What’s our Goal
Let’s emphasize the importance of Bible-based preaching.
What’s the Idea
The modern idea that the Bible is not the Word of God but only contains the Word of God is very narrow and inadequate. Granted, there is no verse in the Bible which calls everything from Genesis to Revelation "the Word of God" per se. Certainly, also we read Old Testament examples of people saying that the Word of God came to them saying this or that (e.g. 1 Kings 12:22; 1 Chronicles 17:3). Such a quote of what God actually said then is certainly the Word of God in the narrowest sense.
However, the phrase is often used biblically in a much broader sense, something more than a mere quote of what God actually said. Jesus referred to the Old Testament teachings as the Word of God (Mark 7:13). Preaching when led by the Holy Spirit is also the Word of God (Acts 4:31; 13:5-7; 17:13). That which people hear out of the mouths of such preachers is also the Word of God (Acts 13:44-46; Romans 10:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 13:7). The message of the Church, the Gospel is the Word of God (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). It makes sense then, when the Church finally settled on the canon of Scripture in the early 300’s, that it saw the collection of books as the written Word of God.
As such, the Bible is a fail-safe basis for preaching that could also be called the Word of God today. When you preach in such a fashion, your people can truly say, "Let's go up to hear the Word of God." (Isaiah 1:10; Jeremiah 19:3; 42:15; 44:26; Ezekiel 6:3; 20:47; Luke 5:1; 8:21; 11:28; Acts 13:7, 44) You will be preaching not only the Gospel as the Word of God and the inspired Word of God given to you by the Holy Spirit, but it will be backed up by the written Word of God. What could be better than that!
What’s our Lesson Plan
In this lesson we will use the example of Nehemiah 8:8 as a basis for preaching a text. We will discuss using copious preaching notes, no notes, outline notes and using the text as our preaching outline. We will discuss how to prepare, whether using a lectionary or not, some important questions, using exegesis rather than eisegesis and finish up with an example.
Using a Text as a Preaching Outline
Nehemiah 8:8 gives us one of the earliest examples of how to preach. The preaching team was large, but so was the church of ancient Israel. Notice that they read the Old Testament law and caused the people to understand it. They read distinctly, and gave the sense, causing them to understand the reading.
Now we get the sense that this was not just a one-verse preaching service, but great amounts were being read. So, in your sermon, pick a passage of a perhaps a dozen verses or so. This is sometimes called a broad-brush approach, covering a lot of material, rather than narrowing it too far. Before we go on, let’s look at several different ways of making sermon notes.
Making Complete Notes
We have all heard badly prepared sermons for which the Holy Spirit got the blame for its so-called inspiration. There is usually no excuse for lack of preparation. Making sermon notes is one way to bridle our tongues (James 1:26-27) and so have a purer form of our religion. There are several ways to make notes from which to preach.
One way for organizing sermon notes is a complete typewritten reading speech. This is similar to the formal speeches given by politicians when taking office or corporate executives at an annual general meeting. The main difference is that you will have spent time praying over every prepared word and sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The strength of this kind of preaching is that you are less likely to make an embarrassing off-the-cuff remark that was not well thought-out ahead of time. However, this kind of preaching also has great weaknesses.
A very few advanced preachers deliver their entire sermons very effectively by reading them. Most do not. It requires the ability to read aloud superbly without losing eye-contact with the audience and sounding entirely natural. Some advanced preachers read so well that few people would know that they are reading from notes. Most of us read very badly from notes and the whole thing just loses any sense of spontaneity, becoming stilted and awkward. It is not a good long-term idea for most of us. However, for the nervous beginner, it can be a good crutch. If you wish to use this method for your first sermon or sermonette, I suggest a single double-spaced page or two maximum.
