How to Preach With Everything You Have

How to Preach With Everything You Have

By Joe Hoagland “Just preach with everything you have.” That was advice given to me by a well-meaning older gentleman when  I was heading off to Bible College. That statement stuck with me though. What does it mean to preach with everything I have? Do I need to yell and scream, do I need to go so hard that I feel like I am going to pass out right after the worship service? Do I prepare for 30 hours? Is it all about me? And what I have?
Here are some things I have figured out when it comes to preaching with everything I have:

It Is Not About Me at All

The funny thing about preaching with everything you have is that it is not about you at all. It is not about your words, or your thoughts, or your passion, or your skills. Remember that.

Pray, Read, Let the Holy Spirit Work

It is not about you because it’s about what you let the Holy Spirit do through you, how you let the Holy Spirit use your words, your thoughts, your passion and your skills. You want to preach with everything you have? Then bathe the message in prayer, work hard in the Bible, and put yourself and your ego and personality aside.

Properly Prepare

To preach with everything you have you must properly prepare. You must work hard on the research that goes into a well-delivered message. Set up a schedule that works for you and stick to the schedule. Work hard to find good stories that will connect with people and work hard to memorize as much as you can so you can make eye contact with those you are trying to reach.

Get Excited

Get excited about the passage and topic, get excited about letting the Holy Spirit and the Word of God be communicated through you. Get excited about lost people being found and found people  being convicted. To preach with everything you have you must be excited!

Love People

To preach with everything you have you must love the people you are communicating to. In other words, to preach with everything you have is to love people with everything you have!

What Else?

So what else would you add? What did I miss? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or on social media (Facebook Group | Facebook Page | Twitter).

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Joe Hoagland is a pastor at Gape Grove Church of Christ in Jamestown, Ohio. He co-founded RookiePreacher.com and regularly writes for that site. He is newly married to his awesome wife Jenna and together they have 2 spoiled dogs and a cat. He loves to lead people to Jesus and preach God’s word. You can often times find Joe hiking, camping, writing, reading, or enjoying technology.

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