Participants:
Series Code: DPM
Program Code: DPM000036A
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00:05 Good afternoon everyone, welcome to the class,
00:08 How to prepare a meaningful sermon. 00:11 No doubt most of you are here 00:13 because you want to learn the steps and principles 00:16 of preparing a powerful and effective sermon. 00:19 Because it's inevitable 00:21 especially if you are a church leader, 00:23 that at some point in your life, 00:25 you're going to be asked to preach a sermon, 00:28 or give some sort of devotional talk, 00:30 maybe share your testimony 00:33 or make some kind of public presentation. 00:36 So what we're gonna do in this class 00:37 is we're going to go through simple principles, 00:41 step by step on how to study for a sermon, 00:45 how to prepare for it, how to write the sermon, 00:49 and then how to effectively present it. 00:51 And I can assure you these steps are so simple, 00:54 anyone can understand it. 00:56 So this class is open to men, women, children, in fact, 01:00 these are the same principles that I use in order to prepare 01:03 and to be able to present a sermon. 01:05 So let's have a word of prayer together, 01:07 and then we're just gonna jump right into session one, 01:10 which is probably the shortest of them all. 01:12 So let's pray together. 01:16 Heavenly Father, Lord, You have called each of us 01:20 to be ministers for you in some way. 01:23 And so, Father, those that are here today 01:26 are sensing that perhaps you're calling them 01:28 to speak for You publicly. 01:31 And they want to be ready when that opportunity comes 01:33 or they want to improve the opportunities 01:35 they've already been given. 01:37 And so we simply ask Your Holy Spirit 01:39 to fulfill Your Word, Lord, where You said 01:41 You are willing to give each of us spiritual gifts 01:44 and to equip us to do Your work. 01:46 These things we ask in Jesus' name, amen. 01:51 All right, let's start with session number one, 01:54 because one of the first things we're gonna have to learn 01:57 is the tools for a speaker to use. 02:00 So before we go into the mechanics 02:02 of how to choose a subject and how to construct a sermon, 02:06 I wanna start with the very basics 02:09 of how to use certain study tools, 02:12 because there's tools you need to understand, 02:15 how they're used and how you can utilize them 02:19 to prepare for your sermon. 02:21 So let's start with tool number one. 02:23 And actually let's start with this. 02:26 I was reading some books on preaching 02:28 during my lifetime, and interestingly enough 02:32 the experts say that for every minute, 02:36 for every hour of public speaking that 02:39 or rather for every minute of public speaking, 02:42 you should spend an hour preparing. 02:45 Now I want you to think about that. 02:47 An hour preparing for every minute 02:50 of public speaking. 02:52 That means if you're preaching a 30 minute sermon, 02:55 how many hours of preparation would that require? 02:58 Thirty hours. 03:00 And most laypeople that I know, who work full time jobs 03:04 and have family responsibilities 03:07 and other responsibilities in their life 03:09 do not have 30 hours a week to prepare a sermon, 03:12 would that be true? 03:13 In fact, to be honest with you, I don't know many ministers 03:16 that spend 30 hours a week preparing a sermon 03:19 'cause they'd have very little time 03:20 to do other things. 03:22 So what we need to do 03:23 in this class is give principles 03:26 and steps that anyone can use, especially the layperson. 03:31 So let's start with tool number one, 03:33 which is gonna be the obvious. 03:36 The first tool we need to know how to use is the Bible. 03:39 Now somebody ought to say amen to that. 03:41 Now you may think that's rather elementary, 03:44 but I can tell you from hearing what various people say, 03:47 especially those that come to evangelistic meetings, 03:51 one of the reasons they come is because they don't feel 03:54 they're receiving the Bible where they're going. 03:57 They don't feel that they're being fed. 03:59 And unfortunately sometimes there are churches 04:02 that are a little more interested 04:04 in telling stories, and humor, 04:07 and entertainment during the sermon time 04:09 than actually presenting the Word of God. 04:13 And so if God is giving you and I an opportunity to, 04:16 you know, preach a sermon, we should take seriously that 04:19 we need to preach a Bible sermon. 04:22 And that we need to share things 04:23 that come from the Word of God, 04:25 'cause that's what folks are hungry for. 04:28 So let's say that you have chosen the subject 04:32 and the passage that you wanna preach on. 04:34 That means you're gonna have 04:36 to take some time to read that passage from the Bible, 04:40 how many times do you think? 04:43 Certainly more than once. 04:44 You're gonna read that passage multiple times 04:47 from the scriptures over and over again. 04:50 You're gonna take time to really think about 04:52 what it's saying, use your imagination, 04:56 place yourself in the shoes of the character 04:59 and think about what's happening there 05:01 and you'll probably wanna read it numerous times 05:05 out of various versions of the Bible, 05:07 because sometimes you may see something 05:09 in one version that you didn't see in another. 05:12 Now it's perfectly fine if a person says, 05:14 well, there's only one version 05:16 I like to use and that might be the version 05:18 that you preach from and that's okay. 05:20 But when you're doing 05:21 your personal studying to prepare for the sermon, 05:24 it's okay to use various translations of the Bible. 05:28 You know, if you're a good old King James person, that's fine. 05:31 You can do your preaching from that version 05:34 but in personal study, 05:35 many times it is helpful 05:37 to read it from different translations 05:39 because it helps you to see things 05:41 that maybe you didn't see before. 05:44 So you're gonna spend a sufficient amount of time 05:47 reading that passage over and over 05:50 because you're gonna see things 05:52 the 10th time that maybe 05:53 you did not see the first two times. 05:56 Does that make sense? 05:57 I mean the only way you can preach a Bible sermon 05:59 is if you get very familiar with the passage 06:02 and the text that you're gonna be using. 06:04 So this should be the number one study tool 06:08 for the lay preacher and that's the Bible. 06:11 Now you probably expected me to say that, 06:13 but there are other tools that can be helpful 06:16 also though they are not the primary ones. 06:20 Another is a Bible Concordance. 06:23 Now just out of curiosity how many people here 06:25 are familiar with and have ever used 06:27 a Bible Concordance, can I see your hands? 06:30 Okay, most of you have. 06:32 But for the sake of those who might be watching on camera, 06:34 let me briefly explain how Concordance works, 06:38 why it is helpful. 06:39 Probably one of the most popular 06:41 is Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. 06:45 And the reason this can be essential 06:47 is that a Concordance will list every single word 06:51 that's in the Bible 06:53 and it will do it in alphabetical order 06:55 and then it will tell you every text 06:58 where that word is used. 06:59 So if you were preaching on a certain subject, 07:02 it'd be really helpful to find all the text to talk about it. 07:06 For example, if you take a look at your notes. 07:09 Say you were doing a study or a sermon on reverence. 