Whether through a church sermon or another ministry opportunity, everyone has a story to share. Everyone has a message to give. You can learn to speak with confidence, whether you are presenting a church sermon, leading a small group, or teaching a class. Remember, there are people who need to hear what you have to say. The message, however, will not get through if you find your knees are knocking louder than you are talking. Worse yet, your concern over your inability to speak with confidence while giving a church sermon may force you to shirk away from the very opportunity God brings to you and silence your story altogether.

Perhaps you are unable to present a church sermon because you are too intimidated by your own feelings of inadequacy. Maybe you even feel God is calling you to prepare for full-time ministry, but you argue, like Moses did: “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. . . O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:10, 13). You think you would never be able to give a church sermon or present in front of large groups.

As I have traveled the world over and trained thousands of people how to speak with confidence, I have found the most common reason people are nervous is the fear of the unknown, not the presentation, the material, the church sermon itself, or the Bible study.

We can experience fear when we face more unknowns than knowns. When this sort of fear stems from a lack of preparation for a church sermon or other presentation, it is justifiable. Preparation for a church sermon helps you speak with confidence by taking the unknown and turning into the known. If you are well prepared, your preparation will take over once you begin, and your nervousness will begin to diminish. This is especially the case if you concentrate on the message you want to convey in your church sermon and, more specifically, the objectives you want to accomplish.