Stuck in a Sermon Rut?

When was the last time you caught someone falling asleep in one of your sermons?

Of course there’s always going to be that one person, but obviously you’d like to keep everyone awake for the 30 minutes that you have your congregation’s attention every week.

That’s easier said than done though when you’re the one writing the sermons week in and week out. So how do you avoid the sermon rut? Maybe you feel like you’ve exhausted your sermon illustration archive. That’s why we’d like to help you break out, and give you some new and fresh ideas.

Here are 3 ways to break out of your sermon rut:

Try a new sermon format.

There are some sermon formats you’re naturally more comfortable with than others. But maybe you just need to try something new. If you’re an expositional preacher, teaching line-by-line through a passage, with a 10-point outline, maybe you should try a “one big idea” format of preaching. This style focuses on one big idea that you would like your congregation to take home with them, rather than giving them a laundry list of sermon points. 
Of course there is no wrong or right way to preach, but maybe this is just what you need to break out of your sermon rut, and grab your congregation’s attention again.

Try a new “hook” 

This will take you back to your Bible college days when you learned the basic format of preaching or writing a devotional. The “hook” was the way that you grabbed your audience’s attention. This is either a sermon illustration, or a piece of media. Regardless, it’s something that relates to your sermon that is also typically present in culture or is contextual for your audience. This could be a movie clip, or a personal story that your audience can relate to.

Switch books of the Bible.

Have you been preaching through the book of Leviticus for the last 6 months? Maybe you need to take a break and switch to a new book for a little while, or maybe just for a weekend. Sometimes people just need a change of scenery to be reinvigorated. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with preaching through a book of the Bible of a period of time, but it’s good to mix it up a bit.

Sermon ruts are easy to fall into, so don’t get stuck in a personal rut, and start thinking that you’re failing as a pastor. And even if you’ve been preaching for years or your divinity degree is freshly printed, everyone can use a little coaching along the way. That’s why we crafted Preaching Rocket – a 12 module coaching program that will help you preach better sermons. Lean more now!