Your Progress
Day 1 / 5
5-Day Sermon Prep Walkthrough
Welcome
Choose Your
Preaching Passage
Greetings — Tom Stone here from The Sermon Prep Blueprint. Welcome to Day 1. We’re going to use the steps from my Sermon Preparation Form to shave hours off your prep while making your messages more biblical and engaging.
📖 Today’s Focus — Step 1
Choose Your Preaching Passage
Too many times we pick texts at random and in the end our sermon flops. Here’s how to choose one that lands. Find a potential passage, read it aloud, then ask yourself these four questions:
Does this passage personally touch my life right now?
Does it address a real need in my congregation?
Does it speak to something happening in our community or society?
Does it tie into the season — Advent, Easter, back-to-school, etc.?
If the passage doesn’t fit at least one of these criteria, set it aside and try another. Don’t force it.
⚡ Action Step
Pick a Passage — This Takes 10 Minutes
1
Grab a notebook or open a blank doc.
2
Prayerfully spend 10 minutes scanning your preaching calendar and brainstorming passage possibilities.
3
Pick one passage using the four questions above.
4
Jot down a sentence explaining why it fits.
That’s it. Step 1 complete. ✓
Coming Tomorrow — Day 2
We’ll crack the exegetical idea in under 15 minutes — no commentaries needed yet. See you then.
Preach stronger,
Tom Stone
MAPM, Andrews University · Sermon Prep Blueprint
P.S. If you’re already feeling the prep drag lift, hit reply — I’d love to hear which passage you picked and why it fits.