07:13 You would look up reverence in a Concordance 07:16 and it would list for you every text in the Bible 07:19 that uses the word reverence and it would also give you 07:24 the original Hebrew or Greek word behind it. 07:28 In fact, on the screen 07:29 let me just give you an example of what's in a Concordance. 07:32 Suppose you did look up the word reverence, 07:34 now it would list more than three texts 07:36 like what's on the screen 07:38 but I just picked three of them out. 07:40 Leviticus 19:30 says, "Reverence my sanctuary." 07:43 1 Kings 1:31 says that, 07:46 "Someone did reverence to the king." 07:48 And then Ephesians 5:33 talks about 07:51 "A wife reverencing her husband." 07:53 Now let me ask you something. 07:55 Are all three of those 07:56 three different kinds of reverence, 07:58 what do you think? 08:00 Yeah, I mean, do you reverence the king 08:02 the same way you reverence God's sanctuary? 08:05 And do you reverence your spouse the same way 08:07 you might reverence the king, so to speak? 08:09 All of those are different kinds of reverencing, 08:13 if you wanna call that a word. 08:15 And what could be helpful with a Concordance 08:17 is if you will notice there in Leviticus 19:30, 08:20 where it says, "Reverence my sanctuary." 08:22 Right at the end there is a number there. 08:25 Now what number is it? Can you see it? 08:28 Yeah, 3372, now that is not a page number, 08:32 what that is, is in the back of the Concordance 08:35 is likely to be something called a Lexicon. 08:39 And it will list all those numbers you see, 08:41 it might go from like 1 to 10,000. 08:44 And so I take 3372, 08:46 I look that number up in the Lexicon 08:49 and it's going to give me 08:50 the original Hebrew word behind the word reverence. 08:55 And on the screen there it's the word "yare". 08:58 I'm sure I'm not saying that right. 08:59 And that means to fear, to revere, or to be afraid. 09:03 Knowing that may give me 09:05 a more specific definition of the word, 09:08 help me to understand it a little bit better. 09:11 Same thing with 1 Kings 1:31 09:13 where it talks about doing reverence to the king. 09:15 What's the number at the end of that line, can you tell me? 09:19 7812. 09:21 So, I look up 7812 in the Lexicon 09:24 and it tells me the original word is "shacah", 09:28 and that means to be prostrate, to bow, or to humbly beseech. 09:32 And so that gives me a richer meaning 09:35 of what the English word 09:36 reverence means in that passage. 09:39 And there are certain parts of the Bible 09:40 where it can be very helpful to know 09:43 what the original language is saying. 09:47 Let's give another example. 09:49 Suppose you were preaching a sermon 09:52 on the importance of forgiveness, 09:54 God forgiving us 09:56 or more so us being able to forgive others. 10:00 If you were going to prepare a sermon like that, 10:02 obviously it would be helpful to look up 10:04 forgive in a Concordance 10:06 and find out all the verses where the word is mentioned, 10:09 because you will likely use 10:11 some of those verses in your sermon. 10:14 Now in the Concordance, 10:16 it's going to list Genesis 50:17, 10:19 where it says, "Forgive, I pray thee now the trespass." 10:23 At the end it has the number 5375, 10:26 so I would turn to the back of the Concordance, 10:29 look up the number 5375, and it would tell me 10:33 the original Hebrew word is "nasa" 10:37 which means to carry away, to pardon, or to bear. 10:41 And I would do the same thing there 10:42 for Matthew 6:12, that's the Lord's Prayer, 10:45 where it says to, "Forgive us our debts 10:47 as we forgive our debtors." 10:49 The original Greek word behind forgive in that passage, 10:54 I would take the number 863, 10:56 look it up in the back of the Concordance 10:58 and it would tell me that it's the word "aphiemi", 11:02 which would mean lay aside, omit, 11:04 or how God actually sends away our sins. 11:08 And so just knowing that, 11:10 just gives me a much deeper look at 11:12 what the text might be saying. 11:15 So that's how you would use 11:16 the study tool of a Concordance, 11:18 and you don't even have to know Hebrew or Greek. 11:21 Now just one word of caution, in the back of the Concordance, 11:26 there is a Hebrew and a Greek lexicon, okay. 11:30 When you're looking up Old Testament text, 11:32 the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, 11:33 so you gotta go to the Hebrew lexicon. 11:36 The New Testament was written in what language, you know? 11:40 Written in Greek, so you got to go 11:41 to the Greek lexicon. 11:43 So you know if I was to take 5375 11:46 on this slide here and I was to try to look that 11:48 word up in the Greek lexicon, 11:50 I would be given the wrong definition 11:52 because Genesis is the Old Testament, 11:54 so you look it up in the Hebrew lexicon. 11:57 Does that make sense so far? 12:00 I mean it's wonderful the tools we have today, 12:02 that they didn't even have a 100, 200 years ago. 12:05 I don't have to be a scholar, you don't have to be learned 12:09 and educated in Greek and Hebrew. 12:11 Concordances and lexicons tell us 12:14 what the original text is saying 12:16 and that can be very, very helpful. 12:19 One more note about the Concordance, 12:21 I took an actual picture from this Concordance, 12:25 and if you'll notice, it's kinda small print, 12:27 you see where it says Genesis 50:17 12:30 and then it says 'F' there, 12:32 that's just an abbreviation for forgive, 12:34 and then right at the end if you notice it, 12:37 there's the number 5375. 12:39 That's what an actual Concordance 12:42 will look like. 12:43 If you know how to use it, 12:44 it can be something that's very, very helpful. 12:49 Let's go the next study tool, 12:51 let's talk about the Bible commentary. 12:53 How many of you have 12:54 Bible commentaries in your library? 12:56 Can I see your hands? 12:58 Okay, if you don't, I would highly recommend 13:02 that you get the Seventh-day Adventist Bible commentaries 13:06 for your library. 13:07 Especially if you're gonna be a lay preacher 13:10 and share things from the pulpit. 13:12 You can buy it at any Adventist bookstore 13:15 if you prefer the hard copy, this is what it looks like. 13:19 Or if you're more of a digital person, 13:20 you can actually get the CD-ROM 13:22 and you can put it in your computer. 13:24 But it is an excellent tool 13:26 for explaining the meaning behind a text and maybe giving 13:31 some of the background information 13:32 that we don't understand. 13:34 Let's do an example. 13:36 If you were to look up 13:37 Acts 9:5 in your Bible right now, 13:41 that would be the story of Jesus 13:43 appearing to Saul on the road to Damascus. 13:46 And in that passage Jesus tells Saul 13:50 to stop kicking against the goads. 13:53 Now when's the last time you told someone 13:55 to stop kicking against the goads. 13:58 Not too often. 13:59 We don't even use the word goads, 14:01 we don't use that phrase in the 21st century, 14:04 so the question is, 14:05 what in the world is He talking about? 14:07 What does that mean? 14:09 Well, if I will look Acts 9:5 up in the Bible commentary, 14:14 it would explain to me what that phrase refers to. 14:17 And here is what it would say, 14:19 a goad, the goads were things like boards 14:22 that you would put in between the ox 14:25 and the cart with which you're plowing, okay. 14:27 Because, you know, 14:29 someone might have an ox on their farmland 14:31 and then they would have a cart 14:33 where they're plowing and many times 14:35 the ox would kick the cart and would be very stubborn 14:39 not wanting to listen to what the master 14:41 or the farmer was saying. 