application for each point.
• Day 6: rehearse aloud with only the skeleton, no manuscript. Adjust the transitions.
• Day 7: pray for the sermon, for your listeners and for yourself.

Questions for reflection

1. Which of these five mistakes shows up most often in your sermons?
2. Thinking of your last sermon, could you state its central idea in one sentence right now?
3. Do you come to the text with your conclusion ready, or do you let the text ask the questions?
4. Are your applications usually specific or generic? Give an example.
5. Where does your confidence rest when you step into the pulpit: in your memory or in the God who speaks through his Word?

Frequently asked questions

What mistakes do new preachers make most often?

Choosing the idea before studying the text, cramming too much material into one message, having no central idea, saving all the application for the end and depending on a memorized manuscript. All of them are fixed by preparation that starts early and moves in stages.

How do I prepare a sermon step by step without making these mistakes?

Start by reading the text repeatedly, study its context, separate the essential from the secondary, write the central idea in one sentence, build the outline from it and apply in every point. The seven-day routine in this article follows exactly that order.

Is it wrong to read my sermon in the pulpit?

It is not a sin or a spiritual failure. The problem comes when the page holds your eyes and you lose contact with people. A short outline, or a manuscript you know very well, solves that.

How much time should I spend preparing a sermon?

The Bible does not set a number of hours. You need enough time to study the text, pray and rehearse. Starting early in the week, not the night before, already prevents most of these five mistakes.

The complete step-by-step process is in how to prepare an expository sermon, and to learn how to interpret a passage before preaching it, see what biblical hermeneutics is.

About the author

Vagner Soares · Presbyter with pastoral ordination · Mentor and digital entrepreneur

Vagner Soares is a presbyter with pastoral ordination, a mentor and a digital entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience in technology, digital marketing and education.

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