Where do you find your inspiration?

As a preacher, I'm also a writer.

It took me years (years!) to say those words, but once I said them, it felt as though I was confessing out loud some truth I had known for years. For me, as a mostly-manuscript preacher, my sermons begin as typed words on a page.

There are few things more intimidating than an empty page.

So, as a writer who often preaches what I write, where do I find my inspiration?

I remember in seminary I preached a sermon based on one of the psalms for my Hebrew Scriptures class. My professor asked me how I'd come up with the ideas in my sermon and I bravely said, "I was lying in my hammock."

I expected him to laugh me out of the classroom, but instead he received and affirmed my answer. I shared more: that part of the writing process for me is relaxing enough to let the creative ideas flow. Lying in the hammock had provided the needed relaxation!

Often, ideas for sermons will come to me when I walk. While I walk, I will notice the way a plant is flowering, or hear a birdsong, or encounter someone else - and these stimuli will be a seed, of sorts, for a sermon. Sometimes, these seeds will grow into something that quite literally lands in the words of a sermon ("The other day, as I was walking..."). Sometimes, they'll simply affect the tone or mood. And sometimes, as I walk, I'll create a modern-day parable related to the Scripture.

Of course, I start with the Scriptures. Maybe I should've said that at the outset! At the beginning of the week (hopefully), I'll read through all of the assigned texts for the day, and see which one (or more) lands in my heart with the most gravitas. All week, I let it percolate, jotting down ideas as they appear.*

(Note: I've learned never to trust my brain to remember a brilliant sermon idea!)

Towards the end of the week, I sit down with it all and start writing. Sometimes, the inspiration that's collected through the week makes this easy. Other times, the inspiration I've gathered is an unhelpful pile of crap, so I start over with fresh inspiration. Even going into Sunday mornings, I try to be listening for last-minute inspiration - ideas or thoughts to ad-lib in the preaching moment.

To be inpsired for preaching requires us to pay attention to our lives: What music are you hearing? What conversations are you having? What's in the news? What are your joys? What are your struggles? What are you hearing, seeing, feeling in your daily living?

Chances are, your listeners are having similar experiences in their lives, and answering questions like these can help you build a connection point to them.

Preachers, read the Scriptures, of course - but pay attention to your own lives, and see where the Spirit leads you in preaching!

I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences, so please comment below.

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*More on this process in another post!