14:43 So they would put what's called a goad 14:46 in between the back of the ox 14:48 and the cart so he couldn't kick back like that. 14:50 It was a way to make the ox submit 14:53 and surrender and to control the animal. 14:57 So when Jesus says to Saul, stop kicking against the goads, 15:01 he's telling Saul to surrender, 15:05 to stop resisting conviction and give himself to Jesus. 15:10 Understanding that makes the text come alive 15:14 and it makes more sense. 15:16 If that makes sense what I just said, 15:17 can you nod your heads or say amen? 15:19 All right, like for example, let's do another one. 15:21 Ruth 3:7, if you ever read the story about Ruth, 15:25 it says that when Boaz was laying in the field, 15:28 Ruth went, uncovered his feet and laid down beside him. 15:34 Well, when we hear that in the 21st century, 15:37 we have no idea what that means, 15:39 that just sounds weird to us. 15:41 But if you look it up in the commentary, 15:43 it tells us that the custom of that day 15:46 is when a woman 15:47 who wanted to be redeemed by her kinsmen. 15:50 When she uncovered the feet and laid down 15:52 beside the man at his feet, 15:54 it was like a marriage proposal. 15:56 It was like saying, 15:58 I want you to redeem me as my nearest kinsmen, 16:00 I want you to marry me and take care of me. 16:03 And so when you understand what that custom meant, 16:07 the text makes a whole lot more sense. 16:09 So that's why Bible commentaries 16:11 can be very, very important. 16:14 The third tool is a Bible dictionary. 16:18 Now, how many are familiar with a Bible dictionary, 16:20 have you ever used one? 16:21 Okay, few of you have. 16:23 It works just like 16:24 a secular dictionary like Websters. 16:27 What it will do is that you can look up 16:28 information on people, places, things. 16:32 So, for example, 16:33 like I preached on Jonah this morning, 16:35 I could look up Jonah in a Bible dictionary 16:38 or encyclopedia 16:40 and it would tell me some historical information 16:43 that maybe, might not be recorded in the Bible. 16:45 Or it will take things 16:47 from different parts of the Bible 16:48 and put it all into one place for me, 16:50 and I can learn something about Jonah. 16:52 I can look up places like Nineveh 16:55 and probably when I wrote that sermon, 16:57 I probably looked up Nineveh in the Bible dictionary 17:00 and that's where I got 17:02 the background information of this city. 17:04 You can look up customs, you can look up tools, 17:08 for example, when Jesus says, 17:11 "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me 17:14 for I am meek and lowly of heart." 17:17 In order to understand practically 17:19 what He means, 17:20 you have to know what a yoke is. 17:22 And so to look up yoke in the Bible dictionary 17:26 and understand once again that it was kind of a, 17:29 something that was put on an animal to control it, 17:31 Jesus was saying, take My yoke upon you 17:35 because it's light and it's easy. 17:38 It's not like the yokes and the burdens of this world. 17:41 So it helped me to understand what Jesus meant. 17:44 As well I could look up plants or flowers. 17:47 And since in the Bible, did you know that 17:50 Jesus is compared 17:52 to the 'Rose of Sharon' in scripture, 17:53 did you know that? 17:54 I could look up the 'Rose of Sharon', 17:56 learn about that flower and it would tell me 17:59 something about the character of Jesus 18:01 because Jesus is compared to that flower. 18:04 So this where a Bible dictionary 18:06 and encyclopedia can also be helpful. 18:09 But let's go to another tool. 18:11 How about books written by Ellen White? 18:15 Now, once again, the Bible is going to be 18:17 our number one source, 18:19 but sometimes the Spirit of Prophecy books 18:21 can be excellent tools for pulling out 18:24 the practical lessons that are in the text. 18:28 So if I am studying a certain passage in the Bible, 18:30 I may want to get out one of her books 18:33 and read about that story in it 18:35 and it might help me to see some things 18:37 that I didn't see on the surface. 18:39 So I would encourage everyone 18:41 to have at least these books in their library. 18:44 Patriarchs and Prophets, 18:46 that covers from Genesis to Kings. 18:49 Prophets and Kings 18:50 which is what I'm holding in my hand here, 18:52 that goes from Kings to Malachi. 18:55 The Desire of Ages goes from Matthew to what? 18:59 It will go to John and the Acts of the Apostles 19:01 goes from Acts to Revelation. 19:03 And two other ones that could be helpful, 19:06 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 19:07 because that covers the Sermon on the Mount 19:09 and then Christ's Object Lessons, 19:12 because they cover the parables of Jesus. 19:14 So if I was going to do a sermon 19:16 on one of the parables, 19:17 Christ's Object Lessons would be an essential resource. 19:22 Now, her books won't necessarily give you 19:25 historical background, but what it will do 19:29 is pull out the practical lessons 19:32 of how to apply it to our lives today. 19:35 And really that's what people want to know in sermons. 19:38 I mean it's fine to give facts and figures 19:40 and you know if you want to use big words, 19:42 but what people really wanna know is, 19:44 how do I take these lessons 19:46 and make them relevant for my life today. 19:49 Her books really help us to be able to do that. 19:53 And so those are the basic study tools 19:55 that you're gonna need to learn how to use 19:58 as you prepare for a sermon. 20:01 So let's take a little break 20:03 and then we will go into section two, 20:05 how to actually prepare and study for the sermon. 20:15 All right. 20:16 Let's make our way to session two, 20:18 how to prepare for a sermon. 20:21 And this is going to be the part, 20:22 where now we're going to learn 20:24 how to take notes for the sermon, 20:26 we're not gonna write it yet, 20:28 but how to take notes, kind of like a first draft. 20:31 So let's pretend that you have been 20:33 asked to preach a sermon. 20:35 And so the first thing that you're gonna have to do 20:37 is to choose a subject. 20:39 Now how many different, potential subjects do you think 20:42 there are from the Word of God 20:44 that you could possibly preach on. 20:46 What number do you think? 20:48 Hundreds? Thousands? 20:51 Maybe more. So many that it's innumerable. 20:54 So somehow you're going to have to figure out 20:57 what's the one subject I'm gonna preach about. 21:00 So obviously number one, 21:02 you're gonna pray about it and ask God to guide you. 21:05 But some questions that you can ask are these, 21:08 is there anything that I have learned or experienced 21:11 recently in my life that I could preach on? 21:14 Because really, 21:15 personal experience is the best. 21:17 Is there something that you've gone through 21:19 in the last six months 21:20 or the last couple years of your life, 21:22 that you would like to share with people 21:24 that you think would be helpful. 21:26 I mean, have you learned something about faith 21:28 and what it means to trust God in difficult circumstances? 21:32 Have you learned something about 21:33 what it means to be faithful in tithe 21:36 and surrender the financial side of our life? 21:40 Have you learned something about 21:41 what it means to really understand 21:44 and enjoy Sabbath rest? 21:46 I mean, it could be many different things. 21:48 Have you had an experience where you learned 21:50 what it truly meant to forgive someone? 21:54 So those are questions you may ask, 21:56 what have I experienced recently 21:58 that maybe God wants me to talk about? 