Lesson Goal
In this lesson I hope to teach the grand style or majestic sermon.
Lesson Intro
The Romans considered rhetoric to exist on three levels. Low style rhetoric was didactic, teaching. Middle style rhetoric was pleasing, entertaining. But grand style rhetoric was stirring, rousing and moved audiences to action. In preaching this came to be called Grand Style preaching. Augustine also wrote about three kinds of sermon, the subdued sermon for teaching, the elegant sermon for praise and the majestic sermon for exhortation. We have already covered the didactic, teaching sermon in an early lesson and in the previous lesson we covered the praise sermon or doxology. This lesson will introduce preaching in grand style, the majestic sermon.
Lesson Plan
This chapter focuses on stirring preaching, which is designed to move an audience to action. It may be an exhortation to do something or to dissuade from doing something.
Lesson Body
1. A Motivational Appeal
There are two kinds of emotional appeal. One is the motivational appeal, which stirs emotions to action based upon facts and solid reasoning. The other is the totally emotional appeal, based entirely upon pity, hatred, bigotry or some other emotion alone. This kind of emotional appeal is a logical fallacy. That's definitely not what this sermon is about.
This sermon contains more pathos than normal. However, it must also contain the elements of ethos and logos. They serve as a logical foundation for the motivational appeal that is this sermon. Because of the emotional content of this sermon it is best delivered by a preacher who has suffered enough in life's experiences so as to have some deeply mature emotions, and who can preach without notes.
This motivational appeal needs ethos, because if they congregation does not trust you, they will ignore your request for action. This motivational appeal also needs logos, because if you do not base your reasons for the plea on logic, it will just be an appeal based totally upon emotion with no basis in facts. Emotion alone may motivate people, but it is the dishonest device of con artists and shysters, it is not incentive based upon facts. In order for motives to be authentic, they need to be based upon cold, hard facts and solid arguments.
2. An Exhortation
An exhortation is an appeal to do something, an incitement, an encouragement or an earnest attempt at persuasion. In order to rouse the hearer to action, a preacher will want to show that something needs to be done and why it is urgent. He gives some concrete simple tasks that the congregation can do starting today. He shows in simple steps how to accomplish the task. Stress the blessings for doing the right thing, but make sure this is a task that you the preacher are already doing.
3. An Admonition
An admonition is a caution, a warning, a plea not to do something, a deterrent or an earnest attempt at dissuasion. In order to rouse the hearer to avoid an action, a preacher will want to show that something needs to be avoided and why it is urgent. He gives some concrete simple tasks that that congregation can start doing today to avoid this trouble. Stress the blessings for doing the right thing, but make sure that it is something that you the preacher are already avoiding.
4. Don'ts
Don't use this sermon to attack or accuse the congregation. Solicit their help. Plead your case.
Don't make the emotion the proof of your premise. Emotion is not proof. Make sure that this is an emotional appeal based upon facts not the emotions themselves, a genuine motivational sermon. It is a logical fallacy to make an emotional appeal based upon the emotions alone. When we say that emotions happen with X, therefore X is true; we are making an illogical emotional appeal. However, when we say that X is right because of certain facts, and therefore we strongly appeal to everyone to do X, we are adding an emotional appeal to something that is proven to be true independent of those emotions. We are not influencing people's beliefs by an emotional appeal, but influencing them to do or not do something based upon things which were proven to be true independently of their emotions. That is the only way an emotional appeal can be logical, is if it is motivation based on facts and good reasoning.
4. Motives
John Barbuto in 77 Ways to Motivate Your Workers (University of Nebraska) mentions five basic areas of motivation: fun, rewards, reputation, challenge and purpose. Naturally, we don't want to encourage people to do the right thing for carnal, selfish purposes, but rather altruistic, divine purposes. However, there is nothing wrong with fun for Christians. Obeying God ought to be more real fun than disobedience. A free ticket to the fun park as a reward for a year's worth of faithful attendance at Sunday school is not a bad idea. Proverbs stating that a good reputation pays off is a good motive. Doing the right thing, because it is a challenge will stimulate some people. And, turning purposelessness into God's purpose for our lives, gives life meaning.
