In this episode of the 10 Minute Teacher, I continue training on my 5 day sermon planning process by covering my study process for Day five-Confrontation with the Holy Spirit and Conversation with the Congregation. Stick around for each episode as we build the tools necessary to weekly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ with integrity and power.
4 Approaches to Sermon Development
Over my 20+ years of preaching and in my experience teaching homiletics, I have learned a few hard lessons about creating variety in my sermons. Not every sermon should unfold the same. It is easy to get into a rut and always follow the same approach.Your congregation, however, will appreciate your taking the time to learn to integrate these four different approaches to sermon development.
Inductive or Deductive Delivery
The first three approaches allow for either an Inductive or Deductive method of discovery.
An Inductive sermon will begin the sermon with an exposition of the passage and allow the hearer to discover the Take Home Truth as the details of the narrative unfold.
A Deductive sermon will begin with a clear statement of the Take Home Truth and allow the hearer to discover applications as the details of the narrative unfold.
Now, decide how you will develop the sermon through one of the structures illustrated below.
#1: Uninterrupted Development
Uninterrupted Development begins with reading through the entire narrative of your biblical text. From there, you will integrated key historical, timeless and applied truths to help your hearers understand the one key Take Home Truth of the message.
#2: Cyclical Development
Cyclical Development begins with reading just a few of the verses from your text. From there, you will bring in key historical, timeless and applied truths relevant to just that part of your reading. Then you will go back to the text for another short reading. You will cycle through this process as many times as necessary to effectively communicate the one key Take Home Truth of the message.
#3: Wrap Development
Wrap Development begins and ends the message with key illustrations, stories and applied truths to engage your hearer. The text is sandwiched in the middle as one long reading to unite the entire sermon and emphasize the Take Home Truth.
#4: Chiastic Development
Chiastic Development is modeled after a style of Hebrew poetry where the text is divided into multiple themes that are organized in such as way as to put the emphasis on the Take Home Truth at the most dramatic point in the sermon. (SEE this post for more on chiastic structures.)
I hop this short guide is helpful for creating variety in your message delivery.
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