22:00 Another question might be, 22:03 what are the needs of your church? 22:05 And you gotta answer that honestly, okay. 22:07 Not what do you think your church should know 22:09 or what do you want them to know, 22:12 what are the real needs of your church? 22:14 What are they going through right now? 22:16 Do they need some messages on family relationships? 22:20 Do they need messages on faith? 22:22 Something about witnessing or maybe something about unity, 22:26 what are the needs of your church? 22:28 And really the only way you can answer that 22:30 is by spending some time in prayer and saying, 22:33 "God, guide me, what subject do you want me to choose?" 22:38 Now, a couple of pieces of advice. 22:41 Do not pick controversial topics 22:45 to preach about. 22:46 And what I mean by that 22:48 is there are certain hot topics in the church in every age. 22:52 And we're sometimes tempted to talk about that. 22:54 Now there is a time and a place to talk about 22:57 controversial subjects, 22:59 11 am on Sabbath morning is not the time. 23:02 You don't wanna pick times and things 23:04 that are gonna divide people, pull people apart 23:08 and stir unnecessary controversy. 23:11 And one of the reasons for that is again at 11 am, 23:15 you have a whole plethora of people 23:17 of different backgrounds that come to worship 23:19 and they're looking for something positive. 23:21 You have people 23:23 who are of high spiritual maturity, 23:25 you have people who are just beginning 23:26 their walk with the Lord. 23:28 You have people 23:29 whose lives are going pretty well 23:31 and you have people 23:33 who are going through the valley of discouragement. 23:35 You have guests that maybe are coming for the first time, 23:38 maybe the spouse of the church member. 23:40 The last thing they need is to come and to hear 23:44 the dirty laundry internally of a local church 23:47 or even the worldwide church. 23:50 We're wanting to pick subjects 23:52 that will be a spiritual blessing 23:54 to all kinds of people. 23:56 Now that doesn't mean that 23:58 we put our head in the sand like an ostrich 24:00 and we don't talk about difficult subjects 24:02 but that's why you have a church board, 24:04 that's why you have a board of elders, 24:06 that's why you business meeting 24:09 so that can be talked about internally. 24:11 It is not necessary to air that at 11 am 24:14 when you have both guests and visitors here 24:17 because it's going to give them the wrong impression. 24:20 Does that make sense to you? 24:22 So refrain as far as possible 24:25 from choosing controversial subjects. 24:27 The other thing is, try not to pick your favorite 24:32 hobby horse to preach about. 24:35 And if you don't know what I mean by that, 24:38 most churches have probably 24:40 had someone get up and every time they get up 24:43 for the last 10 years, it's the same subject 24:47 over and over again and they feel they've got 24:49 to make their church see it their way. 24:54 When I'm asked to preach on the Sabbath morning, 24:57 preaching is not a right, 25:00 preaching is a privilege that can 25:03 and should be taken away if it is abused. 25:06 So I'm not going to get up here, 25:08 there's no need to get up here 25:09 and to bang people on their head about 25:11 why they should be a vegan vegetarian. 25:14 Now, there's nothing wrong with that. 25:17 But if that's a subject that 25:19 I just am going to preach every time I'm up front 25:21 and come down really hard on people, 25:23 that's my favorite hobby horse. 25:25 Is that what the church needs? 25:26 Or is that just what I want to be able to share? 25:29 You understand what I'm saying? 25:30 And it could be a whole bunch of different subjects. 25:32 It's okay to have favorite subjects. 25:35 But keep in mind, this is about 11 am. 25:38 This is about what your church needs, 25:41 not what you feel you want to push upon them 25:44 and want them to know, like, I'll give you, 25:47 I'll give you an example that really happened. 25:48 I won't tell you where. 25:50 But I remember there was a church 25:53 somewhere in this world 25:55 that someone was asked to preach 25:58 and they got up front and they used that opportunity 26:02 to complain about something that was happening in that city 26:07 that I was involved in. 26:09 And they actually almost mentioned certain people 26:13 by name and talked about it in a very derogative way. 26:17 And it upset, it upset a lot of people, 26:19 you know, in the church, I wasn't there, 26:21 but I got phone calls about it and everything. 26:23 They said, should we, 26:24 should you do something about it? 26:26 I said, "No, I'm not going to do anything. 26:28 That's up to your local church. 26:30 If your local church is going to allow 26:32 people to stand up front, 26:34 and to do those kinds of things, 26:35 then I guess that's, that's up to them." 26:38 Well, see, the point is, 26:40 we're looking for positive subjects 26:42 that are going to bless people, 26:44 things that may be controversial 26:46 or divide there's a time and a place, 26:49 but it's probably not 11 am on Sabbath morning. 26:53 So keep that in mind when you're choosing a subject. 26:56 Your next step, 26:57 you now have to study that subject. 27:00 So, you're going to have to find a passage in the Bible 27:05 that illustrates whatever that subject may be. 27:09 So if you've chosen to preach on faith, 27:11 that means you're going to have to find 27:13 a passage in the Bible that talks about faith. 27:17 Now primarily, what we're going to talk about 27:19 here is what's called expository sermons 27:23 and all expository sermons are, is you're taking one passage 27:28 or one story from the Bible, and you're pulling out of it 27:31 or exposing all the lessons that are in it, 27:35 you know, you're not going all over the Bible. 27:37 That's a different kind of sermon, 27:38 we'll talk about that later. 27:40 But expository means you find one passage, 27:42 preach on that story, 27:44 and bring out the lessons that are in it. 27:47 So, after you've chosen the subject, 27:49 find a passage from the Bible. 27:52 And one of the things that may be helpful, 27:54 you can go to any Christian bookstore 27:56 and you can find what's called a topical Bible. 27:59 And what a topical Bible is, it lists different topics, 28:02 it's not in order, you know, 28:05 like Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc. 28:07 It's listed topically, and then it gives you 28:10 all the passages in the Bible 28:12 that will talk about that topic. 28:14 And so it actually makes your job much easier. 28:17 So go invest in a topical Bible, 28:19 probably cost you 20 bucks 28:21 or more if you're going to get a really fancy one. 28:25 It's well worth it, if you're going to preach. 28:27 So you've chosen your subject, 28:30 and you've chosen the passage with which you're going to use. 28:33 So now what you're going to need to do 28:35 is take a few hours, and you've got a study 28:38 that particular passage using the study tools 28:42 that we mentioned in session number one. 28:45 Does that make sense thus far? 28:47 So that's going to mean, 28:48 I got to take time to read that passage 28:51 in various versions of the Bible. 28:53 Look it up in the SDA commentary 28:56 and see if I can get some good information. 28:58 If any of Ellen White's books comment on that passage, 29:02 try to find one. 29:03 And, of course, spend time in prayer and meditation. 