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# Planning A Year’s Preaching
- URL: https://www.dashhouse.com/2009720planning-a-years-preaching-html/
- Published: 2009-07-20T10:00:49.000Z
- Updated: 2022-08-15T15:30:55.000Z
- Author: Darryl Dash
- Tags: Blog, preaching, #DashHouseCom, #wp

I took some time a couple of weeks ago to begin planning the coming year’s preaching at Richview.

> The wise minister preaches according to a program. He makes it himself and is free to change it at will. He thinks of himself as a gardener who is appointed by the King to feed several hundred people throughout the year. The gardener keeps a succession of plants growing in the various beds. He can water them all in the time that a novice would devote to a single corner. What is more pleasing than a garden that is carefully planned as well as nurtured? (Andrew W. Blackwood, *Planning a Year’s Pulpit Work* circa 1942)

This quote is right. Planning ahead allows some ideas and themes to develop over time, and it sure beats the weekly panic of deciding what comes next.

I usually come at the process from two directions. From the congregational side, I try to discern the needs of the congregation. My fellow elders are a huge help here. From the Scriptural side, I try to think through genres and themes that I haven’t addressed. We all tend to focus on areas of Scripture and themes we like most, which is a danger if we are to preach the whole counsel of God.

The idea is to give people a balanced diet of preaching. Some preachers aim for doing this over a three-year period; others as long as ten. It really depends on the mobility of the congregation.

A helpful book on the topic is Stephen Nelson Rummage’s [*Planning Your Preaching: A Step-by-Step Guide for Developing a One-Year Preaching Calendar*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0825436486?ie=UTF8&tag=dashhouse-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0825436486&ref=dashhouse.com). Mark Dever also has some downloads on sermon planning at [9Marks](http://www.9marks.org/partner/Article%5FDisplay%5FPage/0,,PTID314526|CHID598016|CIID1925242,00.html?ref=dashhouse.com). If you have any tips on sermon planning, I’d love to hear them.