Rev. Dr. Matthew Love writes for The Living Church’s Covenant blog on byproducts of preaching, namely, being drawn deeply into the Word of God as both the preacher and the hearer.
He compares the work of preachers and cooks:
Great cooks anticipate byproducts and capitalize on them. Very little is wasted. Delicious gravy for tonight’s supper is made from yesterday’s broth. Like this, a good sermon yields extra. It possesses abundance. It may forge friendships between the preacher and the church, or it may slowly build trust with newcomers. I take comfort in the fact that there are byproducts, because it reminds me that not everything is up to me, that I don’t need to predetermine or be cognizant of every possibility for God to use my work. God works alongside my work and also beyond it, like Paul prays in Ephesians. We believe that he is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”