In education, teachers are taught that students are motivated in two basic areas: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation occurs because of something inside us. The Holy Spirit is inside of us. He will act on our conscience to motivate us from the inside. He can use our sermons as we allow him to inspire us, to motivate others' consciences too. An extrinsic motivation is like a prod, it comes from outside of us and may only be short term, unless because of frequency or severity, it becomes internalized. We ought to pray that the external prodding from our sermons has enough impact so as to invade the consciences of our hearers.
Example Sermon
Title: "Be Involved"
Goal
Encourage community involvement.
Intro
Unless you grew up in a church, you may remember the first time you entered a church. Most of your friends may not have been Christians at all. As time goes by, many Christians lose contact with their old friends, and eventually only have friends who are Christians. Too many Christians are cloistered in their local church monasteries. All their friends are Christians and they don't know anymore how to even talk to people who are non-Christians.
Plan
Let's look at Jesus' prayer that we are in the world, but not of the world and see how the gospel was first spread from Jerusalem to encourage us that we need to be involved in our communities.
Body:
IN the World but not OF the World (John 17:14-18)
We Christians are sometimes reluctant to become involved in our communities, because Christians are often hated when they don't participate in the sins of those around them. Jesus knew this, but he did not pray that God would take us out of the world, but simply protect us from evil. Rather than encouraging us to live a cloistered life in some exclusive community, Jesus sends us back into the world from which we came, so that the world may believe.
This is a tough assignment. If a person was a drug addict or a drunkard, it may be tough to go back to the community from which you came to be a light and example. It may not be the wisest thing, if you are still weak in those areas. In such cases it may be better to become involved in a different segment of the community for the time being. However, in the long run, who is the most qualified person to help an addict? The one who has been there and survived to live for God.
Sharing the Good News (Acts 8:1-4)
When the Jerusalem church was the only church, they were so badly victimized that they had to leave town. Everyone except the church leaders left the city. Now you would think that people fleeing for their lives would be so overly concerned with food and shelter items that they would not be motivated to be involved in their new communities at all. That was not the case. These lay members of the early church shared the gospel wherever they went. It would be very hard to do that if they were afraid of being involved with non-Christian people and only concerned for their own survival. Those motivated by love for neighbor, will want to rescue them from the fire of hell (Jude 23).
How
We too can be involved in the lives of those around us. Many Christians are already members of sports and social clubs or other community organizations and that is their mission field. Others have had the modern habit of living behind castle walls with the drawbridge pulled up. When they push the remote to close their garage door that is the last that anyone in the neighborhood sees of them until they back out of their driveways again next working day. We need to get out of our castles and get to know our communities.
This doesn't mean that we ought to shove religion down the throats of others. It does mean that we let the light of our good deeds shine (Matthew 5:16). We can't hide our faith. It will become obvious to everyone around us. Eventually, people will bring it up. We won't have to chase them. When the timing is right, we need to be ready to give an answer of the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15). We don't need to be concerned about it. Just be natural and give an honest answer, not worrying whether or not your faith offends them. You are just describing your faith, not condemning or judging them.
Motivational Appeal
Who are our neighbors? They are people that God loves. They are people that God wants to save. If we don't grab the bull by the horns, and just allow our neighbors to run headlong into hell, we will be guilty of the greatest act of negligence the world has ever known. God placed us in our neighborhoods to be the light, to be the watchmen, to lead people gently to him. If we won't do it, then who will?
Outro
If you are one of those who can admit that most or all of your friends are Christians, this sermon was for you. Let's think about Jesus' prayer that we are in the world, but not of the world and let's spread the gospel like the first century church did, by being involved in our communities.
Suggested Assignment
Choose a topic that you can get emotional about, something that has deep meaning for you personally. This is why I personally love preachers who have been beaten by life with more than a few stripes, people with scars on their chests. They are real. They can get emotional because they have been there and suffered too.
Base your reasoning for the topic on solid logic which comes from a good and sound argument, but then move people, motivate the church with righteous emotions, so that they actually do something about it.
Lesson Outro
This chapter focused on stirring preaching, which is designed to move an audience to action. It may be an exhortation to do something or to dissuade from doing something. We discussed the right use of emotional appeal, for action, not the reason for the action. The reason came from logic; the impetus came from a motivational appeal. As with every kind of sermon, don't over this particular approach. It must be a special occasion and a special need; otherwise it will just lose its piercing effect and sound like another weekly rant. When it is a special occasion, such emotional and majestic preaching in grand style can have great impact.
