First, re-using a sermon or preaching a sermon on a text I’ve preached before takes as much work as preparing a new sermon. It’s a different kind of work, but it’s still work! I simply can’t ‘heat and serve’ an old sermon like I might do with leftovers from the fridge. To make it fresh, I have to cover old exegetical ground, explore new ground I overlooked last time, and wrestle with why this particular congregation at this particular time needs this particular text. For example, the last time I preached Ephesians, I prepared a mechanical layout of the text (something I do when I preach New Testament epistles) in both Greek and English. I’m currently using that work. Having it done already allows me to concentrate on other exegetical issues which I didn’t have time to pursue previously.

Second, recycling a sermon forces me to look for new illustrations and images. This is true whether I’m preaching it to people who heard it before or to a new audience. Even though it will be “new” to an audience who has not heard the sermon before, the illustrations and images will likely be dated and suited for a different culture. This is true for me because I tend to use images and illustrations which fit the culture where I’m preaching and which emerge from current events.

Third, as a consequence of these two realities, almost all of the old sermons I re-use have become new sermons by the time I re-use them. I have a handful of sermons which I’ve preached in different settings over the years. The changes I’ve made over time have been slight. But most of the sermons I re-use end up becoming new sermons. New insights, new illustrations, and more mature thinking (I hope!) than I possessed eight years ago, and the work of God’s Spirit combine to create something new.

Fourth, I typically wait at least four years before preaching the same sermon (or text) to the same congregation, and then I have a good reason for it. I picked up this idea early on in my ministry, although I can’t remember where I heard it. But the idea is that a lot changes in four years. People finish high school or college, get married, have grandkids, face new challenges, etc. But if I revisit a sermon or a sermon text, it’s not because I ran out of time and had to recycle a ‘golden oldie’ from the past. It’s because the congregation is facing something that requires me to return to a text like Romans 8:31-39 even if I preached it five years ago. Or perhaps an issue that needs repeating (such as giving) is best addressed by one particular text (such as 2 Corinthians 8-9). Sometimes, I’m fired up about preaching a text I’ve used before simply because God’s Spirit has used it to stir something within me.

It’s alright, then, to recycle a sermon. Sometimes, it may be necessary or preferable. But be prepared for some hard work!