29:07 Now, while you're doing that, 29:09 that's going to take you a few hours, 29:10 you're not going to do that in half an hour. 29:12 I mean, you shouldn't do it in half an hour, 29:14 you're looking at maybe two, three, maybe four hours, 29:19 where you're just going to the study tools, 29:21 and you're learning about that passage. 29:24 And then while you're doing that, 29:25 and this is important, 29:27 you're taking notes on what you're learning, okay? 29:30 The notes are in no particular order, 29:33 just as something strikes you, 29:35 as something impresses your mind, 29:38 you're going to write that down on a piece of paper, 29:40 because trust me, 29:41 you're not going to remember it later, okay. 29:44 So you're going two, three hours 29:46 and it may not be all in one day, 29:48 reading different versions of the Bible. 29:50 Something stands out to you. I'm taking notes. 29:53 When I look it up in the commentary, 29:55 I'm taking notes of something that might impress me. 29:58 If I use the Bible dictionary, 30:00 if I'm reading something in the Spirit of Prophecy, 30:03 write it all down. 30:05 And so you may have two or three or four pages of notes 30:09 that are in no particular order whatsoever. 30:12 You're just trying to start by getting it down on paper. 30:15 Later on, you'll use those notes 30:18 when you start actually writing your sermon. 30:20 And some of the things you write down, 30:22 you're not going to use in the sermon anyway. 30:24 But you're not judging that when you're taking notes. 30:26 You're just writing down things that the Holy Spirit leads you 30:29 to believe are important, and putting that on your notes, 30:32 probably two, three, four pages. 30:35 After you've done that, 30:37 try to force yourself to do this part. 30:41 Summarize what lesson 30:43 you want to teach in the sermon. 30:46 Summarize it in one sentence. 30:49 Why do you think that is? You know why that is? 30:52 Because when you go to write your sermon, 30:55 that one sentence summary is going to keep you on track. 30:59 Have you ever got up and listened 31:00 to someone preach a sermon, and they're all over the place. 31:03 They go over here, and they go over here, 31:05 and they're not kind of focused 31:06 or centered on one particular lesson. 31:09 Now God can still use that. 31:10 But sometimes to the listener, it can be very frustrating 31:15 because you're left asking, what was this sermon about? 31:19 So after you've taken your notes 31:21 and used your study tools, summarize it. 31:25 One simple sentence, what is it you want this 31:28 sermon to be about? 31:30 And that will go a long way 31:32 to keeping you focused and on course 31:35 when you start to write it, okay? 31:37 So now, let's actually do this practically and for real. 31:41 In the handouts that you have, 31:44 there is a sermon on Daniel 1:1-15. 31:49 Now, you'll notice I wrote that a while back. 31:52 At that time, I don't write my sermons 31:54 out word for word. 31:55 It's kind of more like a extended outline, 31:59 now depending on your personality, 32:00 you may do it differently, 32:02 you might just write an outline and then go with it. 32:05 Or you may want to write it word for word. 32:07 Now, I will tell you this, 32:09 the times that I have forced myself 32:11 to write it word for word, I remember it a lot better. 32:15 Because what you write down, 32:18 you really have to process in your mind 32:20 and you remember it better, 32:21 but that's going to depend what your personality is. 32:24 So, let's say you're preaching on faithfulness. 32:28 You have chosen Daniel Chapter 1. 32:32 So what you're going to do now is take a few hours, 32:35 and you're going to study the passage of Daniel 1:1-15. 32:40 You're going to read it multiple times in your Bible. 32:42 You're going to read it 32:44 in different versions of the Bible. 32:46 You're going to look it up in the commentary. 32:48 You're going to look things up in the Bible Dictionary. 32:51 You're going to get out Prophets and Kings, 32:53 and read what Ellen White wrote about that story 32:56 and find some very precious lessons in it. 32:58 And then you're going to summarize in one sentence, 33:02 what's the lesson that you want to teach? 33:04 And for me in that sermon, 33:05 it was summarized in this simple sense. 33:08 God calls His people to stand up 33:11 for their convictions. 33:13 That's what I wanted the lesson to be about. 33:15 And that's actually the message you heard 33:17 during Sabbath school this morning. 33:19 Okay. Let's try this again now. 33:23 And I may, we may turn the camera off later 33:25 and actually have you do this. 33:27 Let's say you decided 33:29 to preach a sermon on witnessing 33:32 and the importance of the church 33:34 being faithful to the gospel commission. 33:36 Well, if that's your subject, what is the first thing 33:39 that you're going to have to do? 33:41 You're going to have to pray about it and decide on what. 33:47 Well, after you've done the subject, 33:48 what do you have to decide? 33:50 You've chosen the subject, what do you need next? 33:52 First thing on the screen. 33:55 The passage, you got to find the passage 33:58 that talks about that subject. 34:00 So, let's say that you've chosen Luke 5:27-32. 34:06 That's the story where Jesus calls 34:08 Matthew to be a disciple. 34:10 And it specifically describes 34:11 how Jesus went to the gatherings 34:14 and the feasts of the tax collectors. 34:17 So, if that's the subject and passage you've chosen, 34:21 now, you're going to have to take a few hours. 34:23 And you're going to read that passage 34:25 in multiple versions of the Bible. 34:27 Have you heard this before? 34:28 You're going to look at it in the commentary, 34:31 the Bible Dictionary, find out who tax collectors were 34:35 and what they were all about. 34:36 Read what Ellen White says about it. 34:38 The whole time, you're writing down notes 34:41 about things that 34:42 just kind of grab your attention. 34:44 And at the end, you're going to force yourself 34:47 to summarize in one sentence, what you want the sermon 34:50 to be about before you write it. 34:52 And so in this case, my summary sentence was, 34:56 Jesus calls us to build relationships with lost people. 35:00 That's what I wanted the whole sermon to be about. 35:03 God calls us to associate with people 35:05 that don't know Him, 35:07 just like Jesus associated with the tax collectors, 35:11 and that's going to help me stay on target 35:13 when I write my sermon, or else, you know, 35:15 I'll be tempted to go off 35:17 in all sorts of different directions. 35:20 So that's how you start studying for it. 35:28 All right. 35:30 Let's make our way to session three. 35:31 And here we're going to learn how to construct the sermon, 35:35 or how to actually develop it and write it, 35:38 because at this point, you've chosen your subject. 35:41 You've chosen your passage, and you've taken a few hours 35:44 to use your study tools, 35:46 and you've written about two or three 35:47 or four pages of notes. 35:50 Now you're ready to start writing the sermon. 35:52 And to do it, we're going to divide it 35:54 into four simple parts. 35:57 It always makes it easier when you take a big job 35:59 and you divide it into smaller parts, 36:02 one section at a time. 36:04 So let's learn how to do that 36:06 when we are constructing a sermon. 36:09 These are the basic four parts to a sermon. 36:13 Number one is the introduction. 36:15 And that is basically a story 36:17 or something that is going to introduce 36:20 your subject to the people. 36:22 The body of the sermon 36:23 is where you actually talk about 36:26 what's going on in the passage. 