Hey Friend -

Over the last few weeks, I've been writing about how to plan a year's worth of sermons. This last episode in the series will focus on tools, ideas, and lessons I have learned over the last decade of using this strategy.

If you missed any of the previous emails, you can catch up on the series here:

​Week 1 : Thinking about your 2025 Preaching Calendar​
​Week 2 : Crafting Your Sermon Calendar​
​Week 3 : Building Sermon Series that Resonate​

Now, on with the email!

Tip 1 : Read Widely.

Once you have an idea of your year of sermons, start reading. This doesn't have to be intentionally focused on what you already know will be resources. One of the funny things about crafting a sermon series and knowing where you are heading in the future is the way information and ideas drop into your lap. Follow a few accounts on social media that like to share great quotes. Read articles from around the internet. Keep your eyes open when you listen to podcasts. I can't count how many times I have come across something I know will be great for a future sermon and tucked it away when needed.

Tip 2: Create a place to save everything.

Once I know sermons and series are going to have flesh on them, I create a place to save information. I used to use Evernote for this exclusively, but for the last 5 or 6 years I have used Trello. I plan out my yearly preaching into a workspace, with each month getting a list, and each sermon its own card. Once I find things, I drop them inside. For major series, I will usually have some document outside (Evernote usually, although I have used Google Docs for this) where I am writing out big-picture ideas, working through the structure, etc. I make sure the link is in the first card in the sermon series. This way, when I come across something, all I do is drop it in this version of a keeping system and perhaps make a couple of comments about it. I like Trello because I can also snap a picture with my phone and attach it to the card.

Tip 3: Learn to Visualize Your Series (and Sermons).

I am a visual person. I like to draw things out. I have rarely met a whiteboard I don't want to write on a little. I also have friends who are major Post-it note people. Get visual in your preparation for any sort of series. This is the best way to make sure we can connect big-picture ideas across multiple sermons. I also might have the same question I am asking broadly across the whole series, and I dig in deep here to see how it might be answered with a specific message.

That's it. I hope these emails on creating and using a yearly sermon calendar are helpful!

Chad

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