Preaching without Notes
Some enter the preaching ministry having already had years of experience in public speaking elsewhere. For you advanced preachers, I offer a new challenge. Thoroughly prepare your sermon notes with prayer and good research as if you were going to read them aloud, then simply leave your notes at home and speak off the cuff. If you have prepared well, and you are used to speaking before others, your sermon will have the advantages of both preparedness and a sense of spontaneity. You have the best of both worlds, the inspiration from the Holy Spirit in both the preparation and the delivery. This is not a memorized speech, but one delivered by someone who so thoroughly knows his subject that he is comfortable preaching about it off the cuff. However, this method is very advanced and only for experienced speakers who are very comfortable in public.
Using Outline Notes
Many preachers use small cards, note paper, a tablet or even a pulpit computer screen containing the main points of their sermon in outline form. This is the method that may best fit most beginning and advanced speakers. This method uses prompts to remind you what your next point is and keeps you somewhat on track. It allows you to speak more naturally about each point, from the heart. Of course, you would have studied, thought about and prayed about each item at some length ahead of time.
Using the Text as Your Outline
My challenge to you in this lesson is to use the text itself as your outline notes. Nothing is as reassuring for a church that values the Scriptures as to see their preacher stand before them with an open Bible and nothing else. Why not use the outline that God has already inspired in the Scriptures. You may want to use colored pencils or a special felt tipped pen designed just for Bibles to highlight your points. For example, point one may be in red, point two in yellow and point three in green. You may want to choose a special Bible just for preaching, with larger print. Using the well-known colors of the rainbow (Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Purple) you may also develop a color code that makes sense to you.
How to Prepare
I suggest a lot of preparation time on your knees. Don't simply rely on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit at the pulpit. Rely on His inspiration in your preparation too. The Holy Spirit will most likely help you out in an emergency when you have not had time to prepare. However, if you are consistently lazy, He may just let you fall flat on your face to teach you a lesson. God is not the author of confusion. All things must be done decently and in order. The first order of business is to plan your sermon. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
1. Lectionary
Following a lectionary is a balanced approach to preaching, because most lectionaries cover about 75% of the Bible over a three year period. However, that is usually dealt with in the Scripture readings (if you include any in your liturgy) and it is perfectly fine to wander from the lectionary in the sermon as local events and needs dictate. It is also appropriate to preach a series of sermons from a book of the Bible or on a certain topic.
Following the example of the early church (Acts 2:14-36; 8:35), we can preach Christ equally well from the Old as well as the New Testament. In fact, before the books of the New Testament were written, the apostles preached Christ from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament. About a third of the New Testament refers to the Old. Every book of the Bible illustrates a different facet of Christ, from Christ as Creator in Genesis to Christ as Revealer in Revelation.
In a textual sermon, you won’t have to invent points. Inventing points from thin air can produce more questionable teaching than when your points come directly from the Bible. Your preaching is therefore on safer ground. The textual sermon is for that reason also one of the easiest sermons to prepare. Preaching timeless words that God inspired (2 Timothy 3:16) is also more powerful than preaching anything else.
2. Important Questions
When approaching any text, ask yourself two important questions. 1) What did it mean when it was written? 2) How does it apply to us? This is a very basic overview of the hermeneutical process, the principles of exegesis. Exegesis and hermeneutics teach us how to rightly divide the Word of truth and are so important we will refer to them often.
Several other less important questions can also be asked: Is there a natural subject in the text? What are the natural points? Can the order of the points be creatively arranged differently without distorting the text? Should we use the given order for this application?
Try to pick a text that is clear, rather than difficult, overly eloquent or seemingly odd. Don’t avoid a text just because it is well-known. A reminder is always good and coming to deeper understanding of familiar truths is priceless. Don’t be in the habit of avoiding certain passages of Scripture. Excellent sermons can even be delivered from the genealogies, such as a familiar sermon titled “Three Women of God“ from Matthew 1.