36:27 You're describing it. 36:29 And this is where you're going to go back 36:30 to English class in high school, 36:32 and you're going to use the five W's. 36:34 You remember what they are? 36:36 Who, what, where, when, and why. 36:39 You're answering all those questions 36:41 from the passage. 36:42 Who is speaking here? Who are the characters? 36:45 What's happening? What's going on? 36:49 When is this taking place? Why is it happening, etcetera? 36:52 That's the body of the sermon. 36:55 Then when you get to the end, you have what's called 36:57 the conclusion that is where you bring out the lessons 37:02 from that passage, 37:03 this is where we apply it to our life today. 37:07 And then the very last part is the appeal. 37:10 And this is where you're going to appeal for your audience 37:14 to make some type of decision 37:16 based on what they just heard from you. 37:19 So those are the four simple parts of a sermon. 37:23 Let's take some time to explain how each part works. 37:27 And then we're actually going to apply it 37:29 to some of the sermons and texts that 37:31 we already looked up in this class. 37:33 So let's start with the introduction. 37:36 Probably the introduction and the appeal 37:39 are the two most important parts of a sermon. 37:43 Because when it comes to the introduction, 37:46 pretty much, people are already deciding 37:50 in the first two or three minutes 37:51 of your sermon, whether they want to listen 37:54 to the rest of it. 37:55 You think that's true, yes or no? 37:57 I mean, they're making their minds up 37:58 in the first two or three minutes. 37:59 So in the beginning you've got to do something 38:02 that gets their attention. 38:03 Now, I'm not suggesting you got to do gymnastics 38:05 or flips on the stage. 38:07 But they have to know this is something 38:09 that's going to be worthy of listening to. 38:12 So many times an introduction, 38:14 it could simply be a story that introduces the subject. 38:19 It could be an interesting fact or a statistic. 38:22 It could be a question that you invite the people 38:25 to think about and consider. 38:27 It might be a current news item, 38:28 you know, something in the newspaper 38:30 that's happening in the world today. 38:32 Or it could be something from your own life experience. 38:35 Those are the kind I love to use as introductions, 38:38 my own experiences. 38:40 That's going to get people's attention right away. 38:44 Now you may wonder, 38:45 so where do I find these things? 38:48 Where do I find stories like this 38:50 and interesting facts and statistics? 38:53 Well, you're going to have 38:54 to learn to do reading in your life. 38:56 You know, if you read the newspaper, 38:58 obviously, you're going to have current news items. 39:01 If you're looking for stories 39:02 that introduce different subjects, 39:04 probably one of the best things 39:05 you could do is go to a Christian bookstore. 39:08 And many of them will sell books 39:11 that have thousands of different 39:12 sermon illustrations in it. 39:14 You know, you could look up faith, 39:15 they'll give you a bunch of stories to introduce faith, 39:17 you know, unity, I mean, 39:20 whatever subject you can think of, 39:22 they'll give you all sorts of stories 39:24 that will introduce it, 39:25 you could probably buy that for 20 bucks 39:27 or less at a Christian bookstore. 39:30 And maybe another option 39:32 that at first I didn't think of, 39:35 actually email, would you believe that? 39:38 Every so often, actually, 39:40 more than every so often these days, 39:43 we all usually have someone who gets forward happy. 39:47 Have anybody like that on email? 39:49 Where it seems like they forward you 39:50 everything in the book. 39:51 Now usually that annoys me. 39:53 But I have found a couple of times that 39:55 when they have forwarded me stories 39:57 instead of deleting it right away, 39:59 I'll just take a quick minute to read it 40:01 and look at it. 40:02 And I found a few actual good sermon illustrations 40:06 in some of those forwards. 40:08 So you may want to print it off and save it in a folder. 40:11 I even know some preachers who have a file cabinet, 40:13 every time they come across a good story, 40:16 they will file that story away in a cabinet, 40:19 or just save it in their computer somewhere 40:21 because there'll always be a time 40:23 when you can use it. 40:24 So you have to be willing to do some reading, 40:26 and maybe buy some sermon illustration books 40:30 at a bookstore, but by far, 40:32 think of your own life experience. 40:34 You have a story about yourself. 40:35 That's probably a good thing to do, 40:37 to share that introduction. 40:40 I will give you a hint on this. 40:42 If you are married, and you have a family, 40:46 do not share stories about your family 40:48 without their permission 40:51 especially if they're negative stories. 40:54 I mean, sometimes negative stories 40:56 make a point too, like you notice this morning, 40:59 at the 11 am sermon when I shared the story 41:01 of quitting seminary and how, 41:04 you know, Markita screamed at me 41:05 when I wanted to quit 41:07 and locked herself in the bathroom. 41:08 I wouldn't dare tell that story 41:10 without getting her permission to do so. 41:12 Because the last thing you want to do 41:14 is surprise your spouse or even your children 41:18 with a story that embarrasses them. 41:21 The church may think it's funny, 41:23 but you're going to have a quiet ride home. 41:26 So, make sure you get permission to do that. 41:29 If you're going to share a negative story, 41:31 it's usually best to use yourself 41:34 because you're safe with that, and people can relate to it. 41:37 But even if it's a positive one, 41:38 if you're using real life people, 41:42 make sure that you get their permission 41:45 or use fictitious names. 41:49 So just, you know, 41:50 you can use your judgment on that. 41:52 But the introduction needs to be 41:53 something that grabs their attention 41:55 right from the beginning. 41:57 Second, this is the body of the sermon. 42:01 When I'm writing it, 42:02 this is now where I'm going to describe 42:04 what's happening in the passage, 42:06 I'm going to write it out and describe it with feeling, 42:09 you know, with emotion, 42:10 talk about what's taking place there. 42:13 Use all the notes, all the notes 42:15 you just wrote from your study tools. 42:18 That's what you're going to use 42:19 to start writing out your sermon. 42:21 Because if you just try to look at a blank piece of paper, 42:25 and write what comes to your mind, 42:27 you're going to be very, very frustrated, 42:29 you're going to be all over the board. 42:31 That's what you do 42:32 when you're simply taking notes. 42:34 So you don't have to go in any particular order. 42:36 But now when it comes to writing the sermon, 42:39 you can use your notes and you can start writing it 42:42 in a more organized way. 42:44 And you have information and material to work with. 42:48 Does that make sense. Can you say amen? 42:51 So that's what the body of the sermon is going to be. 42:53 Then comes the conclusion. 42:56 This is where you're going to share 42:59 one or two lessons 43:01 that we can learn from the passage. 43:04 Now notice, how many lessons does it say? 43:07 One or two, not seven or eight, not 10 or 12. 43:11 Because once you get past number three or four, 43:14 I'm telling you, nobody's going to remember it. 43:16 One or two lessons from the passage. 