Getting ready to speak

Perry Noble shares how he gets prepared for a sermon. This is worth reading because he outlines an excellent, iterative process that
allows room for God to speak to him
helps him tailor it to the needs of the audience
engages others to help him shape the message

It's about 2 pages, and I recommend it for teachers. I really liked this section:

"Let me be very up front--I believe in being prepared--and being prepared as a speaker involves a lot of time. This has not always been a conviction of mine...I used to sort of have the attitude that I would get up to speak, have a passage in mind, read it--and then "let the Spirit move me" in whatever direction He wished.

But since that time I have discovered that the moving and working of the Holy Spirit is not limited to a one hour window on Sundays. The Holy Spirit moves me to always be thinking about the message that I will be speaking on--He is present with me in my times of study--He is present with me as I am preparing and running through the message in my living room--and He is present with me as I present the message.

I can honestly say that every message that I speak is Spirit led--I usually have about 90% of what I want to say in mind when I step out on stage to speak every Sunday--and He always moves and gives me about 10% more than I had planned to say.

I believe God honors those who honor Him through loving Him and the people who are going to be in attendance. How do we honor God & those people--if we are the speaker--it means that when we step up--we are prepared. I am guided by the conviction that people are willing to give me 30-40 minutes of their time every week...and I do not want to communicate in that time that God is boring or meaningless--so I prepare."

That's a great message for teachers to hear and live by. Your teaching ministry is a God-thing, a work of the spirit. But you need to cooperate, and that means work.