• Illness is a physical and mental burden
• Taking part in a retreat week on top of work that still has to happen is maybe not going to be restful or energising
• It is not easy to fit sermon prep into the early morning or in the evening. My brain works best between 10-3pm.
• Sermon prep is much simpler when your task is to work out the main point of the passage and tease out the natural application points. Sermon prep is much harder when you think your task is to inspire people. You're just a man.