Lesson Goal
To teach preachers how to handle subjects not directly addressed in the Bible and still have a biblical basis.
Lesson Intro
There are subjects that a preacher will eventually want to preach on, that are not directly covered in any one passage of Scripture. Parenting, marital relations, a Christian approach to politics, church history, dating, missionary stories, church programs and a host of other topics are examples. How do we handle these topics without wandering off into worldly values and principles which contradict Scripture?
Lesson Plan
Let's look at preaching a topic that the Bible does not specifically address, ask if there are biblical principles which can still apply, look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of topical sermons, and examine some kinds of sermon outlines we can use.
Lesson Body
1. You don't have to Cite Chapter and Verse to be Biblical
There are many ways to relate biblical principles to a subject without continually quoting chapter and verse. In fact, the constant citation of chapter and verse every time the Bible is quoted becomes very tedious and persnickety. You may for reference's sake put the verses in your notes, but not voice them. To remind you not to read the chapter and verse aloud you could put the citation in parentheses.
Example on the topic of Grandchildren: Our sins affect our grandchildren (Exodus 34:7), and our obedience blesses our grandchildren (Psalm 103:17). Living long enough to see our grandchildren, is a blessing from God (Psalm 128:6). Old people are no longer as interested in material things. Their grandchildren are their wealth (Proverbs 17:6).
2. Biblical Principles May Have a Broader Application
The application of biblical principles to everyday life requires wisdom. Sometimes a principle from one biblical context may apply across a broader range of modern contexts
One example that some who teach exegesis try to dance around is Paul's example of not muzzling the ox (Deuteronomy 25:4) and applying it to preachers (1 Corinthians 9:9-10). I have read some books on exegesis and hermeneutics which try to tell us not to do as Paul did. I frankly disagree. They generally try to excuse Paul's disobedience of their rules of exegesis, by saying that he was specially inspired by God. That always leaves me with questions such as, was not Paul also specially inspired by God to teach us that such a hermeneutic is perfectly okay and are not modern preachers also able to be so inspired when they preach?
Of course this can be abused. Paul's hermeneutic was an application of the principle to a broader context. He did not twist the Scripture. Too many modern preachers use Paul's example as an excuse to take a verse and misapply it. That is not what Paul did at all. However, the lesson from Paul is that a biblical principle can have much broader application than its narrow context, if we are cautious with our application.
3. Weaknesses
Biblical theology does not necessarily try to resolve seeming inconsistencies between different texts, but is often satisfied with leaving the tension of apparent contradiction unresolved. Systematic theology, on the other hand, does not like such tension and tries to harmonize Bible verses into subjects. It is from systematic theology that we get the basic ten theological topics of Paterology, Christology, Pneumatology, Angelology, Anthropology, Hamartiology, Bibliology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology. The weakness of any topical study, be it systematic theology or a topical sermon, is proof-texting, the tendency to string verses together out of context. This weakness can be minimized, but it involves more study than merely chaining verses together from a concordance.
Topical sermons can also tend to overly rely on non-biblical sources, rather than having the Scriptures as their foundation. Because we are looking for Scriptures that will support a topic, we can also tend towards eisegesis (jamming our ideas into the Scriptures) rather than exegesis (extracting from the Scriptures the original intent). Pastors also face a personal danger when preparing topical sermons, the tendency to repeat their hobbies and repetitively preach on certain favorite topics. If the congregation is ever tempted to say, "There he goes again," it may be because the preacher is grinding his axe again or repeating a pet peeve.
4. Strengths
The strengths of systematic theology and hence topical sermons are that they tend to be more influential, addressing immediate needs and have immediately obvious application. The Bible does not address every human need word for word, nor every modern topic. Themes such as fellowship, abortion, worship music and Christmas can be addressed using biblical principles, even when no specific biblical instruction is given.
5. Subject Outlines
Subject sermons can be given a number of common outlines of either two, three or more points. For example:
point, reason, proof
past, present, future
meaning, proofs, effects
lines, limitations, lessons
duty, example, enforcement
physical, spiritual
problem, cause, solution
advantages, disadvantages
6. Biblical Outlines
Biblical research into a topic will sometimes present natural subtopics as an outline. For instance the theological topic of Christology is often subdivided into the two topics of Christ's divinity and his humanity. Other subtopics under Christology include the virgin birth, the work of Christ, the atonement, etc.
Example Sermon
Title: "Christian Unity"
Goal
To remove bigotry regarding other mainstream denominations.
Intro
Where did our church come from? Do we think we are better, about the same, or worse than other Christian churches? Where do we fit? What about Christian unity?
Plan
To present a brief overview of unity and disunity throughout Christian history, and finish with the modern dilemma of unity.
Body
1. Past: The Great Schism & Protestant Reformation
The Christian Church was originally administered by 5 main bishops in Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. They came together every so often for an ecumenical council. For the first seven ecumenical councils, there was general agreement. After that, things began to fall apart. Eventually, the 4 eastern bishoprics and Rome grew apart beginning in the 500's and culminating in 1054 AD.
The western church continued to be administered from Rome for the next 500 years after the Great east-west Schism. However, a lack of biblical education crept in, and many districts of the western church became corrupted. In the 1500's, the Protestant Reformation sought to address this corruption, but caused great disunity even among themselves. The Catholic Reformation addressed some of these problems too, but it did not repair the breach between Catholics and Protestants.
Application: What should we do today, if we have a disagreement with what the church is teaching?
2. Present: Catholic, Orthodox & Protestant
The Church today is divided into three basic camps. The most fractured of all is the Protestant camp. The Church has tried to address division. The ecumenical movement is supported by some as an effort in this regard, and rejected by others as being too liberal.
Application: What is our attitude towards other Christian churches today?
3. Future: Pray for Unity
When Jesus returns what kind of church will he find? Hopefully he will find a church that is faithful, but will he also find one that continues to be in disunity, fighting and squabbling over non-essentials?
Application: What can we Protestants do to foster unity in the Christian Church?
Outro
Disunity in the Christian Church is a fact of life today. Each branch of the Church has retained some wonderful teachings, and most agree on the essentials of Christianity, yet churches continue to stumble over both non-essentials and increasing heresies. Let us pray for the unity that Christ prayed for.
Suggested Assignment
Take a needed topic. Find biblical principles which naturally form subtopics. Check the contexts of the texts you use, to make sure that you are not eisegeting or twisting the Scriptures but rather exegeting principles for your topic. If you have chosen a topic that fits another kind of common outline, then feel free to go with that.
Lesson Outro
We leave with one caution, do not preach topical sermons very often. If you do, you will be seen as just riding your favorite hobby horses, lose effectiveness and start drifting away from biblical truths. However, we have seen that it is sometimes necessary to preach a topic that the Bible does not specifically address, that there are biblical principles which can still apply. We have also looked at some of the strengths and dangers of topical sermons, and seen a few kinds of sermon outlines we can use.
