For no reason other than curiosity, I recently went back to some of my notes from seminary on sermon-writing. The notes that were most interesting to me were not those from my preaching classes, but those from a class called “Advanced Biblical Exegesis.” At RTS1, it’s kind of a hodgepodge class for third-year students that covers a random assortment of topics. In Charlotte (in the mid-2000s) it was co-taught by Drs. Bob Cara2 and Dick Belcher.
I’m posting this because I realized in reading the notes how much better my preaching would be if I’d follow this more intentionally. It’s also not a bad standard to use for evaluating the preaching you’re under each week. (Do so with humility and grace, please.) It could also be very helpful to anyone out there who ever needs to write a sermon and doesn’t really know where to begin.
Pre-work: Determine the text, the circle of meaning3, and what within that circle you are going to emphasize. Even if the sermon will be topical, start with a text.
Sermon Outline
- Introduction
- Present a modern existential problem4 or interesting intellectual question5 that is neither obvious nor so generic as to be useless.
- Give a brief introduction to the text so that the congregation has some idea of what it’s about when you read it to them.
- Historical background – who is the audience and what is their situation
- Literary background – what has happened prior to this point in the book6
- Logical progression – how is this text organized or where it falls in broader organization
- Read the text. How you read it should give the flow and emotional tenor of the passage.
- Exegesis7
- Progress through the text, using the logical progression to break it into sections, and making exegetical comments and explanations along the way.
- Get “top of mind” problems out of the way quickly. Do not let potential problems (absolutes, contradictions, etc.) become a distraction to hearers because you ignore or put them off.
- Give a detailed exegesis of the original meaning – how your main sermon point connects to the text. This is the whole ballgame. If you don’t prove that the authority for the original meaning is from God in the text itself, your modern application doesn’t have a chance. Bring in other sections of Scripture, as needed, to expand the point that you are making from this text.
- Application8
- Focus on the modern meaning and theologize on the implications of the exegesis section.
- Go through several modern examples to show how the text applies to them. Use “think, feel, do” and apply this to various categories of people and situations.
- In general, make up real-life situations instead of using illustrations.9
- Conclusion
- Bring back the initial problem and give, what is now, the obvious Scriptural solution.
Personal Note
I think the outline above is a great way to organize a sermon as it’s being written. If you write it that way and preach it “as-is,” you’ll be fine.
There is an opportunity however to get a bit next-level with the outline on your final draft. Instead of making Exegesis and Application discrete sections offered in serial, figure out how to weave them together in parallel. I’ve found (on the rare occasions I can do it well) that it helps your listeners to stay engaged throughout rather than dropping in and out.
- Reformed Theological Seminary ↩︎
- The notes below are almost entirely ripped off from one of Dr. Cara’s lectures. ↩︎
- what the text means is not a ‘dot’ but a circle ↩︎
- why aren’t I more joyful ↩︎
- how does God as creator impact our environmental views ↩︎
- what’s its overall purpose? ↩︎
- this section should be shorter than you think ↩︎
- this section should be longer than you think ↩︎
- When you do use illustrations, they should be short, memorable, and obviously connected to an important point. ↩︎
What I Think 