Ernest Smith

Ever since my youth pastor, Andy Hein, asked me to speak at youth group one Sunday night, my life and ministry have never been the same. Before that experience, I was deathly afraid of public speaking and knew that if God was calling me into ministry, it was not going to involve preaching in front of a large crowd. 14 years and hundreds of sermons later, I have realized that God has not only gifted me with the ability to teach and communicate His truths, but I love, and am passionate about doing so.

So I thought I would create a blog series that would discuss the essentials of creating a message that will communicate biblical, applicable truths. I am not going to try and cover every major facet of message writing, but rather discuss five of the most important essentials that I have found over the years, in no particular order. So let’s begin.

One of the essential components to writing a message is the ability to ask the right questions. Whenever a communicator is going to speak, he/she must start by asking the right questions. Ultimately, the final destination of the message will depend largely on the questions you ask at the beginning. If you ask the right questions, then you will deliver a message that is timely, applicable and transformational. If you ask the wrong questions, then your message will fall on deaf ears and you will be left wondering why the people didn’t respond to the “Word”.

So what are the right questions? Well, there are many questions that you could ask and I am going to list many at the bottom of this blog to help you in your preparation, but it would be an injustice not to share the most crucial question any communicator, for God, could ask…”God, what do you want to say to your people?”

Know before you throw virtual rocks at me, attempting to stone the simpleton, let’s explore whether or not this question is really that simple. To ask God what He wants to say…really? I mean, I know what the people want to hear; I know what the people need to hear; I know the verses that will speak and mobilize; I know what stories to tell that will capture the attention of my audience. I know what will work.

But, if I am speaking on behalf of the Lord, then the only message that will work is the one that centers on what God wants to say to His people. Asking this question does three main things. One, it reminds us that God is God and what He has to say is more important than anything man can utter from his mouth. Two, it reminds us that the audience is God’s people, not our crowd or following or group. God cares more about His people and He knows their needs, concerns and sins better than you or I do. The third reason to ask the question “God, what do you want to say to your people?” is it reminds us that the message needs to flow from God’s written Word.

Next time you write a message, start by asking the right questions…the most important being “God, what do you want to say to your people?”

Here are 10 other questions to ask when writing a message. There are many more questions to ask, here are 10 to get you started.

What Scripture is God wanting me to communicate through?

Who is my audience?

Why will this subject matter to the audience?

What problems is my audience dealing with?

What personal examples can illustrate the truth God is asking me to speak?

What cultural or world examples help to illustrate the truth God is asking me to speak?

Is there one main point or sentence that can summarize the subject? (aka..something worth tweeting)

How is this truth applicable in my life?

How is this truth applicable in the life of my listeners?

What can the audience DO with the information being given?