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Writing a Sermon

This guide offers succinct suggestions for the preparation of an exegetical sermon. Sermon preparation follows from and is dependent upon the exegesis of the biblical passage. The exegetical work is always the first step as you prepare to preach from Scripture. Consult Exegeting a Gospel for guidance in this.

The goal of the sermon is to speak faithfully the Word of God to those who have come to hear God’s revelation proclaimed. It presumes that the preacher has invested the time both to hear the Word of God and to understand the application of it to the speaker’s and the hearer’s lives.

Suggested Guide for Preparing the Sermon

1. Prayer
   Begin your sermon preparation with prayer. The sermon is an act of faith in and obedience to the Living God who continues to reveal Himself through the written Word proclaimed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Ascertain the main thought of the passage.
   Based upon your exegetical analysis, specify the content, intent, and argument of a passage. Further, how does this passage’s message relate to the immediate context as well as to the rest of Scripture? The goal is to discern clearly what the passage is saying. This is necessary if you are to preach from the passage (i.e. follow the path which is already present in Scripture) instead of simply presenting your own concerns.
3. Identify those to whom you will be preaching.
   It is important to identify and understand those who will hear the sermon. Anytime you seek to communicate effectively, it is necessary to identify the group to which you will speak and tailor your sermon accordingly (e.g., illustrations, vocabulary, etc.).
4. Begin to apply the text to the life of the your hearers today.
   The sermon seeks to illuminate how the revelation of God in a particular historical context applies to the church’s life in Christ today. Having endeavored to understand what the text is saying and why, now try to see how this meaning bears upon the your life and those who will hear your sermon. Haddon Robinson [Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980)] suggests three developmental questions which will assist in this process:
   1. What does this mean? How is the author developing the thought of this passage? Are there elements in the passage that must be explained to the audience if they are to understand the text? These questions help to ensure intelligibility.
   2. Is it true? Can we believe it? How does the biblical writer substantiate what is said? What experiences in our lives make problematic the claims we are making?
   3. What difference does it make? We read the Bible to hear God speak, so to ask how what the passage says is applicable in our situation is only natural.
5. Decide the purpose of the sermon.
   From your understanding of how a passage applies to your life and those who will hear the sermon, try to state your purpose in the sermon. Are you trying to have the hearers apply a particular principle or action in their lives? Are you seeking to explicate a crucial aspect of the Christian faith (e.g. the resurrection, who Jesus Christ is)?
6. Select a sermon form that facilitates the achieving of the purpose and create a sermon outline.
   Sermons come in differing forms: either/or, applying a principle, explaining a key idea, narrative, etc. Try to let the passage itself help set the form that you will employ. Once the form is selected, create an outline that incorporates the message of the passage in the selected form. Try to communicate the message of the passage, not just outline it.
7. Fill in the outline of the sermon.
   Add the supporting material to the sermon. This includes illustrations, quotations, factual data, etc. that support, illuminate, or apply the sermon’s points, as well as motivate the listener to action. Good illustrations are a craft that clearly elucidate a text’s meaning rather than simply entertain the audience.
8. Construct the introduction and conclusion.
   A well-planned introduction and conclusion are essential to a well-crafted sermon,and they possess a significance that outweighs their relative length. The introduction should introduce the purpose and help to capture the hearer’s attention. Some may choose to construct the conclusion first, as it is the place toward which the sermon has been moving. The conclusion should bring home the sermon’s message.