43:20 If there are 10 lessons from the passage, 43:22 and it's quite possible there is, guess what? 43:25 You can preach a series of sermons on that passage, 43:28 and you can use different lessons 43:30 in another sermon, 43:31 but usually one or two is sufficient 43:35 if you want the people to particularly remember them, 43:38 and take time to explain 43:40 how can I relate those lessons to my life 43:44 or to your life today? 43:46 That's the conclusion part. 43:48 And then finally, the most important part 43:51 of the sermon is the appeal. 43:56 This is where now you're going to invite 43:59 the people to make a decision 44:01 or take an action based on what they heard. 44:04 The whole point of preaching a sermon 44:06 is to influence people. 44:08 Does that make sense, yes or no? 44:10 Because if I preach a sermon, 44:13 and I don't make any appeal for a person 44:16 to make some kind of choice in their life, 44:19 I haven't really preached a sermon. 44:20 I've just simply given a lecture 44:23 and filled their mind with information. 44:26 And a sermon is more than information. 44:30 It's to draw a decision out of people, 44:34 it may not be a decision to be baptized 44:36 or join the church. 44:37 It could be any simple, 44:38 small decision in their spiritual life, 44:40 maybe to recommit themselves to Jesus, 44:43 to forgive someone, 44:46 to pay more attention to their family, 44:49 to be more faithful in their daily devotional life. 44:52 I mean, it could be 100 different things, 44:55 but I need to ask them to make a decision. 44:59 If you think about political candidates, 45:01 next year, if not already, 45:03 eventually you're going to start 45:05 hearing debates. 45:06 And you're going to start hearing them giving speeches. 45:09 And I don't care what party you attend to support, 45:13 when you hear the candidate making a speech, 45:16 particularly when it's televised, 45:18 what does he or she do at the end of his speech 45:21 or the debate? 45:23 What do they do? 45:24 They make an appeal for you to do what? 45:27 To vote for them. 45:29 Everything they're saying is meant to influence you 45:32 to make a decision, 45:34 hopefully one that's positive and in their favor. 45:37 So if the world knows how to make an appeal, 45:41 shouldn't God's people in God's church know 45:43 how to make positive appeals 45:45 and invite people to make a decision? 45:49 Now we'll spend more time talking about, later on, 45:52 how to make those appeals. 45:54 But there are basically four or five different appeals 45:56 you can do. 45:58 Some of them you saw today. 45:59 One is asking people 46:01 to bow their heads in their seat 46:03 and pray silently. 46:05 You know, at the end of the sermon, 46:06 you know, you might invite the person to say, 46:08 I just wanna give you a minute or two to just pray about 46:11 the things that we've learned from God's Word, 46:14 and see what the Holy Spirit may lead you to do, 46:16 what choices you might need to make in your life. 46:20 And then the organist or pianist, 46:22 or whomever plays for a minute or two, 46:23 while people silently bow their heads. 46:26 That's asking people to make some sort of decision. 46:29 Another one is the raising of hands like we, 46:31 like we did today. 46:33 Where you, you know, 46:34 you may make an appeal that goes something like this. 46:38 Maybe today, you sense that you need to have 46:40 a stronger devotional life, 46:42 that you need to spend more time with Jesus. 46:45 You know, if it's your desire to say, Lord, 46:47 please give me a deeper hunger and thirst for Your Word. 46:50 Help me to be faithful in spending time with You, 46:53 I want to invite you to just raise your hand 46:55 right now, as we pray. 46:57 And then you have a word of prayer. 46:59 When the person raises their hand 47:01 and they're saying, "Yes, 47:02 I want to have a stronger devotional life." 47:04 Is that making the decision, yes or no? 47:07 That is making a decision. Same thing with standing. 47:10 If you want to be ready when Jesus comes, 47:12 would you stand with me as we sing our closing song? 47:15 That is a decision. 47:18 And my favorite one, 47:19 which you might have figured out, 47:21 is the altar call, 47:23 where you actually invite people to come forward 47:25 because that is a major decision. 47:26 It's not easy to get out of your seat 47:28 and to come forward. 47:30 And some people prefer to use decision cards, 47:33 where they hand out the cards ahead of time, 47:36 and they go over those cards at the end 47:38 and people turn them in. 47:40 And again, we'll talk about it 47:42 in more detail just a little bit later. 47:45 So now, let's go back to Daniel 1, 47:47 the passage that we already looked at, 47:50 and if you will take your packet 47:52 that you were given, you will notice on the page 47:55 that says expository sermons. 47:58 If you would turn that page, 48:00 you should see a sermon that is entitled, 48:03 Dare to be a Daniel, if you have that, 48:07 would you just hold it up for me to see? 48:09 So I know we're all looking at the same thing. 48:10 Okay. 48:12 Now again, I have changed it 48:13 since the time that I have written this. 48:16 And this is the much, much shorter version, 48:18 but I'm giving it to you because I want you to see 48:21 the four parts of the sermon in here. 48:24 Now, you won't have time to read it now, 48:26 don't read it while I'm speaking. 48:28 But I want to go through 48:29 the four parts of this particular sermon, 48:31 and then when you read it, 48:33 it'll make a whole lot more sense to you. 48:35 So this is a story that you actually 48:37 heard this morning at 10 am, 48:40 about being faithful in the small matters of life. 48:44 You will notice that in the introduction, 48:47 the introduction was a story that I told, 48:50 about how I compromised my convictions 48:53 about the Sabbath one day, 48:55 you might remember me telling that story. 48:57 That was the story 48:59 that introduced the subject, okay, 49:01 got people's attention at least I'd like to think that 49:04 it got people's attention from the beginning. 49:07 Then if you go into the body of the passage, 49:11 this is where you start. 49:12 I start describing what's going on here 49:15 in Daniel Chapter 1. 49:17 And you describe, 49:18 what's it like for Babylon to be attacking Jerusalem? 49:23 What are the people thinking 49:24 as they're losing their homes and their families? 49:28 What's it like for these young men 49:29 to be taken captive, 49:31 led out of the city knowing that 49:33 they'll probably never return again? 49:36 How did they feel having to adjust 49:38 to a new environment like Babylon? 49:40 You talk about all that 49:41 because that's what's in the passage, 49:43 you know, describe the pressure to fit in. 49:46 Were they thankful to Nebuchadnezzar, 49:48 for what he did for them and sparing their lives? 49:51 And how are they going to deal 49:53 with all the temptation around them, 49:55 described the dilemma in not eating the king's food. 49:59 Take time to describe Daniel's steadfastness, 50:02 his faith in doing what's right in even a small matter. 50:06 That's what you find in the body of the sermon. 50:08 It's all about 50:10 what is happening in the passage, 50:12 you're describing it in detail. 50:16 The next part would be the conclusion. 50:19 And if you'll turn the page on that, 50:21 there should be a section, section three, 50:23 that says conclusion, with lesson in parenthesis. 50:28 Now, your conclusion section is going to be bigger 50:31 than what I made it right here, 50:32 because some of my sermons are by memory. 