1. Having to speak doesn't always mean you have something to say. In this workshop, Haddon Robinson, esteemed preacher and teacher of preachers, covers all the bases of how to get into a weekly flow of biblical ideas. Haddon Robinson is senior editor of PreachingToday.com, Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, radio teacher on "Discover the Word," and author of Biblical Preaching. Read Busting Out of Sermon Block.

5. No preacher wants to be shallow. We hate to hear this line from those leaving our church: "I'm not being fed." In the article What Makes a Sermon Deep? Lee Eclov explores the steps you can follow in sermon preparation to produce messages that go beyond the obvious. Lee Eclov is pastor of Village Church in Vernon Hills, Illinois, and a contributing editor to Leadership journal and PreachingToday.com.

2. Sermon preparation takes on a whole different energy when it is part of an overarching preaching plan. Randy Frazee says a balanced message is theological, biblical, and practical, and he has designed a program that makes sure he covers all of those bases. Randy Frazee is teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Listen to the audio workshop The Three Legs of Preaching.

6. Week after week, Bible teachers face the demand of developing with new, interesting messages. How do we come up with fresh ideas? Warren Wiersbe met that weekly demand as pastor of Chicago's Moody Church. Read, Imagination: The Preacher's Neglected Ally.

3. Ben Patterson, chaplain of Westmont college, has one great regret about his ministry as a pastor. In this article, he tells how he is making up for lost time. Read Why I Pat the Bible on My Nightstand.

7. All sermon series, especially sequential exposition, require thinking ahead. Haddon Robinson provides the step-by-step in Planning for a Richer, Deeper Sermon Series.

4. The sufficiency of preaching rests on the sufficiency of study. Kent Hughes—author, general editor of the Preaching the Word commentary series, and pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois—describes what the preacher needs to do before, in, and around the study. These tasks include prayer, cracking the text, respecting and disrespecting commentaries, and knowledge of the English Bible. Listen to the audio workshop The Preacher's Study.

8. As a preacher, it's easy to run out of time for the indispensable ingredient of sermon preparation. But prayer brings authority and fruitfulness. To add motivation to your prayer preparation, read Richard Foster's article Centered Richard Foster is author of Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home.