3. Exegete don't Eisegete
Be sure to keep away from eisegesis (ice-uh-gee-sis), the tendency to force our ideas into a text, rather than letting the Bible speak for itself. For example, lesser educated preachers occasionally quote “here a little, there a little” from Isaiah 28:10 to support the substandard practice of chaining verses together from various parts of the Bible out of context. Their sermons contain little quotes from here and there, perhaps using dozens of different passages. This misuse of a concordance is called proof-texting. The misquote of Isaiah itself reveals an inadequate understanding of proper biblical interpretation. A good commentary will tell you that in context Isaiah 28:10 actually refers to the methods of incompetent drunken teachers, and does not endorse the kind of deficient topical preaching that comes from simply chaining verses together out of a concordance.
If you want to explain a passage well, excellent help comes from the guidance of several good quality commentaries, which may divide a text into two, three or more natural points. The number of points can vary as long as they do not do damage to the passage.
Example Sermons
The first example is of a very simple outline.
Title: Great Treasure
Matthew 13:44
1. A hidden treasure
2. Found and preserved
3. More valuable than anything else
The second example is of a much fuller outline with some commentary.
Title: The Light of Good Works
Introduction: Imagine turning on the light switch only to find that all the lights are hidden in drawers, in closets, behind cupboard doors or under an upturned bucket. There is no light placed to light up the room. What a strange kind of architectural design would that be! Yet, spiritually speaking, too many of us have placed our lights where nobody can see them.
Text: Let’s read Matthew 5:15-16 “You (ye is plural) are the light of the world”
1. We are the light of the world
God is light. Christ is light. The Gospel is light. Because God, Christ and the Gospel are in us, we are light. It is not a mere compliment, but a fact. The world is in darkness and needs to see the light that God has placed in us through Jesus Christ.
2. Light must be placed where it can be seen
As the salt of the world, we are indispensable. As the light of the world, we are to be seen, not hidden. Light has a purpose. It is to illuminate.
3. Good works let our light shine
Does the way we live show the kingdom of heaven in us? This instruction is a contrast to the later warning not to do good deeds to be seen of men. The difference is doing good works for self-glorification, versus to glorify God. Hermits have a difficult time letting their light shine. We are to be involved in the community around us doing good deeds.
The rest of the Sermon on the Mount includes some specific examples of good works. For instance, are we known for character assassination or constructive words, lustful remarks or sexual purity, spitefulness or love for enemies, giving only to show off or out of genuine concern for the needy, and so on?
Conclusion: Where are we shining God’s light, in an insignificant corner or where it will be seen to give God glory?
Suggested Assignment
For this lesson, pray to choose an appropriate passage of Scripture. If you are giving this in a classroom situation, you may be asked to choose from a list of easy texts for a short classroom sermonette. Some wise professors may ask for your personal stance on a non-essential of faith, and then ask you to explain from a text the opposite viewpoint, just to make your theology less biased. If you are not assigned a text, choose one that you can explain well without getting into trouble.
If you are not in a classroom situation but giving this in a new church where you normally do not speak, be sure to choose something neutral that will not offend any unknown local sensitivities. If you know the church well you are already aware of local needs. If you are preaching from a lectionary you have your choice of three or four texts. Be sure to research your passage well in several good commentaries.
Lesson Outro
The most important thing we could ever teach is the central message of the Bible, Jesus. He gave orders to his disciples to teach subsequent disciples to obey everything that he had taught them, and one of those instructions was this same directive to teach what Jesus taught (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus taught the trunk of the tree doctrines of Christianity, essentials such as loving God and neighbor, loving even enemies, and that the things of the Spirit are more important than the things of the letter. We call our religion Christianity for a reason, don’t we?
Our main teaching ought to be Christ-centered, if the people of God are to be properly nourished. What unites the Church is Christ. What divides the Church are twigs of doctrine, wacky theological fads and urban myths. Focus mainly on the trunk of the tree, not the twigs, and you will feed the sheep quality nourishment.
This is chapter 2 from my book "Preach." The complete book is available at Amazon.