50:35 But in that section, the lesson that I wanted 50:38 to bring out was one simple one. 50:41 God calls us to be faithful, 50:44 even in the small matters of life. 50:47 So I expand on that lesson. 50:49 And if you can come up 50:50 with an illustration in daily life, 50:53 then you can talk about that. 50:55 But that's the one lesson that comes out 50:57 on the conclusion that I wanted them to remember, 51:01 and I think it worked in that sermon, 51:04 because I've heard some of you say, 51:06 and actually repeat that lesson 51:08 that I preached a 10 am. 51:10 So that told me, that you got the point, 51:13 and that you got that one main lesson. 51:16 That's why when you're writing your notes, 51:18 I told you to try to summarize in one sentence, 51:21 what you want the sermon to be about, 51:23 because it keeps you on track. 51:25 And if you keep repeating that sentence in the sermon, 51:28 people will remember it. 51:31 And then lastly, the appeal. 51:33 If you will read that part, 51:35 the appeal was basically asking people, 51:39 if there are any areas of compromise in their life? 51:43 Are they willing to dare to be like Daniel? 51:46 And are they willing to stand up 51:48 for their convictions at all times? 51:50 That was the appeal. 51:51 And I appealed by inviting people 51:53 to raise their hands and say, Lord, 51:56 would You give me a heart like Daniel had, 51:59 and those who raised their hands 52:01 were making a decision. 52:04 Does that make sense, yes or no? 52:06 Can you see the four parts in that sermon? 52:10 Good. Let's do another one, okay? 52:12 In fact, when I preach tonight, 52:14 I actually want you to come back 52:17 and I want you to follow and see if you can find 52:20 the four parts of the sermon tonight. 52:22 Get a piece of paper, 52:24 and I actually want you to write down 52:26 and see if you can summarize all four parts 52:29 and if you've been able to find them in the sermon, 52:31 because once you understand this, 52:34 you'll be able to sit through 52:35 different sermons from preachers, 52:37 maybe things you see on 3ABN, 52:39 and you'll be able to say, oh, yeah, 52:40 that's the introduction. 52:42 Okay, here's the conclusion. He's bringing out the lessons. 52:44 All right, here comes the appeal. 52:46 You know, when you know those four sections, 52:49 it just makes it so much easier 52:51 to write a sermon and to be honest, 52:53 it makes it easier for the congregation 52:55 to understand it, because it's simple. 52:58 I've read books on preaching where, 53:01 there's like 14 different steps to preaching a sermon. 53:05 And I'm reading that thinking, 53:07 I'm not even following what the guy is saying. 53:10 So if I can't follow it, 53:12 I know laypeople aren't going to be 53:13 able to follow it. 53:15 So, four simple steps is all you need. 53:18 And I don't know about you, 53:20 but I prefer things that are simple. 53:23 Let's try the next one here. Oh, no, let's go to this. 53:26 The introduction, story of Sabbath compromise. 53:30 The body of the sermon describing Daniel 1 in detail. 53:35 The conclusion, God calls His people to stand 53:38 for their convictions at all times, 53:40 even in the small matters, 53:42 and the appeal, asking folks to commit, 53:46 to stand up for their convictions 53:48 when they're tested. 53:50 That makes a sermon understandable. 53:54 Let's do another one. 53:56 Now, this one you haven't done yet, 53:57 and if we had time, 53:59 I would actually have you read this, 54:00 but the next sermon if you turn the page 54:03 is one of my favorite. 54:05 It's called Matthew's party. Do you see that? 54:08 When you go through Matthew's party, 54:10 you'll notice I have the four sections in boxes, 54:13 they're actually enclosed in a box. 54:16 And the introduction to this sermon 54:19 is the story of finding lost keys. 54:22 Or actually, I should tell you what the sermon is about first. 54:24 Luke 5 is Jesus calling Matthew to be a disciple 54:28 and how Jesus associated with the tax collectors. 54:32 And basically the lesson is, 54:33 God wants us to reach out to lost people. 54:37 So the introduction for this story that I used, 54:40 was a story of me finding lost keys. 54:44 How frustrated I was that I lost something important, 54:47 and how overjoyed I was 54:49 when I finally was able to find it. 54:51 That's the story that introduced the subject. 54:54 Now I could have used 100 different things. 54:56 I could have told a story of someone, 54:59 of a Christian who formed 55:00 a friendship with a non believer, 55:02 or I could have got on the internet, 55:04 and I could have found some interesting statistics 55:07 of how many people there are that 55:08 have never heard the name of Jesus in this world, 55:11 maybe things from the 10/40 Window 55:13 and as such. 55:15 Any of those things could have been 55:16 a good introduction to the sermon. 55:19 Then when you turn the page, 55:21 you come to the body of the sermon. 55:24 That's where I read the passage to the people. 55:27 And then I start describing what's going on there. 55:31 Remember, the five W's? 55:33 Who, what, where, when, and why. 55:38 And so I can talk about, wow, what was it like for Jesus 55:41 to call Matthew, a tax collector? 55:44 What were the other disciples thinking 55:46 when they saw a wicked, evil tax collector, 55:50 become part of the appointed 12? 55:54 What was John thinking? 55:57 What was Peter thinking? 55:59 What was Jesus thinking? 56:01 Then you can describe how Jesus went to the party 56:05 of Matthew's old friends. 56:07 He went to their feasts. 56:09 You can describe what went on at that party. 56:13 What do you think tax collectors talked about? 56:16 Did they crack any jokes that made Jesus 56:18 or the disciples uncomfortable? 56:21 Why did Jesus choose to go there? 56:24 You could take time to talk about 56:25 what is a tax collector anyway? 56:27 Why is a tax collector considered to be immoral? 56:30 You would have to look that up 56:31 in the commentary and other parts. 56:33 And it will tell you that tax collectors 56:36 were looked at as enemies, 56:37 because they collected money for Rome, 56:40 and they took your money and gave it to Rome, 56:44 and usually charged you two times more, 56:47 and they kept part of it for themselves. 56:49 That's how they got rich. 56:51 They didn't care if people wouldn't like them. 56:53 They didn't care 56:54 if they were going to be ostracized 56:56 by their own race. 56:57 It was a way to get rich quick. 57:00 And since tax collectors were mostly men 57:04 who had a lot of money, 57:06 these were the kind of guys who hung around themselves 57:09 and had some very interesting parties to go to. 57:12 And you can be reading between the lines, 57:14 if you know what I mean. 57:15 That's what tax collectors were. 57:18 That's why they are lumped in 57:19 with sinners and publicans and prostitutes, etc. 57:23 And so Jesus goes to one of these gatherings 57:27 and that went directly against everything in the culture 57:32 that He lived in. 57:34 Hi, this is David Klinedinst. 57:37 I hope you've been blessed by the presentation today. 57:41 If you would like more information 57:42 about our ministry, 57:44 or about our other seminars and presentations, 57:47 visit our websites at davidklinedinst.org, 57:52 or discoverbibleprophecy.org. 57:56 If you'd like to make a donation 57:57 to keep these sermons on the air, 57:59 you can contact us 58:01 at Discover Prophecy Ministries, 58:03 PO Box 850, Columbia, Maryland 21044, 58:09 or call toll free at 855-774-HOPE. |
Revised 2020-03-02