How to do sermon prep

So here is how I start:
Immerse in the Text
Sunday night, I read the passage (e.g., Proverbs 4:1-7) multiple times without a goal, just to let it sink in and feel familiar.
Pray for Guidance
Early Monday or Wednesday, I pray in the sanctuary, asking the Holy Spirit what He wants to teach His people through the text. This aligns my heart with God’s.
Analyze the Passage
Reread with purpose to grasp context, tone, and flow. Context is king: Understand the book’s theme (e.g., 1 Peter’s hope in suffering), audience, and its place in Scripture. In IBS (inductive Bible study) it is the observation portion with the goal of answering: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?  Who is speaking, why and to whom? etc.
Note impressions: What stands out? Look for patterns (e.g., repeated words like “listen” in Proverbs).
Exegete the text first without commentaries, then consult resources (e.g., I like David Guzik with Enduring Word) to ensure accuracy. This is the Interpretation phase of IBS. What does the text mean?  What is the authors intent to its original readers. What's the plain reading understanding? Is there symbolism used?
Distill the Big Idea
Craft a single, memorable truth that bridges the text to today’s audience (e.g., “Pursuing wisdom through discipleship honors God”).
Test it: Is it biblical? Applicable? Christ-centered? Does it reflect the gospel’s redemptive arc? Doug excels at pointing to Jesus, especially in Old Testament texts.
Take a Break
After 3-5 hours of study and prep, let the Big Idea and outline marinate for a day or two. I work mornings when my mind is clearest.
Build the Sermon Outline
Organize for clarity:
Introduction: Start with a hook (e.g., a story about all of us needing affirmation, like my “Power of Appreciation” sermon, tying to Jesus’ being affirmed in Matthew 3:17). Connect to a felt need to engage hearts.
Main Application Points: Develop 2-4 application points from the text, each with exegesis, application, and a gospel connection and how it points to Jesus. This is how it impacts my life today. This is a super important stage to really pray about.  
Conclusion: End with a call to action challenge or vivid illustration (e.g., my Proverbs 3:5-6 rope analogy).

Now that the bones are developed, you need to put the connecting tissue and "skin" on so spend time thinking about how to deliver it in a way that will be received.  The best theology can be delivered dryly!  Put your personality in it because you are preaching God's word! Use SHARPS (Story, Humor, Anecdotes, Rhyme, Pictures, Symbols) to make it sticky and relatable.
Apply for Transformation
Move listeners from understanding to action, addressing heart, mind, and behavior. As Billy Graham advised (per Doug), preach to the heart, mind, and back to the heart.
Refine and Practice
My friend Andy suggests manuscripting early on, but I use a hybrid of bullet points and written sections.
As an auditory learner, I preach the sermon aloud Saturday night at church to test flow and rewrite if needed. Let your personality shine—don’t mimic Alistair Begg or MacArthur or whoever resonates with you.
Keep it simple: People remember 1-2 points only usually. Make them sticky with SHARPS.
Be purposeful about getting rid of filler words (Um’s) and learn to pause for dramatic impact.  I tend to run through instead of letting people ruminate on a point.
Trust the Spirit- Once you've been a workman approved, it's Jesus' job to convict people so the burden is removed from your shoulders! So enjoy the delivery.
Warning:  be faithful to the scripture, context and intent. Too many preachers "isogete", meaning they take a premise and find a text to prove it.  Exegesis means we extract the meaning and apply it.  Oh, remember your audience too.  You'd approach teens differently than adults, etc.