Lesson On Preaching – Part 4

Introduction – Last week we learned a little bit about song leading and some ways to put “flesh” on the skeleton of an outline. Today we want to deal a little more about your particular style of presenting your sermon and more about making an outline.

In one of the debates between then president Reagan and his political opponent, Mr. Reagan was having a very difficult time presenting his side of the issue. It was not because he didn’t know his position, but some of his political advisors had told him that he had to change his “style” of speaking. But the new “style” didn’t fit Mr. Reagan’s personality, so his speech flopped, and he didn’t do well in that debate. The point that I am making is simply this, each of us has our own personality, our own “style” that will come through some when we preach. Don’t let anyone try to change that, or it can ruin you as a public speaker. That doesn’t mean that you can not or should not try to make some slight modifications in your “style” (that is what this class is supposed to help you do), but you shouldn’t be forced into a style of preaching that is totally not YOU! Your message will be pathetic and your hearers will be apathetic. If you are not allowed to preach in what is basically your own style, find somewhere else to preach! To not be allowed to use your own basic style of preaching in the pulpit, is as bad as having to go into the boxing ring to fight Mike Tyson, with one hand tied behind your back. It is tough enough trying to present a good Gospel sermon when you can use your own style, it is nearly impossible to present it when you are asked to use a style that isn’t your own. Even the young shepherd, David, could not use King Saul’s armor to go out and fight Goliath because David hadn’t “proven” or “practiced” in the armor. Heavy armor was not David’s style of fighting, but a sling, a few stones, or his shepherd’s staff, were. Those are the things that David was most comfortable with in fighting. We are fighting against the devil, and we must be allowed our freedom to fight through our own style of presentation of the Gospel. But, don’t go overboard wanting to roll on the floor or swing from the rafters, or hang from the ceiling fans to preach. Some preachers gesture a lot; some move around and even walk down the aisle part way, others just stand behind the pulpit. Whatever your basic style is, use it! Also, use inflection in your voice. Few people can listen long to a monotone.

Show some enthusiasm in your preaching. If you aren’t excited about it, no one else will be either!

TIP FOR THE DAY: Remember that most people’s minds can not comprehend more than their sitting muscles can endure. Or as one preacher’s wife told her husband, just remember KISS, when you are up preaching. Of course that put a smile on his face, but later his wife reminded him that KISS is an acrostic for “Keep it short and simple”. No one ever complained because the sermon was a few minutes too short. And keep it simple enough for the average person of the pew to understand. (if a 6th grader can’t understand it, redo your sermon until they can) (You might be interested in John’s epistemology or Jesus’ eschatology but use simpler words, to let the people know you are going to talk about the writings of the Apostle John, or Jesus’ teaching on the things that will happen in the last days before the end of time.)

OUTLINING POINTS

  1. To help your outline flow, you might want to include a few lines from a poem, prose, or even a few words from a familiar song in it to help make your point.
  1. Perhaps one point of your sermon would involve the use of logic or deduction, i.e. after using the narrative Bible account of Jesus and the Wise Men, you might make a point, or even a whole sermon around the idea that “Wise Men Still Seek Him”.
  1. It is O.K. to use some quips, quotes, or anecdotes, to help add a little spice to your sermon, but remember that your sermon is to be about the Gospel story first and foremost.
  1. You might make up an outline based on the 3 or 4 verses of a hymn. I have even heard a complete sermon preached by the singing of songs by the congregation. The song leader had chosen songs to fill an outline form. They told of God’s love, Christ’s sacrifice, Man’s sin and God’s offer of redemption, and ended with an invitation hymn that tied it all together.
  1. You can use the rule of thumb of : “Three points and a poem” to make up your sermon outline, but that would be a very bare skeleton from which to work.
  1. Perhaps you could use some famous religious painting as a topic or illustration for a sermon. I.E. When the “Last Supper” was painted, Jesus’ picture was supposed to be one of the first one’s painted in the picture. The artist tried to find real human faces of his time to portray what he thought that Jesus and the Apostle’s might have looked like. The man he used for Jesus’ face had lived a good life and was happy and friendly. Many months went by as the painter painted. Later the painter needed a face for Judas that was downcast, sinister, perhaps, even evil-looking. The man whose face he had used earlier for Jesus, was the same man that he used for Judas’s face. That man, during those months, had turned his back on everything that had been good and noble, and had become involved in things that were evil….and it had changed even his looks, as well as his heart.

OR, what about the picture of Jesus knocking at the door (our heart). Have you ever noticed what is missing on that door? There is no handle/latch on the outside. It has to be opened from the INSIDE!

  1. There are object lesson sermons, based on some object that gets the point across. Some of the Old Testament prophets were famous for their object lesson sermons. And what about the N.T. prophet, Agabus, who met Paul and tied the belt around his own hands and said that is the way Paul would be tied if he went up to Jerusalem….Or you could use a pair of barber clippers to have an introduction to a sermon on Samson and Delilah. But a few of these go a long way. Don’t overdo them.
  1. Once you get into the habit of making good, orderly outlines, they will become easier to do and will actually become almost routine for you after you do them often enough. You will probably soon settle into a certain style of sermon that goes along with your own style of outlining, as well as your style of preaching.

CONCLUSION: How many sermon outlines, sermon illustrations, or sermon starter thoughts did you find in this lesson? If you didn’t find any, you haven’t been paying attention in class. If you found 3 or less, you are learning, but need to try to concentrate more on what is happening.. If you found 4 or more, you are really on your way to having an easier time finding sermon topics and illustrations.